NBA has changed

[TheSanityAnnex]

MJ won games on the with a jumpshot certain teams now are winning it at the line

Your sig line shows what an ignorant piece of you really are.

[RonMexico]

Do you know of any other player that has shot 69% in a playoff series?

Yes, Kareem did it twice - once for Milwaukee and once with the Lakers during championship runs. I think there were two others in the 50s as well, but I don't have time to look it up.

81 points in a game?

Yes, Wilt Chamberlain had 100 in a game and shot 32 free throws in that game (making 28)

3 players over 30 PPG for the season?

The most recent year I remember such a thing happening is 1988 where it was:

Jordan - 35 ppg
Wilkins - 30.7 ppg
Bird - 30.0 ppg

A point guard shooting over 50% from the field?

Bob Cousy would shoot over 50% consistently and I think Oscar Robertson did it once as well. The most recent one to do it was Mark Price in the 90s (he shot 50% from the field, 40% from 3, and 90% at the line).



This isn't the first time the league office has "tinkered with the rules" to change the game - in the late 70s, Larry O'Brien (the one the Championship trophy is named after) wanted to clean up the game and make it more marketable to the population again after a string of fights, brawls, too much physical play, and overall bad basketball. The merger with the ABA was an important step, while increasing the terms of suspensions and fines for cheap fouls and fights was another, and changing the rules to create a more open game. Combine this shift with the emergence of legendary players (Bird, Jordan, Magic, Wilkins, etc.) and suddenly "showtime" basketball was born in the 1980s and its popularity skyrocketed (and I'm sure you know that your Detroit Pistons were involved in the highest scoring NBA game of all time in 1984 against the Denver Nuggets). Some of the rules this year I'm sure are to force people to play defense the way it was meant to be played - by moving your feet, jumping in passing lanes, and using your hands to distract the offensive player... still, you see so many players using the patented Karl Malone style slap down at the ball, which is a lazy way out of it - as is pushing the player with your hands or holding them as they drive... these are all things that have been addressed.

In essence, one could argue that the game has changed back to the way it should be played, just as soon as they could argue that its a departure from the Pat Riley/Larry Brown/Jeff Van Gundy defensive borefests of the 1990s. You try to come off as impartial, but your Detroit bias and sting of losing in the Eastern Conference Finals is clouding your argument a little. I'll be the first to admit that the NBA motto has changed from "I love this game" to "Can't Look at Dirk" because the superstars are getting some incredible treatment these days and making it very hard for the defensive-minded teams in the league, but you can't say that is the sole reason why the Pistons lost this spring - they had countless other issues regarding chemistry and inability to hit big shots, not just problems guarding Dwayne Wade because of rule changes... I mean, when Wade hit that huge 3 pointer from the sideline, Tayshaun whacked his elbow and there was no call... then Wade drained the bucket... when a guy is that in the zone, sometimes there really is no chance of stopping him and the Pistons got out of their offensive rhythm developed over the course of the year and just couldn't answer at the other end all the time...

[Extra Stout]

Bob Cousy would shoot over 50% consistently...

What?

Bob Cousy was probably the worst shooter among elite players ever.

He never shot 40% for a season, let alone 50%.

[RonMexico]

What?

Bob Cousy was probably the worst shooter among elite players ever.

He never shot 40% for a season, let alone 50%.

Maybe I'm wrong - I had to go somewhere so I couldn't look it up, but it was something I'd heard

[I H8 Mavs Fans]

Your sig line shows what an ignorant piece of you really are.

He's a blonde guy from Germany, there's no question.

[Shank]

Your sig = ban.

[I H8 Mavs Fans]

Your sig = ban.

For what, stating a fact? HE'S A BLONDE FROM GERMANY. He has to have a great uncle/distand third cousin that fought in WW2.

[Shank]

Hmmm...where'd your sig go? Shocking that it's not there anymore.

[kalikot_boy_kr]

hahhahaha! mavs are just idiot to say again!

[Shank]

I hope we learned a little history lesson, I h8 Mavs Fans.

I H8 Mavs Fans wants you to see this

[I H8 Mavs Fans]

I hope we learned a little history lesson, I h8 Mavs Fans.

I H8 Mavs Fans wants you to see this

So you pulled a Cuban and ed about me to the powers that be, I wouldn't expect less from a Mavs fan.

[Shank]

Do you really want to bring this out in the open? You'd do much better to keep it confined to the PMs.

Or do you want everyone to see how ing stupid you really are? To say that any blonde German is automatically related to a member of the WW2-serving Nazi party is just asinine and baseless. It's a shame that the tax dollars of so many are paying for your poor education.

[SPARKY]

It's not exactly a conspiracy theory to postulate that the league has tried to change the rules in order to encourage additional perimeter scoring. Every offseason it seems as though there's a new rule change announced to do precisely that.

[SPARKY]

Do you really want to bring this out in the open? You'd do much better to keep it confined to the PMs.

Or do you want everyone to see how ing stupid you really are? To say that any blonde German is automatically related to a member of the WW2-serving Nazi party is just asinine and baseless. It's a shame that the tax dollars of so many are paying for your poor education.

What is it with Mavs fans and PMing SpursTalk.com posters? Are you guys that lonely?

[I H8 Mavs Fans]

Do you really want to bring this out in the open? You'd do much better to keep it confined to the PMs.

Or do you want everyone to see how ing stupid you really are? To say that any blonde German is automatically related to a member of the WW2-serving Nazi party is just asinine and baseless. It's a shame that the tax dollars of so many are paying for your poor education.

So now you're going to use private messages as evidense, you must be a Mavs fan and Republican, that's two strikes right there.

[angryllama]

So now you're going to use private messages as evidense, you must be a Mavs fan and Republican, that's two strikes right there.

Did someone say...........SCOREBOARD?

Mavs 4
Spurs 3

Dirk put away Ginobili in Game 7 just like Shank put you away many times on this thread.

[I H8 Mavs Fans]

Dirk put away Ginobili in Game 7 just like Shank put you away many times on this thread.

y B and Steve Jave were here?

[Darrin]

Yes, Kareem did it twice - once for Milwaukee and once with the Lakers during championship runs. I think there were two others in the 50s as well, but I don't have time to look it up.

We are talking about 7-1 center standing 3-15 feet from the basket, not a 6-3 guard.

Yes, Wilt Chamberlain had 100 in a game and shot 32 free throws in that game (making 28)

Yes, and it's happened once in 59 years of the NBA. And once again, we are talking about a player who is allowed to set up on the block 5-feet from the basket versus a 6-3 to 6-8 guard.

And the reason for the sudden an unprecedented impact of perimeter
players is how they are officiated. If you can offer some explanation, I'm open to it.

Player - 2005-06 FG% / 2003-04 FG% (PPG)
Kobe Bryant - .450 / .438 (+5.4 over career high in PPG).
Allen Iverson - .447 / .387 (+1.6 over career high in PPG).
Lebron James - .480 / .417 (+4.2 over career high in PPG).
Gilbert Arenas - .447 / .392 (+3.8 over career high in PPG).
Dwyane Wade - .495 / .465 (+3.1 over career high in PPG).
Paul Pierce - .471 / .402 (+.5 over career high in PPG).
Carmelo Anthony - .481 / .426 (+ 5.5 over career high in PPG).
Michael Redd - .450 / .440 (+2.4 over career high in PPG).
Ray Allen - .454 / .440 (+.6 over career high in PPG).
Vince Carter - .430 / .411 (Best scoring season since 2001-02).
Jason Richardson - .446 / .439 (+1.5 over career high in PPG).
Mike Bibby - .432 / .450 (+1.5 over career high in PPG).
Mike James - .469 / .446 (+7.9 over career high in PPG).
Joe Johnson - .453 / .430 (+2.9 over career high in PPG).
Rip Hamilton - .491 / .455 (+.1 over career high in PPG).
Richard Jefferson - .493 / .498 (lowest scoring season since 2003-04).
Ricky Davis - .448 / .459 (highest scoring season since 2002-03).
Wally Szczerbiak - .487 / .506 (+.3 over career high in PPG).
Tony Parker - .548 / .447 (+3.3 over career high in PPG).
Steve Nash - .512 / .470 (+1.0 over career high in PPG).
Chauncey Billups - .418 / .394 (+2.0 over career high in PPG).
Caron Butler - .455 / .380 (+2.1 over career high in PPG).
Sam Cassell - .443 / .488 (best scoring season since 2003-04).
Jason Terry - .470 / .417 (best scoring season since 2002-03).
Morris Peterson - .436 / .406 (+4.2 over career high in PPG).
Stephen Jackson - .411 / .425 (worst season since 2002-03).

I didn't just choose players at random - those are the perimeter players in the top 40 of NBA scoring for the 2005-06 season. All of the underlined players are the ones that DID NOT have CAREER HIGH IN PPG AND SHOOT A HIGHER PERCENTAGE IN 2005-06 VERSUS 2003-04. You'll start to notice a pattern with those players, too. They are either A) on deep teams with at least 3 top-tier scoring options or B) old or C) damaged goods.

The NBA used to favor the best offensive players in this league; they got a different whistle than everyone else. Well, Michael Jordan took that a step further in terms of what he was able to get away with. The NBA is handing out the Jordan treatment to any, any star with talent and a fanbase.

I was watching this Orlando-Detroit game in January of '05. Steve Francis didn't take 2 steps on a breakaway dunk, he didn't take 3 steps, he didn't take 4 steps, he took 5...AND IT COUNTED! I watched ESPN that night to see what they would do with it - they nominated it for a Top 10 Best Play.

The most recent year I remember such a thing happening is 1988 where it was:

Jordan - 35 ppg
Wilkins - 30.7 ppg
Bird - 30.0 ppg

We can admit that it's been 20 years, and that the trio of 2005-06 out-scored those three players?

Bob Cousy would shoot over 50% consistently and I think Oscar Robertson did it once as well. The most recent one to do it was Mark Price in the 90s (he shot 50% from the field, 40% from 3, and 90% at the line).

Can we admit that it's been 15 years and that it doesn't happen that often, but the NBA had TWO IN ONE SEASON, AND ALMOST A THIRD!

This isn't the first time the league office has "tinkered with the rules" to change the game - in the late 70s, Larry O'Brien (the one the Championship trophy is named after) wanted to clean up the game and make it more marketable to the population again after a string of fights, brawls, too much physical play, and overall bad basketball.

Simply because it's been done before - namely because of Rudy T almost dying from a basketball fight - doesn't mean that it needed to be done again. And it was actually less about the violence and more about drugs.

But fans started saying the same things I am saying - that all players cared about were their numbers AND the drugs. So it may have made for some exciting nerds some 15 years later, but it didn't work. All it did was make the cynics, cynical about something else.

The merger with the ABA was an important step, while increasing the terms of suspensions and fines for cheap fouls and fights was another, and changing the rules to create a more open game.

Hold on, Mexico. The NBA didn't start suspending players for fights until the 1990s. Do ent one player suspended for a fight - longer than 1 game - before 1990.

Combine this shift with the emergence of legendary players (Bird, Jordan, Magic, Wilkins, etc.) and suddenly "showtime" basketball was born in the 1980s and its popularity skyrocketed (and I'm sure you know that your Detroit Pistons were involved in the highest scoring NBA game of all time in 1984 against the Denver Nuggets).

It was actually 1983, but let's not confuse the facts in this story. The NBA's popularity sky-rocketed in an era where star players saw some very hard fouls. Big men were enforcers who would throw elbows into the chest of an opponent that was running all over them. Today, that would be considered a flagrant foul, and an immediate ejection.

The Bad Boys and the 1990s Knicks, Heat, and Bulls didn't invent the wheel, they just made it a larger part of their defensive attack, their mentality than teams had previously. There were no-calls in that era that would suspend players for 5 games in today's NBA.

And basketball grew because Boston and LA, two hugely popular and storied teams in large-markets inherited two superstars that would duel in 3 NBA Finals, and would make the television schedule as the Game of the Week as often as they could. Still, would you name the year the NBA Finals were taken off of tape-delay?

Some of the rules this year I'm sure are to force people to play defense the way it was meant to be played - by moving your feet, jumping in passing lanes, and using your hands to distract the offensive player... still, you see so many players using the patented Karl Malone style slap down at the ball, which is a lazy way out of it - as is pushing the player with your hands or holding them as they drive... these are all things that have been addressed.

Are you honestly telling me that there's more clutching and grabbing in a 2003-04 game than in 1996-97, 1992-93, 1988-89, 1985-86? What you're asking for is exactly what the NBA has given you - defense against the ball only, nothing to do with the opponent.

In essence, one could argue that the game has changed back to the way it should be played, just as soon as they could argue that its a departure from the Pat Riley/Larry Brown/Jeff Van Gundy defensive borefests of the 1990s. You try to come off as impartial, but your Detroit bias and sting of losing in the Eastern Conference Finals is clouding your argument a little.

And since that's purely an opinion since there is no right way to play, except to try to get the ball in their basket more than the opponent scores in yours, I find that an opinion more than a statement of fact. What you're essentially saying is that the NBA has to keep adjusting its rules to benefit the offensive players because the defense becomes too good at doing what is allowed on the court. I like the fact that you call me biased at the end of this speech.

I'll be the first to admit that the NBA motto has changed from "I love this game" to "Can't Look at Dirk" because the superstars are getting some incredible treatment these days and making it very hard for the defensive-minded teams in the league,

Why is that okay? Let's take money, for instance (since this what this is about anyway). We should give tax breaks to the wealthiest (if talent is money) simply because they are the wealthiest? What kind of screwed up system is that?

Unless you look at the NBA as an Entertainment business, it doesn't make sense. The better Dirk is the longer he is into the season, the more jersies he sells, the more popular he becomes, and the more people who didn't watch the NBA before may leave a Dallas Mavericks game on.

you can't say that is the sole reason why the Pistons lost this spring

I didn't.

they had countless other issues regarding chemistry and inability to hit big shots, not just problems guarding Dwayne Wade because of rule changes...

Chemistry issues from their coach having little-to-no idea of how to coach this veteran group in the playoffs. Chemistry issues because Saunders' never asserted his authority or he certaininly didn't keep it - because the Pistons' players are more qualified (Two trips to the Finals, an NBA Championship) than their coach is. Why did they change to Flip Saunders, and not a more experienced coach? Because the more experienced options had defensive mindsets, and Saunders' doesn't.

That's all I said - the rules affected who was at the helm when things went wrong, and the guy at the helm wasn't capable. I never said anything about "oh, the rules are the only reason the Pistons lost." I said it was a contributing factor. I said that trying to open up the offense left the Pistons with an iden y crisis in the middle of the playoffs.

I mean, when Wade hit that huge 3 pointer from the sideline, Tayshaun whacked his elbow and there was no call... then Wade drained the bucket... [b]when a guy is that in the zone, sometimes there really is no chance of stopping him and the Pistons got out of their offensive rhythm developed over the course of the year and just couldn't answer at the other end all the time...

I'm not denying the greatness of Dwyane Wade. But I know the less defense that I play on a person, the more accurate their shots become. If I let them get in a rhythm, that gets them near "the zone," and if he gets there, the best defense in the world cannot stop his shots. That's my experience, what's yours? If Dwyane Wade is allowed to go wherever he wants to on the basketball court, then the defense is already at a disadvantage.

Believe me, I didn't start complaining about this in the 2006 Eastern Conference Finals. It's been a constant topic of discussion since the 2004-05 season started.

[RonMexico]

Darrin, sorry about typing 1984 instead of 83 - the numbers are right next to each other and I didn't proofread

also, I don't say that it's right for Dirk to get 24 FTs and foul out Tim Duncan when he runs into his ankle, so don't act like I did

lastly, if you're saying the rule changes were the catalyst for hiring Flip Saunders, whose presence was the main reason your team failed in the playoffs, then it's difficult not to assume that you think the rules were the primary ingredient to the downfall of the Pistons

Finals were off tape delay in 1980 I think, though I was only negative 3 years old at that time, so I'm not positive...

There is more grabbing and hand checking in today's game than in the mid-1980s because Larry O'Brien specficially cracked down on it in 1978 to clean up the game and make it a better overall show... back then, players stopped doing it and more teams had open offenses - kind of like what the Pistons tried to do this year... nowadays, players still grab and then just throw up their hands when they get called for it...

Yes, hard fouls were the norm, especially from Rick Mahorn and crew, but just because Stu Jackson is a tightwad now and is trying to "help the overall image of the game" by suspending players for way too long and for "intent" dosen't mean that the rules have changed - just the enforcement of them by the league office

A flagrant has almost always been a flagrant - just whether it's a level 2 or 1 is what may change depending on which refs are on the court...

It was about the violence AND the drugs - Kareem got suspended for 15 games the season that Kermit Washington punched Rudy T for smacking Kent Benson of the Bucks in the face - that sure seems like a fight to me... the difference now is the suspensions for players that come off the bench and that didn't go into effect until 1990, but you can't say that gets D-Wade 10 extra free throws and wide open jumpshots because of that...

You talk about your experience (I guess from your NBA career) being that a person gets more "in the zone" the more open his jumpshots are... my personal opinion (from my high school career where we won the state le as a senior) is that I actually shoot better with a hand in my face because it helps me focus on the rim faster... but don't take my word for it, ask Reggie Miller because he says the exact same thing... actually, don't ask Reggie cause he's an idiot and the worst thing to happen to TNT since Cheryl...

Dude the Suns had to deal with Kobe and Dirk in this playoffs and the way the officials treat them, so I have more than enough to complain about - especially when Dirk shoots more at the line than the Suns do as a team... and they were actually trying to attack the basket in the playoffs... when Nash is held by defenders on the perimeter all the time, it's hard for me to think that the rule changes alone are the reason for the shift in the game... I think it's the enforcement of those rules and who is on the officiating crew that dictates it... and which teams owner has $1.2 million in fines paid for complaining about the officiating...

[strangeweather]

Simply because it's been done before - namely because of Rudy T almost dying from a basketball fight - doesn't mean that it needed to be done again. And it was actually less about the violence and more about drugs.

But fans started saying the same things I am saying - that all players cared about were their numbers AND the drugs. So it may have made for some exciting nerds some 15 years later, but it didn't work. All it did was make the cynics, cynical about something else.

The NBA has monkeyed with the rules a number of other times as well. Think about what a drastic change the shot clock was. Thank about the addition of the 3-point line. Now nobody too young to remember the way it was before can imagine the NBA without these things.

I think some of the changes are good and some are bad. I think replacing the illegal defense call with the defensive 3-second violation was brilliant. The shot clock changes they've made have helped move the game along without taking anything significant away.

On the other hand, I think the way they're calling contact on perimeter players now is lame. Physical defense is part of basketball, and there's a big difference between things like hand checking that are a part of basketball and things like clotheslining a guy that can cause injuries.

[Darrin]

On the other hand, I think the way they're calling contact on perimeter players now is lame. Physical defense is part of basketball, and there's a big difference between things like hand checking that are a part of basketball and things like clotheslining a guy that can cause injuries.

Exactly. As rabid as I may get trying to drive it home, that is all I am saying about the rules. The change is so startling that I hardly recognize an NBA game anymore.

Sometimes that line gets crossed when there's physical defense, but that's still happened with today's rules. And, for whatever reason, the hard fouls have been a lot harder in these playoffs than in year's past.

[Darrin]

The NBA has monkeyed with the rules a number of other times as well. Think about what a drastic change the shot clock was. Thank about the addition of the 3-point line. Now nobody too young to remember the way it was before can imagine the NBA without these things.

I think some of the changes are good and some are bad. I think replacing the illegal defense call with the defensive 3-second violation was brilliant. The shot clock changes they've made have helped move the game along without taking anything significant away.

I'm not immune to the fact that the league has evolved. The arc on a blocked shot, the paint, the three-point line, the shot-clock - these were all invented with the intention of making the games better and more entertaining by stopping one individual player from dominating a game. How I think this is different, is that it actually creates more seperation between the more talented members of the league and the less talented. That's contrary to the way this system of changing the game has worked in the past.

Forcing the game to use the entire floor by creating a 3-point arc is controversial even to this day, but it served its purpose. This is yet another attempt to create more room for shots, to create an equalizer between big men and the little guys. But this did more than create a level playing field, the pendulum is now in the other direction. Quickness - more than talent, strength, and skill - is the ultimate weapon. The only skills needed involve passing - layups, moving without the ball, catch-and-shoot.

The game, for me, is boring now. There's no in-game adjustments, except to block the outlet pass in the backcourt. If basketball was a game of chess, it just became checkers. Somehow, they learned that they liked the Queen the best because she can move in all directions and created a board where only the Queen mattered. "They" can represent the fans, former players, the media, or the brass of the NBA because all of them played a role.

I liked the abolishment of the illegal defensive rules in 2001 because it effectively ended the full-court isolation play. As in - late in games - Pippen passes the ball into Jordan, he dribbles up the court, whatever side he comes up, the Bulls players stand on the other side to draw their defenders away from the ball so all Jordan has to do is break his man down.

Thanks to the new rules, that play is now back in. Steve Nash can drive from baseline to baseline, take a screen maybe, and lay it up into the basket.

Shortly before this change, it wasn't all about talent - it was about the right kind of talent. That's gone. If a player's not fast, don't let them on my team. This league used to be dominated by the 12 Wilts. Now, it's all about finding the 12 Michael Jordan's and that's not where my interest in this game lies. My interest is in balance between the two. And for awhile there, from about 2001-02 through 2003-04, it looked like I was going to get my wish. I could have meat and potatoes one night, choclate cake the next, even green beans and strawberries. The NBA was so diverse from team to team. That's the most frustrating part of this rules change. Because I think the product was the best I had seen it in...forever. I raved about the NBA like it's become chique to do right now.

So when these Finals are done, so am I. If I wanted to watch track-and-field, I would. No one, and I mean no one, who can't run the floor will have a future in this league. Yao Ming is never going to dominate the league the way people think. He's going to have to learn to run in transition or he's about 10 years too late to the party.

[strangeweather]

Shortly before this change, it wasn't all about talent - it was about the right kind of talent. That's gone. If a player's not fast, don't let them on my team. This league used to be dominated by the 12 Wilts. Now, it's all about finding the 12 Michael Jordan's and that's not where my interest in this game lies. My interest is in balance between the two. And for awhile there, from about 2001-02 through 2003-04, it looked like I was going to get my wish. I could have meat and potatoes one night, choclate cake the next, even green beans and strawberries. The NBA was so diverse from team to team. That's the most frustrating part of this rules change. Because I think the product was the best I had seen it in...forever. I raved about the NBA like it's become chique to do right now.

So when these Finals are done, so am I. If I wanted to watch track-and-field, I would. No one, and I mean no one, who can't run the floor will have a future in this league. Yao Ming is never going to dominate the league the way people think. He's going to have to learn to run in transition or he's about 10 years too late to the party.

Maybe I'm being overly optimistic, but I don't think it's nearly that bad.

First of all, I have no problem with transition basketball. The transition game virtually vanished in the 90s, and I think basketball was poorer for it. Yes, it places a premium on mobility, but a well-built team can defend a good transition game -- look at the Dallas-Phoenix series, or last year's Spurs-Suns. Sure, there may be a lot of scoring, but it comes down to making key stops. There was a lot of running in the 80s, and most people had no problem with it then.

Yes, it means that the classic low-mobility center is at a significant disadvantage, but it works both ways. If you have a slower center like Shaq that can drop a bunch of points on you, he balances things out on the other end. If you have a guy like Rasho that isn't a big factor offensively, then he's going to be a liability against a team that runs. Duncan creates mismatches on offense and can stay with a good running team on defense. Ming isn't all that immobile either, and if the Rockets get smarter about how they get the ball in his hands, he's going to be able to school his man on the other end. Kareem, Wilt, Robinson, Olajuwon -- those guys could definitely have played this game and thrived under it.

Aside from the transition game, I think Stern has gone a little too far in outlawing defensive moves, but you can still defend your man. It puts a premium on guile, intelligence, and quickness, and discounts strength, especially on the perimeter. That's not great, especially for teams that were already built. But with some adaptation, you can still build a sound defensive team, even if the pace ramps up so much that in a couple of years, good defense means holding your opponent below 105.

The NFL is still really diverse. You have the Phoenix Suns, the crazy running team. You have classic halfcourt teams, who will fare fine as long as they can still get back in transition. You have teams like the Mavs that can play it either way, depending on the matchups. Along with that, you have classic post players like Duncan, Shaq, and Dwight Howard, who are still very effective. You have exciting Jordanesque slashers. You have a new Renaissance in outside shooting. The midrange jumper came back from the dead a few years ago, and it's here to stay. You have guys moving without the ball, penetrating and kicking, inside-out post passing, and plenty more.

That's massive diversity in the game. And even if the rules aren't perfect, it's still good basketball.

[JET_31]

Yea i dont like the way the nba is going with all the new rules designed to make it easier to score. You have guys like kobe scoring 81 because no one is allowed to breath on him while he drives, i was much more impressed with jordans 63 because back then the rules were different and it was much harder to score 50+ points in a game.

[747]

Yea i dont like the way the nba is going with all the new rules designed to make it easier to score. You have guys like kobe scoring 81 because no one is allowed to breath on him while he drives, i was much more impressed with jordans 63 because back then the rules were different and it was much harder to score 50+ points in a game.

Wrong. We dont have "guys" like Kobe scoring 81. We just have Kobe. Nobody else has even come close.

In regards to Kobe, and nobody being allowed to breath on him. Michael Jordan got his share of the calls as well, he is 3rd all time in free throws made in a season with 833.