Jta444 wrote:One_and_Done wrote:Here is game 2 of the 1999 finals. Much more recent than most of Jordan's titles.
https://youtu.be/mqecRUgoi5w?si=4cKm1dLvD7IREdJkGo watch the teams on D. They are mostly standing around watching while the point guard sets up an iso. The three is barely guarded. Now watch a finals game today. Guys are sprinting all around the court trying to guard the elaborate motion and high PnR acrion on the perimeter. It's so obvious which is more exhaustng.
Which is exactly why Jordan would FEAST even more in today’s game. All that offball action and advanced offense would open up his game even more. If not more points he’d average most assists. The fact that he averaged 30 in the 90’s with dinosaur age tactics is astonishing. And he wouldn’t be exhausted playing defense today. Lebron has been hiding on defense for the past 5 years at least, it would be easy for Jordan to do so and he was a conditioned athlete as well and very durable.
I feel like whatever I say, you will turn around with "and that's why Jordan would have been so good at that!" I could point out that players were electrocuted at halftime, and his fans would spin it as a positive.
Imma try again, but more slowly. When Jordan played guys didn't have to run around all the time. Now, do you think that might have had positive benefits for Jordan? Like, there's this crazy theory that guys play better when they're not exhausted. You might be shocked to hear this, but running a marathon and doing wind sprints right before a game actually makes you play worse.
Jordan would have had to move around more today, there's no 2 ways about it, and the obvious consequence is it would have resulted in him playing less well. Less well on D, becase he is more exhausted, and less well on O because he's now expending so much energy on D.
It is not a sensible response to say "Lebron can do it, so Jordan will be fine". The correct thought is "imagine how much better Lebron would be if he had extra energy from not having to run around nearly as much!" That's why Lebron's longevity is incredible btw, because even though he now slacks off on D more and has a reduced impact as a result, it's still preposterous he can play this well at his age. Trust me, Lebron wishes he could play the more iso 90s ball where he could stop running and just feel a bit more contact. Lebron is so hard to officiate for the same reason Shaq was; guys just bounce off him. He's built like a linebacker. He isn't going to care abour a little extra contact in exchange for no more windsprints.
Meanwhile Lebron would kill 90s teams from the 3, where they'll barely guard him. Jordan in contrast has a meh 3 ball. That will take away his ability to score as easily, because the D can cheat off him more.
Jordan averaged as much as he did in part because of high usage. In today's game you wouldn't want Jordan as a heliocentric player, but his meh 3ball means he's limited off ball too. He's be great today, but notably worse.