80's MVP's vs 00's MVP's

[Whoah10115]

The biggest mismatch in 00s teams favor would be Shaq-Kareem and Lebron-Magic... Shaq would humiliate Kareem... and Lebron would do the same to Magic... Magic has absolutely zero chance against defending Lebron, with that bad defense and lankier/less athletic body Lebron would be able to just troll Magic...... and we all know how well Lebrons defense is, Magic would be no trouble whatsoever... infact i think Lebron would be the best defensive matchup on Magic in NBA history, he is bigger, stronger, faster, quicker and the defensive IQ is marvelous....

Listen, there is nothing to discuss. There is no such thing as guarding Magic Johnson. Lebron is 100% not as good and that's what it is.



Stop Magic from scoring...so the best passer in the history of basketball is gonna be feeding everyone else?



No, the 00's don't have a shot.




Besides, Shaq embarrassing Kareem is taking it way too far. When Shaq plays against great players, the refs allow fewer elbows to the face.

[Sarcastic]

i am honestly trying my very best not to be biased here or something...

Lebron is 6'9-260 and jumps higher, is faster, is stronger, is quicker... can shut down anybody from Derrick Rose to Gasol/Dwight Howard.....

Magic would be more limited by Lebron than anybody could have limited Magic in NBA history....

Think about it... you would just lie to yourself if you think Lebron would not be able to just... toy with Magic...

He might be able to stop Magic from scoring, but he's not stopping him from making pin point passes to the correct option.

[chips93]

defensively

pippen >>> lebron

magic would be just fine

[pauk]

He might be able to stop Magic from scoring, but he's not stopping him from making pin point passes to the correct option.

He would limit that to.. Magic would be to busy most of the time worrying about not turning the ball over, worrying about his ballsecurity/ballhandling as Lebron fullcourt presses him and makes him spin and turn left and right for his dear life....

If you watched the 1991 Finals... Pippen on Magic... you will know what i mean...



Lebron will make Magic think twice about ever playing Point-Guard again as a slow 6'9 guy when he is guarding you.... and god that HIGH dribble Magic had.... Lebron would be deflecting/poking the ball 24-7....

[-23-]

He would limit that to.. Magic would be to busy most of the time worrying about not turning the ball over, worrying about his ballsecurity/ballhandling as Lebron fullcourt presses him and makes him spin and turn left and right for his dear life....

If you watched the 1991 Finals... Pippen on Magic... you will know what i mean...



Lebron will make Magic think twice about ever playing Point-Guard again as a slow 6'9 guy when he is guarding you....

You're comparing pippen, an all time great defender with Lebron?

[chips93]

pippen slowing magic in the finals is a myth

magic did just fine with pippen on him, he would have no problems with lebron

lebron cant pressure the ball full court, certainly not against magic

[TheMan]

Gimme the team with GOAT.
80s FTW

[Sarcastic]

He would limit that to.. Magic would be to busy most of the time worrying about not turning the ball over, worrying about his ballsecurity/ballhandling as Lebron fullcourt presses him and makes him spin and turn left and right for his dear life....

If you watched the 1991 Finals... Pippen on Magic... you will know what i mean...



Lebron will make Magic think twice about ever playing Point-Guard again as a slow 6'9 guy when he is guarding you.... and god that HIGH dribble Magic had.... Lebron would be deflecting/poking the ball 24-7....

Magic had like double digit assists in every game, including 20 in the final game. The reason the Lakers lost was that the Bulls were just better, and the Lakers didn't have Kareem as a scoring option. Give Magic Johnson scoring options like Jordan, and Bird in his prime, and he is virtually unstoppable. On top of that, he was 31 at that time and at the end of his prime.

[Sarcastic]

pippen slowing magic in the finals is a myth

magic did just fine with pippen on him, he would have no problems with lebron

lebron cant pressure the ball full court, certainly not against magic

This is absolutely true. Magic had a phenomenal series, it's just that the Lakers were starting Divac at center instead of Kareem.

[pauk]

Magic had like double digit assists in every game, including 20 in the final game. The reason the Lakers lost was that the Bulls were just better, and the Lakers didn't have Kareem as a scoring option. Give Magic Johnson scoring options like Jordan, and Bird in his prime, and he is virtually unstoppable. On top of that, he was 31 at that time and at the end of his prime.

Pippen was not on him all the time, he was mostly busy worrying about James Worthy... defending Magic he traded it with a mismatch caused by James Worthy now instead.... but the times he was on Magic he significantly slowed him down...

like seen here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbjBJy6AWQA

If you watched the series, Pippen deflected/poked and stole the ball away from Magic more than he would like and made his job as tough as ever.. he averaged also 5 turnovers that series... Magic was not able to ragdoll him in the post either... Magics game was limited to only PASSING when Pippen was on him...

[TheMan]

He would limit that to.. Magic would be to busy most of the time worrying about not turning the ball over, worrying about his ballsecurity/ballhandling as Lebron fullcourt presses him and makes him spin and turn left and right for his dear life....

If you watched the 1991 Finals... Pippen on Magic... you will know what i mean...



Lebron will make Magic think twice about ever playing Point-Guard again as a slow 6'9 guy when he is guarding you.... and god that HIGH dribble Magic had.... Lebron would be deflecting/poking the ball 24-7....

This is is just embarrassing, obviously you never watched Prime Magic, LeBron isn't clowining Magic, GTFO

[Champ]

i am honestly trying my very best not to be biased here or something...

Lebron is 6'9-260 and jumps higher, is faster, is stronger, is quicker... can shut down anybody from Derrick Rose to Gasol/Dwight Howard.....

Magic would be more limited by Lebron than anybody could have limited Magic in NBA history....

Think about it... you would just lie to yourself if you think Lebron would not be able to just... toy with Magic...

OK, trying to respect your honest opinion here, but...

Comparing Rose or Gasol or Howard to Magic is ludicrous. Magic is one of the most complete offensive players in history. In order to shut him down, even a great defender would have to address multiple strengths at the same time.

Generally speaking, it can't be done. If you shut down his shot, he will carve you up with his passing, if you play the pass he will shoot; if you challenge him, he will penetrate and dish, or be smart enough to run off of screens and then shoot or dish; he will make you dizzy on the break by rebounding and then taking off -- as fast as Lebron is, a basketball in flight is faster, especially coming from the hands of someone like Magic.

Do you see where I'm going with this? This is why truly complete players like Magic or Bird could never be completely shut down -- by anyone. Instead, they would dog and bate their opponents by emphasizing the many elements of their game depending on the situation. You shut down their shot, fine, they will pass, and vice versa. They didn't care about scoring, but winning.

You rarely saw them pulling the isolation crap you see today when it was at the expense of their team. You might see it occasionally when the game was on the line, but not when it would disrupt the flow of ball movement and fundamental team offense. Watch the 80s Celtics or Lakers move the ball on offense, and then watch a Miami Heat game and you'll see the difference.

They also hustled, banged, and led (esp. in the clutch) -- all areas where Lebron has come under fire in the past.

Back to the discussion. I really think the Magic/Lebron matchup is a big advantage for the 80s squad -- especially with regards to the point position.

[Champ]

He would limit that to.. Magic would be to busy most of the time worrying about not turning the ball over, worrying about his ballsecurity/ballhandling as Lebron fullcourt presses him and makes him spin and turn left and right for his dear life....

If you watched the 1991 Finals... Pippen on Magic... you will know what i mean...



Lebron will make Magic think twice about ever playing Point-Guard again as a slow 6'9 guy when he is guarding you.... and god that HIGH dribble Magic had.... Lebron would be deflecting/poking the ball 24-7....

You do realize the the "high dribble" that Magic, Isiah, and so many other great guards had back in the day was because players weren't allowed to "palm" the basketball.

Before Jordan, Iverson, and the rest, it used to be a real rule. Seriously.

[stallionaire]

Honestly, I respect 80s ball but that 00s team looks way too nasty...

[Whoah10115]

Pauk, get over it.




Lebron is a great defender. And Pippen is better. Big ole period.



No one is stopping Magic. Magic is A BETTER PLAYER THAN LEBRON JAMES. PERIOD. No question. Not an argument. Not even close. Magic Johnson is better and no one can stop Magic. I agree, Lebron might be the best cover for him, but who cares?




And who cares if you "respect 80's ball"? The three best players on the court are, undoubtedly, Magic, Michael, Larry. And Michael is the most athletic.




The 80's team would kill the 00's team. Shaq would not get away with shit against Kareem, if they make it. And even tho I think Bucks Kareem is better, THAT (including playoffs) is as good as Kareem has ever played. He was a monster in the playoffs. He actually stepped up all playoffs. Shaq is not going to destroy Kareem. That's a wash.



The three best players are the 80's players...get real people.