Is Talent in the nba lacking?

[walker834]

Maybe it's me just getting old.  But seems like we are a far shot from the days of Celtics and Lakers in the 80's.  Even the 90's the bulls and knicks and pacers had very strong teams.  Guys like Stockton and Malone and Barkley and Olajuwan and Drexler.   Phoenix had some really strong teams as well with KJ and Chambers and Majerle and Hornecek. Sabonis and Portland.  A lot of those teams never won.  Miami with Mourning and guys like that.

I don't see the raptors or Hawks on that level.  We made the playoffs and are a good bunch of scrappy guys and well coached but we are basically playing with roleplayers because stars seem far and in between. 

A lot of teams are loaded with failed prospects and young players that really fail to reach their potential. 

Lebron just signed a 1 billion dollar shoe deal.  That stuff is absurd to me.  Yeah there are guys like him and Durant and Curry but I feel like Lebron is on steroids.  Will do anything to be the guy and the league is basically at his mercy. It's become so much about money at this point and media where it detracts from the quality of play.

A lot of these players are not that skilled. I feel like teams are beatable and very beatable.  Teams like Houston are a joke in ways.  Talented but have no clue how to play together.

[walker834]

It's much easier to score now too. The rules have been changed to cater to these guys.  If you look at Bird's numbers Bird was a very good 3 point shooter but didn't take nearly as many shots as Pierce. Pierce is a great scorer but not on that level. The record books in sports in general just not basketball are being messed with.  I feel like Curry is very overrated that way. It's become a game of 3's and small  ball where teams were much bigger back then and it was more difficult to score in general.  Teams had to score in a variety of ways and adapt their games.  MChale and Olajuwan and post players like that were basically that.  Dwight Howard can basically get away with being a stiff offensively and just be all roided up.  It seems like it's become more than that actually skill.

[Celtics17]

I don't think it's you getting old, the talent isnt as good at the top. People say that with the influx of foreign players that the league is at an all time high as far as talent goes but I have my doubts. Basketball games are won by top players more then most any sport and the league does currently seem to have a void of 'all time great' players.

The 86 Celtics with a healthy Bill Walton comes to mind. I don't think there is any way barring injury that this year's Warriors beats that team in Finals matchup. It's not certain that the Warriors are even going to be there this year.

I think we are seeing a generation of bball that has fewer quality big men, at least at the top, and consequently is more of a run and gun, long distance shootout game. To me, that's not only boirng but it's really not the way the game should be played. To compliment what you were saying, does anyone really think that any of these players would not dominate the playoffs this year-MJ, Bird, Magic, Malone, Barkley, Olajuwon, Robinson, Ewing.. those are all players from the 80's.

[slightly biased bias fan]

[walker834]

It sure seemed like there were so many other teams back then.  Detroit had some really good teams too with a lot of good players.

Players go straight to the nba now.  Don't develop. The league caters to them.  It's about the money.

It's absurd to me the amount of money these guys make.  Is Lebron really working that much harder than me?  lol.  Not that I work overly hard either but even still.  1 billion dollars that's just ridiculous.

What has lebron done?  He's got a couple titles but he loses more than he wins when he gets there in a watered down league.

Bird, magic, jordan, russell, Duncan, Kobe did not do that. They won more than they lost.

That's just the state of the nba to me.  It's not about winning.  The guy is making a billion dollars losing more than he wins.  That's winning by todays standards.  The media  is no different to me.  They can be wrong a million times but as long as they are getting clicks.  The world is messed up.

You can be a complete idiot in todays world and make a billion dollars.  I guess I 'm a moron.

[dreamgreen]

Right now there is less superstars but over all I think the talent is much better than in the other decades. There are more teams so it's scattered out but almost every team has a few good players. I remember the days of the Clippers and they didn't look like they had any NBA talent on their team.

[Quetzalcoatl]

OKC is going to have to go through the Spurs, Warriors and Cavs and they just might do it.  How many teams from the 80s could run through that?  It is very competitive at the top right now. 

And 1986-87?  There were 3 elite teams: LA, Boston and the Hawks.  Now there are 4. 

[Who]

Yes. Definitely.

The interior play is awful in today's game. Offensively, defensively and in terms of rebounding.

The perimeter play is glorified through rule changes which make it much easier to score from pick and roll play, dribble drive action and perimeter shooting.

[walker834]

the game seems so simplified in general.  It really does cater to that style of play.  Pick and roll drive and kick and shoot 3's. A huge percentage of the game is taken away that way.  I heard what Dwight said about being a big guy in todays game where teams have to get him involved.  I still think he isn't engaged himself though either.  He really had very little motivation to play the way he could though.

Teams play numbers and percentages and just pick and roll and shoot 3's all day.

Where is the skill in that though?

[walker834]

We play hard and scrappy and our own brand of basketball and are able to be successful because we have physical wings who can defend and a couple guys who can shoot.  Isaiah and Bradley and Marcus and Crowder to defend. Pretty mediocre but we are a playoff team and a 1st round exit because we are mediocre at those 2 things.

We have no real big men.  We have sully who can rebound and KO who can range out. And Amir who is fairly mobile and can do some of the dirty work inside.

[GreenWarrior]

the discrepancy between the upper-echelon and the next tier of talent is glaring. and the upper-echelon is extremely lonely. anyone disputing this is not being honest with themselves.

if we had paul pierce in his late 20's right now we'd be the 2 seed in the east regardless of who else was on the team. the league is horribly pitiful currently.

sadly the Celtics are partly to blame for this too.

[Snakehead]

I feel like the NBA in general is more skilled and talented than ever (and athleticsm is at an all time high as well).  The shooting is better than ever.   However, the talent is a bit overrated.  I had the idea even myself but recently broke it down.  I was thinking the ball now was a lot better than say the early 2000's (I think in general most think of that time period as a dark time) and there are actually a ton of great players in that era if you break it down.  We have some real greats right now but I think the step or two down All Stars are not as good as guys from previous eras.

I think the big men is especially an area of weakness.  I think the hacking rules did their damage (limiting the best recent bigs like Howard, Drummond, Jordan in effectiveness) but I think a big part of the shift to small ball is just there not being as good of bigs.  Hoping that keeps improving in the NBA going forward.

[celticsclay]

the discrepancy between the upper-echelon and the next tier of talent is glaring. and the upper-echelon is extremely lonely. anyone disputing this is not being honest with themselves.

if we had paul pierce in his late 20's right now we'd be the 2 seed in the east regardless of who else was on the team. the league is horribly pitiful currently.

sadly the Celtics are partly to blame for this too.

I do agree with this. While there were certainly powerhouse teams in earlier eras, the era of the super teams like the Heat, Spurs and Cavs is a major problem for the competitiveness of the NBA. Each teaming wanting to have 2 or 3 superstars, means they are not spread out among different teams. This has become really bad in the east where the series for the most part haven't even been competitive. The first round should not be the only entertaining round of the playoffs (although injuries haven't helped)

[guava_wrench]

the discrepancy between the upper-echelon and the next tier of talent is glaring. and the upper-echelon is extremely lonely. anyone disputing this is not being honest with themselves.

This has always been the case. In fact, It is the case in most sports.

But overall, the talent level in the NBA is the highest it has ever been. "Anyone disputing this is not being honest with themselves."

Btw, I love how you talk so absolutely about such a vague assertion.

[guava_wrench]

Maybe it's me just getting old.  But seems like we are a far shot from the days of Celtics and Lakers in the 80's.  Even the 90's the bulls and knicks and pacers had very strong teams.  Guys like Stockton and Malone and Barkley and Olajuwan and Drexler.   Phoenix had some really strong teams as well with KJ and Chambers and Majerle and Hornecek. Sabonis and Portland.  A lot of those teams never won.  Miami with Mourning and guys like that.

I don't see the raptors or Hawks on that level.  We made the playoffs and are a good bunch of scrappy guys and well coached but we are basically playing with roleplayers because stars seem far and in between. 

A lot of teams are loaded with failed prospects and young players that really fail to reach their potential. 

Lebron just signed a 1 billion dollar shoe deal.  That stuff is absurd to me.  Yeah there are guys like him and Durant and Curry but I feel like Lebron is on steroids.  Will do anything to be the guy and the league is basically at his mercy. It's become so much about money at this point and media where it detracts from the quality of play.

A lot of these players are not that skilled. I feel like teams are beatable and very beatable.  Teams like Houston are a joke in ways.  Talented but have no clue how to play together.

KJ, Chambers, Hornecek and Majerle? Really? How many HOF players is that? There are always teams of that caliber. Nothing impressive there.

Sabonis in Portland? Really? Yeah, he is an all time great player. So what? There are mediocre teams with players of his caliber all the time.

What makes the OP completely not make sense it is cherry picking teams here and there over 2 decades. There is no depth to the analysis. So systematic examination of players and teams.

We are in a season right now where a stacked San Antonio team with an all-time defense couldn't get past the second round. Look at the top 3 teams in the west and Cleveland in the east. 4 stacked teams just this season.

Lebron's endorsements are nothing new. Have you heard of Michael Jordan?