Gen Z is really pushing the “The 90s were awful” angle lately.

[RRR3]

Being clearly above average over 100 playoff games is too long to call it a hot streak. I didn't say he was Reggie freakin' Miller.

So he just chose to miss in the regular season? And you’re disregarding volume completely? Stuff like this is why the whole “we done with the 90s thing exists”. You guys are completely incapable of admitting your hero had flaws. Until you stop pretending he was some deadly 3pt shooter it will continue.

[Kblaze8855]

You likely know I watched Jordans entire career and he is comfortably my favorite player of all time, but I never had a problem with the idea he wasn’t a good three-point shooter. He just wasn’t. He doesn’t have to be everything just because standards changed decades after he was building his skill set.he was a good shooter. But you aren’t supposed to be good at something you didn’t value and didn’t work on. What he would be today is irrelevant. He was a great shooter who did not show consistent range as we judge it today. And that’s the issue. He wasn’t playing today so I’m not sure why we expect him to. The statistical specifics of a dominant performance dont really matter.

saying he isn’t a good three-point shooter is no more unreasonable to me than saying a lot of modern guards don’t have a back to the basket game. They added a rule on the top level that made it illegal to back down for five seconds so guards on every level stopped protecting the ball by backing down so they didn’t develop that part of the game as well. it’s a perfectly good explanation, but it doesn’t take away from the fact they don’t have that in their skill set for the most part.

The truth having a valid explanation doesn’t make it false. Just explains the truth.

The truth is Jordan didn’t take or make many threes especially on the full distance line.

Both that…and being better than people who did…can be true at the same time.

It’s definitely more true to say he wasn’t a good three-point shooter than to say he didn’t have an offhand.

[TheMan]

Apparently Mike Peek is expanding his horizons into 80's WWE. I can't wait for the video on the Red Rooster.

What I find especially hilarious is that this dude is so obviously doing satire but kids taking it like he's being serious Bad look, Zoomers

[Soundwave]

I believe someone posted that in games where Jordan shot more than two 3s, his percentage went up over 35% from the 3, which is respectable, that's in line with what Luka Doncic has shot for his career. Hard to get into a rhythm with a long distance shot if you're only shooting 1-2 a night.

His shot mechanics are just very good, good release, great lift, very nice follow through, shooting arm placement in the correct "shooting pocket", good rotation on the ball when released, not a whole lot to dislike there.

Now if you want to stomp your feet and huff and puff about "he should have shot more then!", well a player can only play in the time period they exist in, you don't get the benefit of knowing how the sport is played 25 years after the fact, 25 years from now there will be different strategies and people will ask why current players didn't more of XYZ.

At the end of the day he was getting 30+ points a night for his career and winning championships left and right, what difference does it really make whether they came from the 2 or the 3, really. Ain't nobody else averaging 30 for their career right now, call me when there is someone who is there 8, 9 years into their career.

[warriorfan]

free throw% and how good of a shooter you are has a pretty strong correlation

most guys who shoot over 80% are going to be able to have a decent 3 point shot

[Soundwave]

free throw% and how good of a shooter you are has a pretty strong correlation

most guys who shoot over 80% are going to be able to have a decent 3 point shot

You can also look at the shot form, but generally yes. It just wasn't a big priority shot in the 90s.

When you have incredible, explosive athleticism and dunking ability too, there's not a whole lot of incentive to play like ... Steph Curry. Steph plays that way because he's an undersized 2 guard (really) who's dad was a 3 point specialist. There's no reason for a Michael Jordan to develop his game that way, Steph Curry wouldn't have either if he was 6'6, giant hands, tremendous vertical leap and his dad was Dr. J instead.

[tpols]

Aside from the absurd sagging defenses another thing I've noticed since studying the tape is dudes in the 80s didn't have to fight for post position on the throw in entry pass.

Look at this.



And there's a 100 more examples on the page where the defender doesn't even ATTEMPT to wrestle and front. Just let's them catch it free!

How the **** do they allow such easy catches?

[Kblaze8855]

That’s gonna vary with the gameplan. There were a lot more polished post players, and a great deal of them would punish you when you try to front. Without even watching the clip, I can see the Celtics are involved and if Dennis Johnson or bird are on the court and you front who they’re trying to get the ball to they could just throw it off the backboard from the top of the key and still get it to him.


But some people, Pippen, for example, were almost specialists at ball denial in the post. Pippen or Hakeem would lull you to sleep then spring out from behind the tip the entry pass away. Pippen did it while facing bigger defenders all the time. And it’s a big part of how Hakeem was near the league lead in steals as a center. Like everything else it’s gonna vary. You can make any point you want.

I could put together a pretty extensive video on just Pippen post steals and deflections. Hakeem would do it in such a way he could double the guard and get back to tap away the entry to the “open” big he left on the post.

It was a bit of a chess match.

[Kblaze8855]

Not a one time thing. I’ve seen Bird and DJ both throw that pass. Sometimes to Mchale. They were gonna get that ball in the post one way or the other. Those two…Mchale…Walton. All time basketball IQ. All of them spent their lives in or feeding the post. They knew what they were doing.

[dankok8]

So he just chose to miss in the regular season? And you’re disregarding volume completely? Stuff like this is why the whole “we done with the 90s thing exists”. You guys are completely incapable of admitting your hero had flaws. Until you stop pretending he was some deadly 3pt shooter it will continue.

His volume was low. But that's a different argument altogether. Is Bird not a great 3pt shooter because he shot so few? Is Lillard a better 3pt shooter than Reggie Miller because he takes and makes more?

[SATAN]

[RRR3]

His volume was low. But that's a different argument altogether. Is Bird not a great 3pt shooter because he shot so few? Is Lillard a better 3pt shooter than Reggie Miller because he takes and makes more?

Bird shot 32% from 3 in the playoffs. So by your logic yes he’s a bad shooter. Caught.

[dankok8]

Bird shot 32% from 3 in the playoffs. So by your logic yes he’s a bad shooter. Caught.

No I didn't get caught because I wouldn't take Bird's numbers outside of his prime to mean squat. 1984-1988 is prime Bird.

[kentatm]

His volume was low. But that's a different argument altogether. Is Bird not a great 3pt shooter because he shot so few? Is Lillard a better 3pt shooter than Reggie Miller because he takes and makes more?

Geez, reading this thread is depressing. Won't be long until dudes start trying to say Dirk wasn't a good shooter.

[tpols]

Geez, reading this thread is depressing. Won't be long until dudes start trying to say Dirk wasn't a good shooter.

Bird shot 32% from 3 in his playoff career. On a sample size that is signifigant. Dirk not only shot way better, but he made almost double the volume of 3s.

This is where people are starting to draw the line with old heads. The facts don't support your nostalgia. Dirk was better than Bird. And he mightve been better than Kobe. But he was a low key guy in the media.