If Kobe Bryant from 2006 magically went back in time to 1963, I personally think he would score 101+ in a single game if the 3 point line existed.
He’d score more than that
When I saw those clips I imagined Westbrook being transported back then with how athletic he is...those players heads would explode if they were up against him lol.
Westbrook playing as you imagine him playing would get called for carrying, palming, and offensive fouls every time he bumped someone or tried to change direction.
The amount of offensive fouls called in that game for virtually nonexistent contact on drives inside would put the brakes on any player that likes to fly in from the wing over top of other players. And how would he get space for his drive? If he played in that game - he'd have to play LIKE the players are playing in that game.
The players heads wouldn't explode. Wilt played in that era. Closer to Westbrook's size: Gus Johnson played in that era.
Honest question... did Baylor dribble at least two bounces at all with his left hand during the entire clip? I don't even recall seeing one left handed dribble.
Honest question - you ever watch John Stockton? MJ? Magic?
Find a game of them completing a play using their left hand *more* than Baylor.
Baylor's first shot of the game is a left handed drive then layup.
It's interesting to me how quick people are to notice Baylor as right hand dominant - when he's actually a pretty solid play finisher with his off hand. He may not be like Kyrie Irving out there, but he's as good at off hand direction and hand finishing as many of the greatest guards to ever play let alone forwards.
The level of skil and athleticism of today’s players is so much different that 50 years ago. When people tell you that Jerry West and Elgin Baylor were great, they were...in comparison to their peers.
If you took almost anybody out of todays NBA and magically transported them onto one of those teams in 1963 they would average 60 points a game easily, and I mean anyone. Our summer league team this year would have had an undefeated season in 1963s nba.
When considering this video think about this. Any scrub in today’s NBA is better than the best player in the NBA 50 years go. Does that mean any scrub in the NBA in 2070 will be better than Lebron James or Kevin Durant?
Summer league?
I'm telling you guys, the rules are dictating what those guys are doing on the floor. You catch the odd play of those guys trucking it down the floor and nobody is in the wide range of positions they had to draw a charge you see the talent. Charges were called for almost ANYTHING back then all the benefit went to a defender merely for standing in the way. Traffic cone defense LITERALLY worked back then - hell, guys could back off you in the post and if you barrelled inside as an offensive player and even rubbed against their jersey you'd turn the ball over. Notice, there's no no-charge circle? Literally can't drive in for a hard layup let alone dunk over players without risking a charge. That's why a common shot type back then was a running hook either handed. Not a high percentage shot by modern standards but what options do you have when you can't touch a guy planted in front of you between you and the basket?
Speaking of how to even get past your man? Most NBA guards let alone everyone else who's as big as 6-10 dribbling the ball from the bottom to the top today can't make it up court without carrying the ball. Change of direction plays of today of virtually any kind are impossible back then. You HAD to have a move to go left or right BEFORE the live dribble touched the floor back then. The first step was the biggest asset in basketball back then, a "handle" wasn't something anyone even could really develop with such strict rules. Crossovers weren't even considered a relevant method for attacking a defensive player until Archie Clark started pushing the limits with it in the late sixties (and that envelope was pushed wider and wider and to this day it continues to go in the direction). But TODAY'S crossover as you guys know it? 100% impossible back then refs would never allow it, the fans would probably laugh at the ineptitude of anyone attempting it wondering if they'd ever even learned the rules of the game (as those people all knew). There are carries called in those games for stuff that is literally how a guy like Chris Paul dribbles up the court today when no one is defending him.
I feel like this is falling on deaf ears, doesn't seem anyone but a few who already knew this was a thing is even taking it into consideration so I certainly will try to complete a video on perimeter player rule changes from then to now. I used to have these same discussions about Wilt and Shaq and until I put the video out there I never got anywhere with those discussions. Talk is cheap I guess, apologies if I'm repeating myself hope some of you guys enjoyed the footage in the OP even if you aren't convinced with all the rule change talk.
Honest question... did Baylor dribble at least two bounces at all with his left hand during the entire clip? I don't even recall seeing one left handed dribble.
Honest question - you ever watch John Stockton? MJ? Magic?
Find a game of them completing a play using their left hand *more* than Baylor.
Baylor's first shot of the game is a left handed drive then layup.
It's interesting to me how quick people are to notice Baylor as right hand dominant - when he's actually a pretty solid play finisher with his off hand. He may not be like Kyrie Irving out there, but he's as good at off hand direction and hand finishing as many of the greatest guards to ever play let alone forwards.
Baylor is one of the most underappreciated players in league history.
Thank you for sharing these, I always love these time capsules and seeing the game in its earlier stages.
Being a Lakers fan for 20 years now (born in 1989), I didn't get to experience Showtime or the West/Baylor/Wilt days but I have such an admiration for both Baylor and the Logo, especially after every painful defeat to the Celtics so many times over and continuing to fight year in and year out. I'm glad they finally persevered and prevailed in '72 (albeit Baylor retiring early in that season), because you can tell by all the interviews from Jerry of how much the game meant to him after every loss.
Blame it on going up against another great force of the era (similar to the teams falling to Jordan in the 90's, and to a lesser extend against LeBron in the 2010's), but it's a true testament to the game for what they did for the league and it wouldn't be the same today without their contributions. _________________ "I have self-doubt. I have insecurity. I have fear of failure...everyone does. You don't deny it, but you also don't capitulate to it. You embrace it." -Kobe Bean Bryant
The level of skil and athleticism of today’s players is so much different that 50 years ago. When people tell you that Jerry West and Elgin Baylor were great, they were...in comparison to their peers.
If you took almost anybody out of todays NBA and magically transported them onto one of those teams in 1963 they would average 60 points a game easily, and I mean anyone. Our summer league team this year would have had an undefeated season in 1963s nba.
It works both ways. Who knows how good West and Baylor would have been, had they had the benefit of modern coaching, nutrition and physical regiments?
Also, I am interested in how modern players would adapt with the lack of 3 point line. Nowadays, the mid range game is a lost art. It's either strong to the rack or shooting from 3. Modern players lack of a mid range shot would not serve them well in West/Baylor's era.
Joined: 03 Oct 2003 Posts: 8350 Location: Santa Monica
Posted: Sat Jun 30, 2018 6:30 pm Post subject:
Thanks for posting this Dantheman. It's a shame there was no videotape in the 60s and 70s because my generation can't really see what those guys were like the way we at least can with the guys from the 80s.
It's amazing how great West was when you consider that he was 6-foot-3 and Caucasian, and that the NBA was already integrated by then (looks like most of the Celtics' players were black).
I wonder if those guys would be taller today if they were born a few decades later thanks to better nutrition, training, etc. _________________ Lakers 49ers Chargers Dodgers
The level of skil and athleticism of today’s players is so much different that 50 years ago. When people tell you that Jerry West and Elgin Baylor were great, they were...in comparison to their peers.
If you took almost anybody out of todays NBA and magically transported them onto one of those teams in 1963 they would average 60 points a game easily, and I mean anyone. Our summer league team this year would have had an undefeated season in 1963s nba.
It works both ways. Who knows how good West and Baylor would have been, had they had the benefit of modern coaching, nutrition and physical regiments?
Also, I am interested in how modern players would adapt with the lack of 3 point line. Nowadays, the mid range game is a lost art. It's either strong to the rack or shooting from 3. Modern players lack of a mid range shot would not serve them well in West/Baylor's era.
Exactly, the time machine argument is so lame. All the skills that players exhibit today are built on decades of skills developed and passed on by the players from the 50s, 60s and 70s. It's a completely different story if said players of today were BORN back then. Then they'd be subjected to the same training, diets, coaching, techniques and competition as the older legends. They'd actually have to be ground-breakers, not refiners and perfecters of skills. I'm an application developer. And everything I develop today would be mind-blowing to folks in the 60s and 70s. But what I do now isn't possible without those original coders building that foundation for people like me today. Same concept in sports when comparing previous eras.
Joined: 18 Dec 2015 Posts: 5234 Location: So what's the uh...topic of discussion?
Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2018 2:49 am Post subject:
These are incredible. 60fps for a 1963 sports broadcast? There are Lakers clips on youtube from the 2000 playoffs that look like chicken (bleep) compared to these vids. Thank you.
JFK was alive for 7 more months after this game. Federal minimum wage was 1.25. We were 6 years away from putting a man on the moon. _________________ "All wars are civil wars, because all men are brothers."
http://forums.lakersground.net/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=13018
All times are GMT - 8 Hours Goto page Previous1, 2
Page 2 of 2
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum
