Bill Russell Question

[Statlanta]

Most stars in their era are known for pushing the boundaries of what is considered legal to the point of making fans question the game

We have Barkley and his long drawn out post battles.
James Harden and his perimeter foul draw.
Kareem and his height dominance being allowed to dunk and then being banned from dunking.
Curry for making fans question if we should remove the 3pt line altogether.


For those who have watched Russell or have extensive tape on him. Did he push the boundaries of defense in his era?

Did he do anything different than the defenders in the 60s? Like maybe push the boundaries of illegal defense or stay in the lane for inordinate amounts of time? Did he get away with physical contact more than others?

[penbeast0]

From what I've seen, he pushed the boundaries by being the first great shotblocker in the 50s (other than possibly Bob Kurland who never played in the pros) and by frequently leaving his man to disrupt shots out to the foul line or longer where the other great shotblockers of the 60s (and since) tended to stay in the post.

He also tended to play the big scoring post players like Wilt, Bellamy, etc. like a smaller player, overplaying them to slap away post passes rather than sumo wrestling for a spot as much but, like I said, that was always something smaller, quicker players had done, Russell just wasn't smaller (except than Wilt of course).

They had changed the defensive goaltending rules much earlier; most of the rule changes during Russell's lifetime were to limit Wilt because the league's hierarchy, like most fans, worried more about what people were doing offensively rather than defensively.

[Johnlac1]

From what I've seen, he pushed the boundaries by being the first great shotblocker in the 50s (other than possibly Bob Kurland who never played in the pros) and by frequently leaving his man to disrupt shots out to the foul line or longer where the other great shotblockers of the 60s (and since) tended to stay in the post.

He also tended to play the big scoring post players like Wilt, Bellamy, etc. like a smaller player, overplaying them to slap away post passes rather than sumo wrestling for a spot as much but, like I said, that was always something smaller, quicker players had done, Russell just wasn't smaller (except than Wilt of course).

They had changed the defensive goaltending rules much earlier; most of the rule changes during Russell's lifetime were to limit Wilt because the league's hierarchy, like most fans, worried more about what people were doing offensively rather than defensively.

Russell caused every player to hesitate when they shot wondering where he was. His intimidation factor was immense. I remember watching him in the sixties amazed at how fast he got up to block a shot. In that respect he was quicker than Wilt who doesn't get enough respect for his shot-blocking abilities. He was also one of the fastest players in the league and chased and caught a lot guards who thought that they had an easy breakaway layup. Including Jerry West.
As far as shot blockers before Russell, while not in his league, Mikan blocked a lot of shots. You can watch a playoff game on YouTube of Mikan's Lakers and some team where I counted four or five blocked shots for Mikan. And the footage was not of the whole game.
Mikan was no great leaper, but apparently, if this game was any indication, he blocked a lot of shots.

[70sFan]

By the 1960s it became more common, but most teams in the 1950s played straight man defense with a lot of switching. Russell played like a one man zone in the paint. He didn't just guard his man, he guarded the whole area on the court.

Another thing Russell did that wasn't usual (still isn't) is that he could change his approach during the game multiple times to make offensive players guessing. Sometimes, he was early to help on a drive, sometimes he waited for the last moment to jump into slasher in last seconds, sometimes he faked help moves to force rushed shot. The same thing happened on P&Rs - at times he dropped heavy to help inside, but sometimes he could switch into perimeter player and pressure him for mistakes.

[prolific passer]

There were shot blockers before Russell but he is or was considered the first modern day shot blocker that all others after him are compared to.