It has been asked in this thread and other threads whether the game style from 30 years ago or the current game style should be used.
- If players can clothesline someone on a fast break and have it be a common foul, yeah- I could see current players complaining.
- If players can be taken out by a RedRover style arm lock between defenders, yeah- I could see current players complaining.
- But if current rules are used, then no- current players wouldnt complain(more than they already do) and the '92 team would be totally 17ed until they adjusted how they played, if they could do that before all fouling out or being tossed for an FF2 or 2 FF1s.
If each team had to play one game with their rules and one game with the different rules and had 2 weeks to adjust, I dont think the current team would start crying like you claim. These are incredible athletes who have the intelligence and skill to exploit opponent's weaknesses and adjust to how games are being called. 2 weeks would be plenty of time.
They could play a 4 out 1 in motion and completely clown on the '92 big men not being able to consistently defend that far out. Or they could play the unheard of 5 out 0 in and just shoot over the top of the defense the entire time. Durant and Booker are shooting 62.5% from deep, Booker is at 62.5% from deep. Halibuton, Holiday, and Edwards are 50% from deep. Both Embiid and Davis shoot reliably from deep but havent shot much in the tournament because they havent needed to. And Curry, one of the best shooters from deep in history, is the one weak point so far.
^ I kid about the 5 out 0 in offense. Point is- none of the '92 bigs even shot further than like 15' from the hoop and the team barely shot 40% from a 3pt line that was 19" shorter than it currently is. The current team is shooting better and further from deep, with more players shooting from deep, and against significantly better defenses.
++something cool that I saw- Barkley was a boss from deep in '92. Didnt shoot it a lot, but was 7 for 8 in total. He was a turrble 26% shooter from 3 in his NBA career.++
Your point about the 2024 team having exceptional 3-point shooters is certainly valid. With stats like that, who would argue otherwise?
Also, I agree that the scenario you set forth (where the 24 and 92 teams have two weeks to practice the other team's style/rules of play) would be tougher for the 92 team for at least two reasons:
1) The 3-point line wasn't around when the 92 players were learning to shoot and figuring out how to play the game. The 92 players didn't grow up shooting 3-pointers every day at the gym, whereas the 24 players have been shooting 3-pointers since they first picked up a basketball.
2) Basketball in 1992 had more of a contribution from "big men" (i.e., power forwards and centers), whereas "big men" essentially do not exist in today's game because of the emphasis on shooting 3-pointers. (I think you made this same point using different words.)
Today's style of play would translate more easily to the 1992 rules. Conversely, the 1992 style of play would not match up very well to today's rules.
Certainly, the more time the 92 team had to practice and adjust to today's rules and style of play, the better they could play. Most likely, if the 92 team knew they had to play by today's rules, then they very likely would have selected different players, thereby further increasing the chances for success.
If the teams played by the 1992 rules, then I think the 92 team wins at least 75% of the time. The 24 team is very athletic, but they have been playing "soft" basketball for a long time and it would take them some time to ramp up their game to a high enough level to beat the 92 team using the 92 rules.
Along the same lines, but a different question: is today's basketball better without the traditional centers and power forwards?
Myself, I miss the style of basketball where there was a wider variety of defined roles for players (e.g., point guard, shooting guard, small forward, power forward, center).
As I've said many times before, almost every player in today's game just spots up somewhere on the 3-point line and either shoots a 3 or drives all the way to the basket, regardless of whether he's tall, short, skinny, stocky, quick, or slow. It seems there's not as much strategy in today's game. (just my opinion)
Again . . . is today's game better without players like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Robert Parish, Moses Malone, Dikembe Mutombo, Alonzo Mourning, Patrick Ewing, Akeem Olajuwon, James Worthy, Kevin McHale, Karl Malone, Manute Bol, Shaquille O'Neil, and Darryl Dawkins ("Chocolate Thunder")?
www.foxnews.com
