I cannot take this current era of players seriously because of no hand checking

[keep-itreal]

Lebron and Kobe will never be greater than michael jordan.

They are playing in an era when a defender is not allowed to touch you when driving to the basketball. Do people just not see how ridiculous this is? Lebron and Kobe can drive to the basketball all day without someone placing a finger on them. It's just too easy. The rules cater to them so they can score easily.

Am I right?

[gts]

No you're not right

[ralph_i_el]

[pauk]

Contact is still allowed just as much (body), you are just not allowed to put your hands on them and imo you can still do that today to some extent (many get away with it).....

I dont know why everybody just think defense immediately they hear about handchecking? Its not like you were not allowed to counter it! While handchecking makes it even tougher for you to drive you as an offensive player were allowed to use your hands aswell (something MJ managed to exploit to hell).... so its a 50-50 here.... today using your hands as an offensive player (to push of, move away opponents hands etc.) is an automatic foul....

Somebody like Lebron on the perimeter in the 90s would abuse the freedom of handchecking offensively & defensively dramatically i think.... he is already so big & strong out there and now you allow him to use his hands offensively? No matter how much the defender handchecks him, HE would win that battle countering it with his physique / own hands.

Lebron i think would actually benefit from handchecking, Durant however might not prevail equally well.

[KobesFinger]

Hand-checking isn't something that makes it impossible to drive. The defender just isn't allowed to keep his hand on the offensive player. We could flip your argument and say Jordan is an overrated defender because he was allowed to hand check whereas the current era isn't.

[Quickening]

Have you see the size of Lebron compared to Jordan... and you think a less physical era benefits him more?

[selrahc]

kobe played in the hand checking era

[Bob Dole]

Zones and more complex defenses easily make up for the lack of or less hand-checking seen today.

[Prometheus]

No you're not right

Contact is still allowed just as much (body), you are just not allowed to put your hands on them and imo you can still do that today to some extent (many get away with it).....

I dont know why everybody just think defense immediately they hear about handchecking? Its not like you were not allowed to counter it! While handchecking makes it even tougher for you to drive you as an offensive player were allowed to use your hands aswell (something MJ managed to exploit to hell).... so its a 50-50 here.... today using your hands as an offensive player (to push of, move away opponents hands etc.) is an automatic foul....

Somebody like Lebron on the perimeter in the 90s would abuse the freedom of handchecking offensively & defensively dramatically i think.... he is already so big & strong out there and now you allow him to use his hands offensively? No matter how much the defender handchecks him, HE would win that battle countering it with his physique / own hands.

Lebron i think would actually benefit from handchecking, Durant however might not prevail equally well.

Hand-checking isn't something that makes it impossible to drive. The defender just isn't allowed to keep his hand on the offensive player. We could flip your argument and say Jordan is an overrated defender because he was allowed to hand check whereas the current era isn't.

Have you see the size of Lebron compared to Jordan... and you think a less physical era benefits him more?

kobe played in the hand checking era

Zones and more complex defenses easily make up for the lack of or less hand-checking seen today.

Good call OP

[Milbuck]

Let's be honest, Kobe and Lebron would be Marshon Brooks and Khris Middleton in MJ's era.

[Prometheus]

Let's be honest, Kobe and Lebron would be Marshon Brooks and Khris Middleton in MJ's era.

If that's the case, then Giannis would be a used car salesman.

[Milbuck]

If that's the case, then Giannis would be a used car salesman.

Only if/when he got bored of Bill Russell'ing the competition. And he'd be the GOAT car salesman as well.

[Prometheus]

Only if/when he got bored of Bill Russell'ing the competition. And he'd be the GOAT car salesman as well.

[Prometheus]

Dammit, I just can't troll you Milbuck.

[jlip]

We could flip your argument and say Jordan is an overrated defender because he was allowed to hand check whereas the current era isn't.

This is a point I've made many times. I have often been a defender of older eras, but we can't have our proverbial cake and eat it too. If it were tougher to score in older eras because of hand checking, then that means it was easier to defend also because of hand checking. Going by the logic of the OP and many supporters of that theory, if hand checking is the great game changer some people make it out to be, then good defenders of that era would struggle today without having that "crutch" just as great scorers of this generation would struggle back then with it being present.