Kevin McHale over 176 games from '86 playoffs to '88 playoffs: 24.6/9.03/2.6/0.5/1.9 bpg on 65.5% TS

[dhsilv2]

Presumably Dwight Howard go measured and 8 foot wingspan for McHale is only 2 inches longer than Dwight Howard’s 7’ 10”
Rondo is 6’ 1” with a 6’ 9” wingspan and I did not really notice Rondo having freakishly long arms but I noticed McHale having freakishly long arms.

You never noticed Rondo's freaky arms? Wow...that was the first thing I noticed on him back in college.

[tsherkin]

But I was told that post play was inefficient? How can this be???

This is a little disingenuous, because it's the pop-culture take on what is actually said about post play (and mid-range shots, for that matter).

Al Jefferson is a good example of inefficient post play because he couldn't do anything but hit his short hooks at around 45% (which is actually a good percentage on those for most players, as it happens, for not-Jokic players). He wasn't great at generating dunks/close shots, he didn't draw fouls well, so he didn't dominate FG% or FTr and thus his efficiency wasn't amazing. Plus, he tailed off as an offensive rebounder after he left his rookie contract, so he didn't get tons of second-chance points, and he wasn't a dynamo in transition, and he wasn't an amazing PnR/PnP player either.

Lots and lots of players aren't worth volume post possessions. Lots of guys are very SLOW operating in the post, as well, which is counterproductive against mobile, well-organized defenses. Lots of post players also haven't been particularly good passers (or in systems which leveraged passing), which is a further issue. Guard play drives offense a lot more effectively in most cases.

A guy like McHale. Or Kareem. Or Shaq (in-era, anyway)? Different story. Kind of like Jokic and Embiid now, as it happens.

[HotelVitale]

But I was told that post play was inefficient? How can this be???

Mid range jumpers are too. Unless you're an all time great at them....

First of all, no one said post play was inefficient (or no one who knows what they're talking about), no reason to repeat bad strawmen. The two MVP favorites the past 3 years both score tons of pts in the post very efficiently, to give the most obvious example. The discussion worth having is whether post-play as the absolute center and focus of your offense is worth revisiting now, like it was in the 80s, or if the more spread-court pn'r/DHO-based offenses are more effective mainstays or centerpieces of an offense. I'm up for talking all day about that but we have to actually talk about it.

Second and most obviously, this is a fairly small and fairly random sample (two RS and two PO seasons, spread over 4 seasons) from one of the era's absolute best post scorers (who was also playing on a superteam the whole time). If you take the rest of McHale's general prime in the RS it's still good but it's more like 21/8 on around 60-61% TS. Those are short of what someone like Porzingis is doing these days, and many players (including bigs) are posting better ones. And remember the 80s were quite high-scoring too, just a hair below the last couple years in terms of overall points.

This is definitely not to take away anything from McHale, just that McHale having some periods of great efficiency isn't an argument for the post play needing to come back at the expense of what's happening now. Or at least you'd need ot argue that more.

[dhsilv2]

But I was told that post play was inefficient? How can this be???

Mid range jumpers are too. Unless you're an all time great at them....

First of all, no one said post play was inefficient (or no one who knows what they're talking about), no reason to repeat bad strawmen. The two MVP favorites the past 3 years both score tons of pts in the post very efficiently, to give the most obvious example. The discussion worth having is whether post-play as the absolute center and focus of your offense is worth revisiting now, like it was in the 80s, or if the more spread-court pn'r/DHO-based offenses are more effective mainstays or centerpieces of an offense. I'm up for talking all day about that but we have to actually talk about it.

Second and most obviously, this is a fairly small and fairly random sample (two RS and two PO seasons, spread over 4 seasons) from one of the era's absolute best post scorers (who was also playing on a superteam the whole time). If you take the rest of McHale's general prime in the RS it's still good but it's more like 21/8 on around 60-61% TS. Those are short of what someone like Porzingis is doing these days, and many players (including bigs) are posting better ones. And remember the 80s were quite high-scoring too, just a hair below the last couple years in terms of overall points.

This is definitely not to take away anything from McHale, just that McHale having some periods of great efficiency isn't an argument for the post play needing to come back at the expense of what's happening now. Or at least you'd need ot argue that more.

No, it's a fact that historically the post has been the least efficient NBA offense. There are two massive exceptions in the league right now, but that's what they are. Huge exceptions. McHale along with maybe 20 other guys were good post scorers. Everyone else, simple wasn't.

[HotelVitale]

Mid range jumpers are too. Unless you're an all time great at them....

First of all, no one said post play was inefficient (or no one who knows what they're talking about), no reason to repeat bad strawmen. The two MVP favorites the past 3 years both score tons of pts in the post very efficiently, to give the most obvious example. The discussion worth having is whether post-play as the absolute center and focus of your offense is worth revisiting now, like it was in the 80s, or if the more spread-court pn'r/DHO-based offenses are more effective mainstays or centerpieces of an offense. I'm up for talking all day about that but we have to actually talk about it.

Second and most obviously, this is a fairly small and fairly random sample (two RS and two PO seasons, spread over 4 seasons) from one of the era's absolute best post scorers (who was also playing on a superteam the whole time). If you take the rest of McHale's general prime in the RS it's still good but it's more like 21/8 on around 60-61% TS. Those are short of what someone like Porzingis is doing these days, and many players (including bigs) are posting better ones. And remember the 80s were quite high-scoring too, just a hair below the last couple years in terms of overall points.

This is definitely not to take away anything from McHale, just that McHale having some periods of great efficiency isn't an argument for the post play needing to come back at the expense of what's happening now. Or at least you'd need ot argue that more.

No, it's a fact that historically the post has been the least efficient NBA offense. There are two massive exceptions in the league right now, but that's what they are. Huge exceptions. McHale along with maybe 20 other guys were good post scorers. Everyone else, simple wasn't.

This post was meant as a response to other guy's post, and to agree with your point (about looking at the overall trends). But on that point, I generally think that 80s post scoring was fairly efficient relative to other options at the time, is that wrong? I just pulled up the efficiency leaders for 86-87 (random year) and it looks like about half of the top 30 are post-type players. Lot of that might be from putbacks and garbage pts, though.

It's also a little hard to define 'post ups' from back then since lots of wings played with back to the basket so much, and scored from within 8 feet or so of the cup. Lots of shots/possessoins from the 80s look a lot more like post-ups than today, even if they're not a 7 footer shooting a baby hook or up-and-under from 3 ft out. If we're talking strictly the most classic definition of post-ups, feels like you're probably right.

[FrodoBaggins]

Not the best idea to compare McHale's production from the paint-packed '80s to today. I'd imagine two things would occur if Kevin played today:

1. His efficiency would go up.
2. His offensive game would diversify

He'd still post up more than anyone in the league, but he'd play more out of the mid-post and elbow.

He had genuine range, showcasing a strong mid-range game and even three-point shotmaking. He shot 37.5% 3PT on 0.72 attempts per game over a 166-game sample. 45/120.

We also don't know how many of those were heaves - no play-by-play data from then. Given a soft touch, smooth mechanics, and great free-throw shooting and mid-range shooting, I think he's a strong 3PT threat today.

He'll be involved in more PnRs and DHOs, as well as some spot-up shooting. There'll be fewer isolation post-ups, but more post-ups that come within the flow of the offense. You know, like off of mismatches/cross screens, etc. He'll obviously still isolate down low when he's got a guy on an island because he's arguably the best post-scorer ever.

Broken plays are inevitable too, so you need a guy like Kevin that you can throw it to with 6-8 seconds left and can get you a bucket.

Peak McHale's doing 25-30 PPG on 65-70% TS. Like Jokic's scoring game, but more aggressive, like Embiid.

[dhsilv2]

First of all, no one said post play was inefficient (or no one who knows what they're talking about), no reason to repeat bad strawmen. The two MVP favorites the past 3 years both score tons of pts in the post very efficiently, to give the most obvious example. The discussion worth having is whether post-play as the absolute center and focus of your offense is worth revisiting now, like it was in the 80s, or if the more spread-court pn'r/DHO-based offenses are more effective mainstays or centerpieces of an offense. I'm up for talking all day about that but we have to actually talk about it.

Second and most obviously, this is a fairly small and fairly random sample (two RS and two PO seasons, spread over 4 seasons) from one of the era's absolute best post scorers (who was also playing on a superteam the whole time). If you take the rest of McHale's general prime in the RS it's still good but it's more like 21/8 on around 60-61% TS. Those are short of what someone like Porzingis is doing these days, and many players (including bigs) are posting better ones. And remember the 80s were quite high-scoring too, just a hair below the last couple years in terms of overall points.

This is definitely not to take away anything from McHale, just that McHale having some periods of great efficiency isn't an argument for the post play needing to come back at the expense of what's happening now. Or at least you'd need ot argue that more.

No, it's a fact that historically the post has been the least efficient NBA offense. There are two massive exceptions in the league right now, but that's what they are. Huge exceptions. McHale along with maybe 20 other guys were good post scorers. Everyone else, simple wasn't.

This post was meant as a response to other guy's post, and to agree with your point (about looking at the overall trends). But on that point, I generally think that 80s post scoring was fairly efficient relative to other options at the time, is that wrong? I just pulled up the efficiency leaders for 86-87 (random year) and it looks like about half of the top 30 are post-type players. Lot of that might be from putbacks and garbage pts, though.

It's also a little hard to define 'post ups' from back then since lots of wings played with back to the basket so much, and scored from within 8 feet or so of the cup. Lots of shots/possessoins from the 80s look a lot more like post-ups than today, even if they're not a 7 footer shooting a baby hook or up-and-under from 3 ft out. If we're talking strictly the most classic definition of post-ups, feels like you're probably right.

Guard driven offenses have tended to be the most efficient. We should separate a guy who scores off quick dumps down to the post vs guys who actually can run an offense while playing in the post. Case and point Moses Malone, no you can't run an offense that's effective through his post play, he was too weak a passer. But he was a dang junk yard dog pull down boards and getting easy points off those.

It's obviously hard to judge some of this without play type data, but in general I think the way we play today despite rule changes is still the logical best way to play. With of course some adjustments.

[FrodoBaggins]

McHale would make a killing in today's switch-heavy defenses. There was actually an article about how efficient post-up mismatches have been this season.

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/how-nba-teams-are-bringing-the-post-up-back-to-life/

[ItsDanger]

There is a break even point between good post offense and what you see in the league today. What most commonly perceive from past periods is inefficient post offense too often. Too many touches given to guys whose % weren't 53-55%+(just ballparking here) as an example.
Above break even post offense from players today would clearly be effective especially in a 7 game series as it should have far less variance. It's just not that common especially among big men.

[TheShow2021]

A lot of people mentioning Hakeem as the other top GOAT post player.

I'm not saying McHale was necessarily better, but Hakeem did have the benefit of the Rudy/ SVG 4 corners offense. So he was operating with much more space for much of his career.

[FrodoBaggins]

There is a break even point between good post offense and what you see in the league today. What most commonly perceive from past periods is inefficient post offense too often. Too many touches given to guys whose % weren't 53-55%+(just ballparking here) as an example.
Above break even post offense from players today would clearly be effective especially in a 7 game series as it should have far less variance. It's just not that common especially among big men.

Great point about the bad and mediocre guys getting post touches in the past. This was actually brought up in a podcast with Jeff Van Gundy. Larry Brown said he gave Ben Wallace - a terrible scorer - post-up touches to keep him happy. This sort of mentality was commonplace back in the day.

Go to 4:36 in the video below:

Watch on YouTube

I also think McHale low-post game would really shine in the playoffs. Physicality increases, defenses switch everything and have versatile defenders. Motion offenses stagnate and it becomes a game of isolation. Kevin would be a godsend.

[SinceGatlingWasARookie]

Mid range jumpers are too. Unless you're an all time great at them....

First of all, no one said post play was inefficient (or no one who knows what they're talking about), no reason to repeat bad strawmen. The two MVP favorites the past 3 years both score tons of pts in the post very efficiently, to give the most obvious example. The discussion worth having is whether post-play as the absolute center and focus of your offense is worth revisiting now, like it was in the 80s, or if the more spread-court pn'r/DHO-based offenses are more effective mainstays or centerpieces of an offense. I'm up for talking all day about that but we have to actually talk about it.

Second and most obviously, this is a fairly small and fairly random sample (two RS and two PO seasons, spread over 4 seasons) from one of the era's absolute best post scorers (who was also playing on a superteam the whole time). If you take the rest of McHale's general prime in the RS it's still good but it's more like 21/8 on around 60-61% TS. Those are short of what someone like Porzingis is doing these days, and many players (including bigs) are posting better ones. And remember the 80s were quite high-scoring too, just a hair below the last couple years in terms of overall points.

This is definitely not to take away anything from McHale, just that McHale having some periods of great efficiency isn't an argument for the post play needing to come back at the expense of what's happening now. Or at least you'd need ot argue that more.

No, it's a fact that historically the post has been the least efficient NBA offense. There are two massive exceptions in the league right now, but that's what they are. Huge exceptions. McHale along with maybe 20 other guys were good post scorers. Everyone else, simple wasn't.

A 1950s, 1960s 1970s or 1980s fan would very confused because post play was more efficient in those eras.
David Robinson may have changed things because like Gianis Robinson was a great center who played like an oversized small forward.
Jordan apchanged things to because everybody wanted to be like Mike to the point that I guess the big men stop practicing post Moves.

Even when Jabar was the best player Dr J was the fans favorite player. Then LeBron and Kobe were the fans favorite player.
Shaq relied on being overwhelming which is not clasic post play.

Who do we have for classic post play in the last 20 years. Amare kind of. Rashid Wallace. Drummand playing sort of in a Moses Malone style. Cousins sometimes did baby Shaq but he was also shooting 3s. And Embiid.

But guys like Lanier and even James Edwards were good post players with post moves. Good post moves would still be efficient offense if anybody had good post moves.

[dhsilv2]

First of all, no one said post play was inefficient (or no one who knows what they're talking about), no reason to repeat bad strawmen. The two MVP favorites the past 3 years both score tons of pts in the post very efficiently, to give the most obvious example. The discussion worth having is whether post-play as the absolute center and focus of your offense is worth revisiting now, like it was in the 80s, or if the more spread-court pn'r/DHO-based offenses are more effective mainstays or centerpieces of an offense. I'm up for talking all day about that but we have to actually talk about it.

Second and most obviously, this is a fairly small and fairly random sample (two RS and two PO seasons, spread over 4 seasons) from one of the era's absolute best post scorers (who was also playing on a superteam the whole time). If you take the rest of McHale's general prime in the RS it's still good but it's more like 21/8 on around 60-61% TS. Those are short of what someone like Porzingis is doing these days, and many players (including bigs) are posting better ones. And remember the 80s were quite high-scoring too, just a hair below the last couple years in terms of overall points.

This is definitely not to take away anything from McHale, just that McHale having some periods of great efficiency isn't an argument for the post play needing to come back at the expense of what's happening now. Or at least you'd need ot argue that more.

No, it's a fact that historically the post has been the least efficient NBA offense. There are two massive exceptions in the league right now, but that's what they are. Huge exceptions. McHale along with maybe 20 other guys were good post scorers. Everyone else, simple wasn't.

A 1950s, 1960s 1970s or 1980s fan would very confused because post play was more efficient in those eras.
David Robinson may have changed things because like Gianis Robinson was a great center who played like an oversized small forward.
Jordan apchanged things to because everybody wanted to be like Mike to the point that I guess the big men stop practicing post Moves.

Even when Jabar was the best player Dr J was the fans favorite player. Then LeBron and Kobe were the fans favorite player.
Shaq relied on being overwhelming which is not clasic post play.

Who do we have for classic post play in the last 20 years. Amare kind of. Rashid Wallace. Drummand playing sort of in a Moses Malone style. Cousins sometimes did baby Shaq but he was also shooting 3s. And Embiid.

But guys like Lanier and even James Edwards were good post players with post moves. Good post moves would still be efficient offense if anybody had good post moves.

It's simply not true that the post was smart basketball historically. Go through history and look at the top rated offensive teams. They are overwhelmingly guard driven teams. The post is a nice tool to have in the bag, but we aren't seeing guys post up because players aren't taught the skills. We aren't seeing guys do it because it doesn't work and it never did.

[tdot_steel]

My top 10 post players ever in no particular order:

Wilt
Hakeem
Moses Malone
Kevin McHale
KAJ
Shaq
Duncan
Russell
Karl Malone
George Mikan

[165bows]

I don't think McHale was any worse of a passer than Dirk, Davis, and even Duncan and Hakeem. McHale's passing leveled up once he began starting in '85. He was definitely better than Moses Malone. Kevin's shot creation was limited by the role he was playing, the teammates he was playing with, and the system he was in.

Boston's offense was diversified and democratic; they made a point to get everyone shots. McHale's usage rate and time of possession were quite low compared to his offensive output. If he was in a similar situation to Duncan, Dirk, and Hakeem, his usage rate and time of possession would increase. He would become more of a focal point and his shot creation would increase.

McHale would have a diversified offensive game in today's league. He'd posting up more than anyone, but he'd also be thriving in the dribble hand-off and pick-and-roll. He'd be shooting threes and elbow jumpers - he had that kind of range as we know. There would be more high-quality passing opportunities playing more from the elbow, mid-post, and in PNRs and DHOs.

Yeah crazy despite the "black hole" moniker he never averaged a 25% usage rate over a season. He'd peak at an All-Star starter level C in today's game imo. He didn't pass a ton, but he could if you watch the games. He passed on the break better than most bigs today.

[tdot_steel]

No, it's a fact that historically the post has been the least efficient NBA offense. There are two massive exceptions in the league right now, but that's what they are. Huge exceptions. McHale along with maybe 20 other guys were good post scorers. Everyone else, simple wasn't.

A 1950s, 1960s 1970s or 1980s fan would very confused because post play was more efficient in those eras.
David Robinson may have changed things because like Gianis Robinson was a great center who played like an oversized small forward.
Jordan apchanged things to because everybody wanted to be like Mike to the point that I guess the big men stop practicing post Moves.

Even when Jabar was the best player Dr J was the fans favorite player. Then LeBron and Kobe were the fans favorite player.
Shaq relied on being overwhelming which is not clasic post play.

Who do we have for classic post play in the last 20 years. Amare kind of. Rashid Wallace. Drummand playing sort of in a Moses Malone style. Cousins sometimes did baby Shaq but he was also shooting 3s. And Embiid.

But guys like Lanier and even James Edwards were good post players with post moves. Good post moves would still be efficient offense if anybody had good post moves.

It's simply not true that the post was smart basketball historically. Go through history and look at the top rated offensive teams. They are overwhelmingly guard driven teams. The post is a nice tool to have in the bag, but we aren't seeing guys post up because players aren't taught the skills. We aren't seeing guys do it because it doesn't work and it never did.

This is the most absurd take that I have seen in some time. Prior to the 3 pt shot the low post game was king because most PF/C worth their salt shot above .500. The reason why we do not have low post players is because teams are busy shooting 25-35 3's/game. The players with the highest shooting percentage all-time are 90% big men at over .500. The reason it isn't taught is not because it isn't effective but there are only so many big men and the pro game does not value them.

[dhsilv2]

A 1950s, 1960s 1970s or 1980s fan would very confused because post play was more efficient in those eras.
David Robinson may have changed things because like Gianis Robinson was a great center who played like an oversized small forward.
Jordan apchanged things to because everybody wanted to be like Mike to the point that I guess the big men stop practicing post Moves.

Even when Jabar was the best player Dr J was the fans favorite player. Then LeBron and Kobe were the fans favorite player.
Shaq relied on being overwhelming which is not clasic post play.

Who do we have for classic post play in the last 20 years. Amare kind of. Rashid Wallace. Drummand playing sort of in a Moses Malone style. Cousins sometimes did baby Shaq but he was also shooting 3s. And Embiid.

But guys like Lanier and even James Edwards were good post players with post moves. Good post moves would still be efficient offense if anybody had good post moves.

It's simply not true that the post was smart basketball historically. Go through history and look at the top rated offensive teams. They are overwhelmingly guard driven teams. The post is a nice tool to have in the bag, but we aren't seeing guys post up because players aren't taught the skills. We aren't seeing guys do it because it doesn't work and it never did.

This is the most absurd take that I have seen in some time. Prior to the 3 pt shot the low post game was king because most PF/C worth their salt shot above .500. The reason why we do not have low post players is because teams are busy shooting 25-35 3's/game. The players with the highest shooting percentage all-time are 90% big men at over .500. The reason it isn't taught is not because it isn't effective but there are only so many big men and the pro game does not value them.

Just because you go into the post doesn't mean the final shot is a post up. The goal of an offense and the reason you run an offense through player x or player y is to find the best possible shot. Even when teams didn't have a 3 point shot, it was still best to get a dunk/layup or free throw. Guys historically have not shot anywhere close to 50% from the post. A lot of guys who posted up a lot did shoot 50%, but that 50% wasn't from the actual post. Guys who could score at those rates from the post are extremely rare historically.

[SinceGatlingWasARookie]

It's simply not true that the post was smart basketball historically. Go through history and look at the top rated offensive teams. They are overwhelmingly guard driven teams. The post is a nice tool to have in the bag, but we aren't seeing guys post up because players aren't taught the skills. We aren't seeing guys do it because it doesn't work and it never did.

This is the most absurd take that I have seen in some time. Prior to the 3 pt shot the low post game was king because most PF/C worth their salt shot above .500. The reason why we do not have low post players is because teams are busy shooting 25-35 3's/game. The players with the highest shooting percentage all-time are 90% big men at over .500. The reason it isn't taught is not because it isn't effective but there are only so many big men and the pro game does not value them.

Just because you go into the post doesn't mean the final shot is a post up. The goal of an offense and the reason you run an offense through player x or player y is to find the best possible shot. Even when teams didn't have a 3 point shot, it was still best to get a dunk/layup or free throw. Guys historically have not shot anywhere close to 50% from the post. A lot of guys who posted up a lot did shoot 50%, but that 50% wasn't from the actual post. Guys who could score at those rates from the post are extremely rare historically.

Take a guy like Tom Heinsohn, shot a variety of shots, mostly in the paint. Was the Celtics 1st option for a few years. He shot some undefendable running hook shots from just inside the free throw line. 24 second clock running out, no problem get to Heinson and he will get something up at the basket and maybe Russell will get the offensives rebound. Even today Heinsohn was undefendedable but those tough shots Heinsohn was shooting did not go in the basket much. Heinsohn was shooting 39% when he was the 1st option in 1961 and 39% was fine because the league was only shooting 38%.

[FrodoBaggins]

I also disagree that McHale isn't ideal as a first option. His skillset speaks for itself. He's a better offensive player than Tim Duncan, a greater scorer than Kevin Garnett, and a far superior defender to Dirk. Puts up numbers like Kareem, Shaq, and Barkley down low; shoots from mid-range like Malone and KG; even has 3PT range, too. Would be even more impactful on defense with no illegal D.

Most players who "lead" teams or are "built" around never win anything. There are so many different factors that go into the equation and determine which team wins and which team loses. There's no one way to build a winner; basketball is like the game Tetris. You can construct a high-level team with varying unique parts. What is missing in one player can be made up with another.

You can look at stats and highlights, but it's best to watch the games and focus on what they can do. This is a key point: what a player did isn't necessarily all that he can do. Players are in unique situations, playing different roles, and systems, and with different types of players. The context must always be acknowledged.

I watch footage of Dirk, Duncan, and KG from the '00s and I think to myself: "man, McHale would be shredding these defenses." You get the right players around him and he could hang with those guys - no doubt in my mind.

I see Dirk waddling around being a non-factor on defense and barely passing. I see Tim Duncan bricking mid-ranges and looking stiff in the post compared to McHale and Hakeem. I see Garnett settling for 16-footers and not making an impact in the paint.

All three of these great PFs were flawed - but they still got it done and routinely led great teams. Don't see why McHale couldn't. Focus on the skillset. What they can do.

[SinceGatlingWasARookie]

I don't think McHale was any worse of a passer than Dirk, Davis, and even Duncan and Hakeem. McHale's passing leveled up once he began starting in '85. He was definitely better than Moses Malone. Kevin's shot creation was limited by the role he was playing, the teammates he was playing with, and the system he was in.

Boston's offense was diversified and democratic; they made a point to get everyone shots. McHale's usage rate and time of possession were quite low compared to his offensive output. If he was in a similar situation to Duncan, Dirk, and Hakeem, his usage rate and time of possession would increase. He would become more of a focal point and his shot creation would increase.

McHale would have a diversified offensive game in today's league. He'd posting up more than anyone, but he'd also be thriving in the dribble hand-off and pick-and-roll. He'd be shooting threes and elbow jumpers - he had that kind of range as we know. There would be more high-quality passing opportunities playing more from the elbow, mid-post, and in PNRs and DHOs.

No need to screw with success. Apparently McHale could hit 3s in practice but I don’t want McHale shooting 3s or doing anything he was not doing in his own time if you plunk him down into the current NBA. When McHale is shooting his shots at 60% why would you want him to do anything else? It isn’t like anybody in the current NBA could stop McHale from doing what he did best in his own time.

McHale worked just fine with a crowded paint and help defenders but modern spacing might lift McHale from 60% to 61%. Modern floor spacing would not help McHale as much as it would help other 1980s inside scorers because the help defenders did not bother McHale much so taking the help defenders awaay won’t help McHale that much.