[VIDEO/Discussion] Jerry West... is he a better all around player than Kobe?

[CavaliersFTW]

http://youtu.be/d8rjREaql2U

The more footage I find the better his moves and defense seems to get

[Punpun]

>Defense
>In the 70


About that Cavaliers..

[CavaliersFTW]

>Defense
>In the 70


About that Cavaliers..

Stern's Hero-ballers getting sent to the line every time a defender bats an eyelash/sneezes/coughs/farts or simply imagines contact with them... about that Punpun...

[Punpun]

At least players have to play REAL DEFENSE instead of dropping the pretense of defense altogether and just elbow people in the face.

[CavaliersFTW]

At least players have to play REAL DEFENSE instead of dropping the pretense of defense altogether and just elbow people in the face.

I'm not saying one way is better than the other I'm just providing a counterpoint that needs to be taken into consideration, since you provided the initial point that also needs to be taken into consideration.

West's moves on the court are way better than I expected and they're getting better the more footage I uncover, moves like he has are exactly what Sternball caters too, so I feel like any defensive lapses from his era could more or less be rendered moot based on how easily ticy-tac fouls are called on the players of his caliber today.

[1987_Lakers]

He couldn't dribble with his left hand and I severely doubt he had the post moves of Kobe.

[jlip]

This is how you do a highlight video. Great job at showing all aspects of West's game especially the defense. 5:12-6:53 was my favorite part.

[CavaliersFTW]

He couldn't dribble with his left hand and I severely doubt he had the post moves of Kobe.

He dribbles with his left hand many times in the video, sure he favors his right, but let's not pretend he's inept with his left hand - I think this is a non-issue, he's capable of getting where he wants to go and putting the ball in the hoop. I also don't think his post moves would be on par with Kobe's, but his mid-range game seems better.

[Deuce Bigalow]

"Kobe is the greatest Laker ever"

-Jerry West

[1987_Lakers]

He dribbles with his left hand many times in the video, sure he favors his right, but let's not pretend he's inept with his left hand - I think this is a non-issue, he's capable of getting where he wants to go and putting the ball in the hoop. I also don't think his post moves would be on par with Kobe's, but his mid-range game seems better.

I think it would be a big issue in today's NBA. A guard needs to have great ball handling skills to be an elite scorer in today's league and West wasn't a great ball handler.

[CavaliersFTW]

"Kobe is the greatest Laker ever"

-Jerry West

How humble is JerrHovah

[BoutPractice]

He lacks Kobe's individual and team accomplishments, but he is better than everyone besides Jordan and Kobe at his position.

[jlip]

He couldn't dribble with his left hand and I severely doubt he had the post moves of Kobe.

The Logo?

[Deuce Bigalow]

How humble is JerrHovah

It's not about being humble. Kobe would destroy West.
A 1 on 1 game to 21, I would say Kobe wins 21-7

[CavaliersFTW]

I think it would be a big issue in today's NBA. A guard needs to have great ball handling skills to be an elite scorer in today's league and West wasn't a great ball handler.

Jerry West actually dribbles, and he is doing a great job at dribbling. The NBA today allows carrying, and it added a new dimension to the term "ball handler" but it simply wasn't allowed in his time and it's actually the likeliest reason he and other players of that era favor one hand so much because the result of tighter rules means you just can't make the same kinds of corrections with sides of your hands like you can today - there's no safety net. Here's an important point to note that someone posted on a different forum.

Few players in the Sixties "had" [ utilized ] a "left hand" [ i.e., a well-developed 'off-hand' dribble ], though not necessarily because they lacked ball-handling skill. Back then, with a faster tempo game, players tended to stay with their more dominant hand in an attempt to curtail TOs, which could lead to easy transition points for the opposition ...

At that time, as now, coaches hated turnovers, but then players actually heeded coaches to a greater degree. Coaches, in general, also detested "showboating" in those days, so fancy dribbling exhibitions [ outside of Boston and Harlem, anyway ] were frequently met with disdain [ Similarly, there was a lot less dunking in the Sixties, too, not so much because the players then could not dunk -- the centers and forwards certainly could, as could many of the bigger guards, no doubt -- but the emphasis was elsewhere because most of the coaches of that era simply were not fans of that ****. ] ...

More importantly, the standard of what was considered legal ball handling was much different forty or, especially, fifty years ago than it is now. If your hand was not clearly "on top of the ball" when you dribbled, Sixties referees blew their whistles for a carry call. Even the typical modern crossover dribble today would almost certainly result in a 'discontinuous dribble' call in 1965; a Rose, Paul, or Iverson in the Sixties would have ten TOs per game [ or they would dribble more conservatively to avoid such a disastrous fate ] ...

If West were playing today, he would ballhandle 'differently' [ meaning with more modern flair ], just like he would probably 'increase' his shooting range from 19-21 feet out to 23-25 feet [ to take some advantage of the 3-point evolution of the game ]. I have no doubt he could easily make both those adjustments and be a great player in 2012, just as he was in 1967 ...