Bill Simmons - "80's players didn't play much defense"

[Collie]

I tried looking for that quote in google, and this thread is the only one that came up.

[iamgine]

I tried looking for that quote in google, and this thread is the only one that came up.

That's cause Bill said it, not write it.

[SOD 21]

That's cause Bill said it, not write it.

It was said on his latest prodcast with Zach Lowe.

[Lebron23]

LMAO at these idiots who thinks that Lebron, Kobe, Harden, Wade and Durant won't survive in the 1980's. F*cking Nostalgia.

[Round Mound]

Defense doesnt really work when you have great ball movement, court vision, higher b-ball iq, desicion making, talent and great post up and mid range shooting. The rules also did not favor perimeter oriented play. Todays game is better at only one thing: 3-point shooting.

[jlip]

He actually said something similar to this the other day on "Pardon the Interruption."

Found it.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espnradio/...ive?id=2406595

Click on or download the audio of "PTI: 3/5/15". Go to the 7 minute mark. Simmons says the following:

"If you watch a game on ESPN Classic from 30 years ago, the guys weren't playing defense."

[pauk]

Its true actually, not all teams, some of them played GOAT defense, but overall... at least compared to many other decades...

[gilalizard]

b-b-but tougher era! More handchecking, nba players today would be ball boys back then!

Calm down. Simmons is noted LeBron stan. He's as desperate as you to prop up his chicken-hearted hero.

[warriorfan]

beta simmons trying to suck up to the little kid demographic

[1987_Lakers]

Simmons isn't the only one who has stated this. Larry Bird & Danny Ainge have said the same thing in the past.

[3ball]

No offense to Bill Simmons but I don't need to confirm what I already knew from watching basketball in the 80's.

There is a reason why the Lakers set an NBA record in 1985 by shooting 54.5% fg. Lots of fastbreak baskets and so-so defense.

Bill Simmons is like most casual fans.. He doesn't understand that when teams aren't seeking 3-point shots or spacing like in the 80's, they don't have to run as much offense.

The only reason teams run offense in the first place is to get OPEN SHOTS - 3-pointers need to be more open than 2-pointers, so they require more offense to be run.. 3-pointers also create spacing - but again, taking advantage of spaced-out defenses requires ball movement and running more offense.. Everything about 3-pointers slows the game down.

Look at the flipside - the two-pointer basketball of previous eras simply played faster.. Two-pointers didn't have to be as open, so teams didn't run as much offense and settled for contested shots more often.. Also, without 3-pointers, there was no spacing, so there was no incentive to run additional offense to get the open shots that spacing provides - spacing provides open shots, but those open shots take TIME to obtain, through the running of more offense.

Why is it important that two-pointer basketball plays faster?.. Because faster-paced basketball doesn't allow defenses to set up as much - when the offense is running up and down and settling for quick, contested two-pointers, the defense must also run up and down just like the offense is.. This can fool the casual fan like Bill Simmons into thinking guys aren't defending, when that's just how two-pointer basketball plays.

If they removed the 3-point line tomorrow, the game would change drastically right away - without the need to seek good 3-point looks, and without the expectation of open shots generated from spacing, teams would not need to run nearly as much offense.. Instead, teams would just start running up and down and settling for contested two-pointers, just like they did in previous eras... Also, defenses would crowd the paint as a standard because they no longer had to guard the 3-point line.
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[Hoopz2332]

80's ball looks like a track meet

[AirBonner]

80's ball looks like a track meet

This. Bunch of track stiff paint packers. The 80's are so primitive compared to modern basketball.

[D-Wait]

b-b-but tougher era! More handchecking, nba players today would be ball boys back then!

How could you not get his sarcasm? smh

[Cali Syndicate]

A lot of the 80's was run n gun basketball. There is truth to what he's saying. There were a few teams that actually did play defense though, although these defensive teams also found themselves playing at the speed with the rest of the league on a regular basis.

Imagine today's top defensive teams having to play run and gun teams like Don Nelson's Warriors on a nightly basis....at some point, these defensive teams will start playing like their opposition and become relative to the same point Simmons was making.