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Yes. I did see him play. Yes, it is a different era. MrChug, when you were 9 and dribbling, it was a different era than it is now. When you are old and the big event of your day is getting out to go to the Dr., you will probably be the guy that looks back on the Tim Duncan era with fondness while some young fella tries to tell you that you are pathetic and from a pathetic era. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by MrChug
Is Cousy really any better than Steve Nash is? From all the old footage i have seen i seriously doubt it. I don't care what ERA you are playing in no way you would take Cousy over Duncan to build your team around, not a chance in the world.
I agree. :tuQuote:
Originally Posted by dbreiden83080
NY sportstalk guy is just bitter because his Knicks suck an undercooked bratwurst. If Duncan played for the Knicks and were on their way to championship number 4 since 1999, he'd claim Duncan to be the best player in the history of the game.
He's a hack. No more, no less.
30 or so years from now, fans of that time will be calling Tim Duncan and his peers pathetic just like current fans are calling Cousy and his peers pathetic.
And still some ask how can we take the past players seriously. Different eras, different context, different styles of play. Even Bill Russell has said we should just enjoy how well they played instead of comparing the greats -> http://www.nba.com/playoffs2007/news...ostseason.html
"Most of the people that use my name in comparisons with other players never saw me play in the first place or if they did see me play, it was at the end of my career. When I look at a guy and watch him play, I see what his assets are and what his liabilities are, but I don’t compare players to other players...
For me, I watched George Mikan play as a high school kid. I felt privileged to watch these great guys play. Every one of them is unique and none of them plays like anyone else. Instead of trying to figure out how good they are, I think you should just enjoy watching them play. Wilt and I played center completely different. Oscar, Magic and Michael Jordan played guard completely different. Larry and Elgin Baylor and Bob Pettit played forward completely different."
But hey, let the foolish fruitless comparisons continue.
I mean some of these old farts just have their heads up their asses about the players from their era. I do think Jordan is the best ever but i will tell you this if his Bulls had to play Magic's Lakers and Bird's Celtics all through the 80's not a chance in hell he has 6 rings.Quote:
Originally Posted by Solid D
This guy wants a cookie for knowing who Bob Cousy was, but he's flat wrong. Cousy was great in an era when he was one of the few guys who could dribble with either hand.
This thing is the teams today are not as good as they were in the 80's and to a lesser extent in the 90's as well. Expansion is mainly responsible for that. However there were like 6 teams in the 60's and the idea by some of these old farts that as an individual player Duncan can not hold a candle to guys like Cousy and Russell is a fucking joke. Tim is a 7 footer who is a great defender, rebounder and dominant low post player. Russell averaged 20 reb a game in an era where he played against mainly 6'5 white guys.
How do you know that? I believe the teams are as good as they were. They are probably even better because the technical and physical preparation as evolved. I believe the 2007 Spurs would be a tough matchup to any team in the league history. Even the great Bulls would have a hard time against the Spurs.Quote:
Originally Posted by dbreiden83080
Of course we will never know.
The only thing that matter is to be the best of your generation... Tim Duncan is.
Stupid All Time rankings should be let to stupid ESPN writers.
i can name ten point guards i'd take over cousy.
i respect the hell out of the man from a historical standpoint, but i don't see how you can compare him to more modern stars like magic, nash, kidd, etc.
i think pro athletics, in general, is much more competitive today across the board. athletes are facing more rigorous training, athletes of all races are competing, and athletes from across the world are competing.
I respect the old players from 50's and 60's. I enjoy hearing stories about them and what they accomplished, and I'm sure a few of them could stand up in any era and am no way disrespecting the man because I'm sure he was a great player...
...but I've seen enough footage on NBA VHS and DVD, various highlight clips and documentaries etc to know that Cousy's ballhandling was incredibly bad. Honestly, he dribbled like someone who just mucked around with basketball, not playing it at the highest level. I think I can almost guarantee that anyone that has played basketball at around the High School Team level could dribble like that... it amazes me, because from the other highlights I have seen from that era, other players skills look not to bad. It amazes me how bad Cousy looks.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MI21
Yeah, but back then he was cutting edge...all players since him have incorporated what he brought to the game, into their game, and built on it...long, long ago....no one handled the ball like he did prior to him doing it.
Anyway...I wouldn't take him over Duncan, but you have to consider that if he'd played in the modern era he'd most likely be a better shooter and look more like a modern player in technique and ball handling.
Incidentally...Bob Cousy VS Tony Parker is a better comparison...the first French PG(Cousy) VS the first PG from France(Parker).
I don't get all those "Cusy was a bad ballhandlar" disscussion.
Hmm :huh Different era and the game was on a different level. And remember, those players of the 50's and 60's did not have such modern medicine the players of today have.
Give Mikan a today's NBA conditions and he would dominate as he was in the leauge.
its all about relative dominance/effectiveness.
those guys in that era will be expose with there defense in todays game
There are so many other factors that have to be taken into account.
Would the players of the past have benefitted from the technology available today (e.g. rubber shoes, physical regimens, flying from game to game on chartered flights, etc.)? Bob Petit once said that if he had the workout equipment that existed today, he would have had the body of Karl Malone.
Would the players have benefitted from facing opposing teams less frequently (less teams back then, but pretty much the same number of games)?
Could players back then have handled the media scrutiny/invasiveness that exists today (imagine Moses Malone straight out of High School)?
Would today's salaries affected past players quality if they would have been tempted to skip the college game and the fundamentals learned there?
Would today's rules hinder or benefit certain players? Would Rick Barry have been the greatest 3-point shooter of all time with the 3-point line? Would Dr. J destroyed the opposition with today's hand-check rules?
Those and other aspects should be taken into account before we say that past players were pathetic. That's why I try to refrain from comparing from different eras because a straight up comparison just isn't fair.
Couldn't you undercut a guy for jumping back then? Today's players would last about two games.Quote:
Originally Posted by TDMVPDPOY
When you guys see video of Cousy dribbling and compare that to today, you should realize that back in the 50s and 60s when Couz and Hot Rod Hundley were doing creative things with the basketball, the rules were rules and not just "Guidelines" (to take from a recent "Pirates" movie reference).
In those years, you could not get away with the cross-over dribbles and behind the back dribbles the way they are done by most players today. It would have been called "carrying" by the officials any time the hand came close to the ball's equator or bottom hemisphere. In the spirit of the rules...it IS carrying...but let's not get picky because the game's rules have been relaxed in so many ways.
The game and the skills have certainly changed over the years. You can't fairly compare. Relate, appreciate...that's it.