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Yeah, everyone's been respectful here and no one called Bill Russell Darius Miles or anything.
Now that would be an insult Russell fans could get legitimately angry about.
This is a basketball forum where people have the right to opinion, if you don't like it the door is that way....
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Yeah, everyone's been respectful here and no one called Bill Russell Darius Miles or anything.
Now that would be an insult Russell fans could get legitimately angry about.
this is bull , i hate it when people always use this crutch when defending the old timers. coaching and all the training in the world aren't really going to make you THAT much more of an athlete. what are some advanced training methods going to do, make you a little faster, increase your vert by a couple more inches? Back in high school, i had about a 37 inch standing vertical without access to anything more advanced than regular weights that they had back in the 60's. So i guess if i had nba trainers working with me, i'd be the highest leaper in recorded history right? everyone just quit arguing this moot point and go ahead and bow down and kiss my ass right now then, im the GOAT.
Bill Russell = Ben Wallace, get over it people
And it's been proven that you can build a championship team around Ben Wallace. A shame the same can't be said of Dirk Nowitzki or Amare Stoudemire.
Human beings don't evolve in 40 years but training techniques and coaching methods do. If not how do you explain the way World Record times in track get lower and lower every decade or so? This holds true even in the pre-Roids era of Olympic compe ion.
And yeah, if you had access to all the advanced training methods that professional players enjoy, your vert probably would improve a couple of inches, as would your stamina, strength to mass ratio, etc. Anyhow, we're not really talking about Russell the athlete. He would be a great athlete in today's NBA regardless.
Russell would benefit the most from modern coaching. Look at the games from back then. Most players were fundamentally poor by today's standards. Terrible jumpshot form, couldn't use their opposite hand when dribbling, etc. The "modern coaching" argument as it pertains to Russell has to do with the idea that he'd more than likely develop strong fundamental offensive skills in addition to his superior athleticism, excellent instinct for the game, and great defensive skills, thus becoming an even better player.
And Wallace =/= Russell. Wallace had no passing game, Russell did. Russell was faster, a better leaper, and had a higher bball IQ.
Maybe Russell wouldn't be a dominant force in today's league, but it stands to reason he'd be a better all-around player than Ben Wallace.
Last edited by midnightpulp; 05-22-2010 at 03:50 AM.
Russell would be extremely similar to Dwight Howard. Best comparison possible, very similar strengths and weaknesses.
now we have the dumb opinion.
Bull . The knowledgeable Pistons fans on this site (so basically all the Pistons fans besides you) will tell you that team was built around no one. It's re ed when people say the team was built around Billups, same goes for Wallace.
That Piston team was built around the marital woes of Daddy & KobePERIOD
get over this passing game . Bill Russell could find Bob Cousy and make an outlet pass. Congratu inglations to him, to say he's the best passing big man of all time because he can make outlet passes is an insult to the likes of Bill Walton, Hakeem Olajuwon, Tim Duncan and a number of other people.
The reason I harp on Russell's passing is to challenge the ed myth that Russell "would just be another Ben Wallace." Wallace couldn't do outside rebound and play defense, while Russell had a greater overall skillset.
It's a stupid in comparison.
The team was built around defense, ergo it was built around Wallace, dumb little Suns fan. Remember defense? Even Phoenix played it once, and not even too long ago.
Who says Carl Landry is better than Amare Stoudemire? Carl Landry at $4 million a year is a better deal than Amare Stoudemire at $18 million a year. You get 60-70% of the production at 25% the price.
I'm also happy that somebody who thinks Bill Russell was a "role player," slobbed Shaq's knob constantly and didn't seem to understand that Phoenix could be better off without him, and also opined that the Suns couldn't beat the Blazers in their first-round series without Earl Clark feels confident enough to post his opinions on a basketball messageboard. That takes brass ing balls...or lack of shame.
That's in response to the poster who thinks Bill Russell in his day was a "role player." Do I think Russell would be the best player on 11 championship teams if he played today? No, but I think he would be a borderline All Star caliber player.
Put the prime version Russell in today's league, he'd still be compe ive with the vaunted defence of his and some competent works at the opposite end of floor. But would he dominate this league like he actually did in his years? no.
The league is no longer the yard of giants. NBA used to favour only the big guys and you can easily find that most remembered names from 60s and 70s are players of inside. but the league has turned more athleticism-favoured since then, take the 3-point establishment for example.
The truth doesn't lie. You can still find a couple 20-10 players in this league but most of them are power forwards who're more dependent on athleticism&skills than the simple length, and possibly some guards with 10+ assists. Mr. e was one archetype of centers who have nothing but length, and you know how he is right now.
dinosaurs extinct already...
even if you play centre in this league, you can't play the game the same way those old centres did. get lebron in 70s he'd probably be nothing bigger than a marginal all star, and I'm afraid Steve Nash couldn't even survive in that league considering his softness and shortness.
No prejudice against the old time, I mean. I think Greg Oden would be an all-time great if he was born 2-3 decades earlier, but in this zone of time he's no more than a dinosaur fossil that reminds us of the antique styles sometimes.
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