http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLv2F33snCE&feature=endscreen
Lebron would fold like a bitch if he had to play against this kind of defense. Jordan put up 29.7, 5.5, 6.5, and 2.0 in the 1989 series against the Pistons despite their entire defensive mindset being to stop and/or hurt Michael Jordan as evidenced by his over 13 FTA per game in the series. The whole "defense was weak in the 80's and 90's" is pure fantasy.
Either you didn't watch your own link or you haven't watched a basketball game in the last 10 years. Nobody in the league takes the kind of hits Lebron does without calls. Shaq used to but doesn't play anymore. Because of Lebron's (and Shaq) size the hits don't seem as bad but they are certainly there.
Aside from that your video shows exactly what I was talking about in the other thread. The defense doesn't come to double team Jordan because it effectively can't. He runs into where the defense is waiting. In NONE of those clips do you see a trap 30-40 feet from the basket when Jordan is holding the ball, and in NONE of those clips do you see him being doubled without the ball as a denial. The help defense is being run into by Jordan, not the other way around.
Each time Jordan gets an ISO and has all the room in the world to work the ISO until he gets into an area where his teammates are, and consequently where the help defense can be. Because the help is "late" (loose term because it really couldn't be sooner - just late in comparison to how you would see a double these days) they aren't fully collapsed onto Jordan by the time he flails up an out of control shot.
I'm not sure what the point of you posting that video was other than to demonstrate how pathetically simplistic NBA defense was back in the day.
The "zone defense" argument is also hogwash. In Jordan's 2nd comeback prior to his knee injury after the ASG he was putting up 25.1 ppg, 6.2 rpg, and 5.3 apg in 2001-2002 at age 38. What year were zone defenses allowed in the league? 2001-2002.
I know it is from the other thread, but in that era there were still nearly 30 players averaging 20ppg.
Mike James.
Mike James. Think about it.
While rule changes were starting to take place then, not all of them were in effect at the time, and more importantly nobody had adjusted to it. It took five years or so for the strongside trap/weakside zone defense to start rolling out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nepmd2ygMK4
Lebron is a great player but the blinders some of you wear by trying to say he's greater than Michael Jordan is pure lunacy.
Lebron is a more complete player. Jordan is a better scorer. Jordan has a better resume, but when looking at what they had accomplished by the age of 28 that isn't true. Lebron has a way to go to be the greatest of all time, he certainly is NOT now. He is just hitting the start of his prime though and has a good chance to take that crown. His physical gifts are a big part of it, but his IQ and desire to do everything on the floor are what really make that door open to him.
Jordan's unflattering review of Lebron from the article shows how sad of a person he is, just as his Hall of Fame speech did. Guys like Magic and Barkley are some of the all time greats but they celebrate the game and enjoy newcomers. Jordan is unable or incapable of enjoying basketball. The article highlights that even if the author doesn't see it.
Basketball is such a beautiful game. It is the physical version of jazz where repetition and practice meet improvisation to create something we've seen before but never seen before. It is a joy to watch. Unless you are Jordan.
Lebron, likewise is a joy to watch because of his ability and desire to do anything on the court, depending on what was needed. Guard the five? Sure. Guard the one? Sure. Drop 10 assists? Ok. Go for 40+? Got it. The fact that Jordan can't enjoy that is sad in of itself, and when coupled with everything else we know about him makes him a disgusting human being.
It is a great article as the OP suggested. But it is no big reveal.
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