Colbinii wrote:Johnlac1 wrote:People who downgrade Erving because his stats/scoring suffered when he went to the NBA should realize that the Sixers had more talent than Erving's ABA teams. He sublimated his game for the team. He still averaged close to 27 ppg one season for the Sixers. He could have eaily averaged 5+ ppg if the team needed the points.
How do you account for the major dip in stats during the playoffs in his NBA career?
This is a good question. Let's note from the start that the trend only exists in the '80s though. Because of the weirdness of the 76ers in the '70s, one can argue that Erving didn't do enough enough in that period to truly show the trend wouldn't have existed had the team been build around him from the start, but you also can argue that the trend WAS there from the start.
Then there's also the matter that there doesn't really seem any reason to assume that NBA playoff basketball was way rougher than ABA playoff basketball. The entire argument for the NBA's superiority in later years is it's superior depth...and come playoff time the wheat is separated from the chaff. Yet Erving cut his teeth with playoff performances in the ABA. His rookie playoffs blew the doors off everyone else and served notice that he might be the next great talent (which was no small feat given how strong Artis Gilmore started), and his '76 campaign is legendary.
So from my perspective the trend your asking about is why it was that 30-ish Erving struggled particularly in the playoffs in the '880s?
Let's divide further between the first 3 years and the rest:
The first 3 years of the '80s, Erving was the best player on a Philly team that made the finals twice and the ECF once, losing in each year in tough series to the eventual champions, who be it the Lakers or the Celtics, are considered teams for the ages. Additionally over that time frame, Erving's PER was around 22 on average, and only 2 guys broke 23 in a post-season where they played more than one series, and they each only did it once (Kareem and Moses). No one seriously looks at Magic and Bird as being disappoints over these years, but individual stats don't give them the clear nod over Erving, and no one doubted they had at least as much help as Erving.
So in terms of him disappointing there, when you really look at the context of the time, I think you'll find it's not very dramatic. The type of thing you wouldn't build a narrative on.
Now, beginning the next year we see Erving's playoff PER nosedive. I'd say any dramatic shift at that age you clearly can point to the player just getting worse. Also though it's worth noting that the first of those years came with Philly utterly dominating through the playoffs riding the younger Moses Malone along the way. It's probably not a coincidence that Erving stops looking like a leading man the year it's his job to step aside and let someone else be the leading man.
