"From the article"
Are Defences Tougher Now?
As I covered before in the hand-checking section the removal of hand checking led to the NBA’s worst season for defending perimeter players. Although scoring has slowed down since then it is common knowledge that players score a lot more then they did when compared to twenty or thirty years ago. One thing that cannot be disputed is that today’s defences are not as physical as previous. One only has to look at best defences of the past such as the ‘Bad boy Pistons’ and 92 Knicks when compared to top defences today such as the Miami Heat and San Antoni Spurs to see that there is a difference. Defensive techniques such as wrapping, hand-checking and even mauling have all been removed from the game.
In the 2011 off-season the NBA introduced a rule that states if contact is made with a player while he is at full extension when attempting a layup or dunk then an immediate flagrant foul is given to the defensive player. Rules such as this are responsible for defences being less physical than twenty years ago. It is worth noting that defences are more sophisticated now than before due to the advancements in technology and better coaching, but I don’t believe that these single advancements are enough to out-weigh the changes in the game of basketball.
Conclusion
Courtesy: Yahoo Sports
Adding all this together; the removal of hand-checking, the addition of the three second rule, less physical defences and the lack of big men in the game today leads us to only one conclusion; it is easier for perimeter players to perform at a high level today than compared to in previous years.
I took the time to explain all of this because I feel that it is drastically overlooked by many NBA fans and the media when it comes to comparing the current players to the past ones. Many times the media will hype up an achievement without putting it in proper perspective. An example of this is LeBron’s recent run of 6 games shooting over 60% while scoring 30 points or more. Yes, LeBron is to be commended for shooting efficiently and reading what the defence gave him and adjusting accordingly, but it is important to put into perspective the circumstances which he did it in.
Hopefully this blog post has educated you in the changes of the NBA, although it seems that I might be bashing the NBA there have been many positive consequences to this, for example, the increase in marketing for perimeter players that has lead to more people becoming interested in the NBA.
Although I generally dislike using quotes from NBA players and coaches I will leave you with some regarding the changes of the NBA.
During a 2007 L.A. Lakers pre-season broadcast, Phil Jackson was asked how he thought Michael Jordan would perform today, Phil said: “Michael would average 45 with these rules.”
MJ also says due to defensive rule changes like hand checking, if he played in today’s NBA, dropping triple digits would be reachable for him. “It’s less physical and the rules have changed, obviously.” says Jordan. “Based on these rules, if I had to play with my style of play, I’m pretty sure I would have fouled out or I would have been at the free throw line pretty often and I could have scored 100 points.”
“You can’t even touch a guy now,” says Charlotte coach Larry Brown. “The college game is much more physical than our game. I always tease Michael [Jordan], if he played today, he’d average 50.”
“The history book inspires them to be some of the best,” said Jordan. “Rules have changed to help them. I could have averaged 50 points today!”
http://dimemag.com/2009/11/michael-jordan-dwyane-wade-unveil-the-air-jordan-2010/Question for Clyde Drexler:
“In the current league where there is no hand checking and no ruff play how much better would your numbers be?”
Clyde Drexler: “Oh, tremendously better, from shooting percentage to points per game everything would be up, and our old teams would score a lot more points, and that is saying something because we could score a lot back then. I do think there should be an asterisk next to some of these scoring leaders, because it is much different trying to score with a forearm in your face. It is harder to score with that resistance. You had to turn your back on guys defending you back in the day with all the hand checking that was going on. For guys who penetrate these days, it’s hunting season. Yes, now you can play (floating)zone(legally), but teams rarely do.”
“The defensive rules, the hand checking, the ability to make contact on a guy in certain areas …. [have] all been taken away from the game. If Kobe could get 81, I think Michael could get 100 in today’s game.”
- Scottie Pippen – January 2006
Hall of Famer Rick Barry, a keen observer of the game, said he would love to see players of the past getting to attack the basket under the new officiating. “They’d score a lot more,” he said.
Tex Winter said. “Players today can get to the basket individually much easier.”
Asked if he could defend Jordan under today’s interpretation of the rules, Dumars first laughed, “It would have been virtually impossible to defend Michael Jordan based on the way the game’s being called right now.”
