Oscar Robertson criticizes defense, or lack there of, against Steph Curry


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Kendrick

Well-Known Member
Robertson went on The Mike & Mike Show on Thursday and laid down a scathing indictment of NBA defensive strategy when the subject of Curry arose. According to NJ.com's Randy Miller, Robertson believes stopping Curry is simple—”just go out there and guard him farther from the basket, ya dumb jamokes.

"If I've got a guy who's great shooting the ball outside, don't you want to extend your defense out a little bit?" Robertson said. "I just don't think coaches today in basketball understand the game of basketball. They don't know anything about defenses. They don't know what people are doing on the court. They talk about analytical basketball and stuff like this."

Indeed, the landscape of basketball has changed drastically since the pre-three-point-line days of the '60s and '70s, when Robertson played for the Cincinnati Royals and Milwaukee Bucks. But the fundamentals of defense haven't changed, according to Robertson. Curry is good, he says, but he's good because coaches these days don't get basketball.

"[Curry] has shot well because of what's going on in basketball today. In basketball today, it's almost like if you can dunk or make a three-point shot, you're the greatest thing since sliced bread...there have been some great shooters in the past...but here again, when I played...if you shot outside and hit it, the next time I'm going to be up on top of you. I'm going to pressure you with three-quarters, half-court defense. But now they don't do that. These coaches do not understand the game of basketball, as far as I'm concerned.

http://www.foxsports.com/nba/story/...-because-modern-nba-defenses-are-trash-022516
 



Bullshit. Players back in those days didn't have the handles these kids have now and if the defense was so hard back then how in the hell did he average a triple double in a season?
 
Blacknbengal said:
I agree, but the way the league rules are on hand checks and such has cause the game to go this way. Cause back in my day, Curry would be black and blue by the time he left the court. He would be my color. I promise you that.
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"My day?"

You played in the league?
 
It has long been the consensus opinion that this generation of players aren't even remotely as tough as the previous. It's not even debatable that more then likely we're seeing The Last of the Mohicans from that lineage in Kobe Bryant.

Personally I don't see what there is to dispute about what he said.
 
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bluedog said:
It has long been the consensus opinion that this generation of players aren't even remotely as tough as the previous. It's not even debatable that more then likely we're seeing The Last of the Mohicans from that lineage in Kobe Bryant.

Personally I don't see what there is to dispute about what he said.
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Neither do I. He is on point!
 
Oscar, like most former players, are very protective of their eras and legacies they do not want to be under appreciated as time goes on.

They're always going to say that the time in which they played was better.

And that will be the case 40 years from now when someone interviews Steph Curry about NBA 2016 compared to NBA 2056.

At the other end of the spectrum, there is this tendency to simultaneously laud present-day players (many say too overzealous) while also undercut their successes by saying they, or the league, is less tougher, skilled, smarter or difficult than yesteryear.

We have to find a middle ground where we can appreciate both the past and present without disparaging either.
 
What Curry has over 95% of the great shooters is the fact he has handles out of this world. The fact he can create his own shot separates him from all the other shooters in the history of the league.
 
bluedog said:
It has long been the consensus opinion that this generation of players aren't even remotely as tough as the previous. It's not even debatable that more then likely we're seeing The Last of the Mohicans from that lineage in Kobe Bryant.

Personally I don't see what there is to dispute about what he said.
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There is a lot to dispute.

For starters, Oscar said that coaches don't understand defenses because Curry is making all these 3s.

Every aspect of the sport is examined, scouted and analyzed more than ever.

You don't think coaches aren't devising game plans to stop Curry?

Curry has gone off against the Spurs who are led by a HOF coach. So Pop doesn't know about defense and adjustments?

Some cats, regardless of the game plan, are just better than the game plan. That's what Curry is.

Any NBA coach will be pleased with a guy taking 28-30 foot 3s. That's not bad D if he makes it, especially if those shots are contested, like the majority of them are. Curry is uncanny in his ability to make them.
 
goodolebrave said:
What Curry has over 95% of the great shooters is the fact he has handles out of this world. The fact he can create his own shot separates him from all the other shooters in the history of the league.
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They pointed that out after he got the consecutive games with a 3 pointer made record. Corver only created his own shot SEVEN times during his streak while Steph has created his own more than 200 hundred times.

Yeah the game is less physical and skilled in my opinion but at the same time he is really a "game changer"
 
In_The_662 said:
They pointed that out after he got the consecutive games with a 3 pointer made record. Corver only created his own shot SEVEN times during his streak while Steph has created his own more than 200 hundred times.

Yeah the game is less physical and skilled in my opinion but at the same time he is really a "game changer"
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Exactly. Some players benefit from the current style of play but some just have "it"
 
In_The_662 said:
They pointed that out after he got the consecutive games with a 3 pointer made record. Corver only created his own shot SEVEN times during his streak while Steph has created his own more than 200 hundred times.

Yeah the game is less physical and skilled in my opinion but at the same time he is really a "game changer"
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Less skilled how? There were all stars who couldn't dribble without looking down back in the day.
 



jag4life said:
Less skilled how? There were all stars who couldn't dribble without looking down back in the day.
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PsychoJag said:
That's true.
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Clyde Frazier, The Pearl Monroe, Tiny Archbald, Pistol Pete, Oscar Robertson, Jo Jo White could all dribble! So that point is wash! So Isaiah Thomas, Tim Hardway, John Stockton, Magic Johnson could not dribble either? Please! Isaiah Thomas crossover was just plain nasty and today, he would average 50 today because most of the players cannot defend and you cannot touch the offensive players today.

Curry is a great talent that plays in a league today where you cannot touch the players and if you sneeze on a player, if is a flagrant foul. What if Bernard King played today with that quick release and you cannot touch the offensive player? He would average 50.

Also, most people don't realize Curry can go to the basket as well and his all round game does not get the credit it deserves! If he did not have to share the ball, he might average 40.

Both arguments are well taken and makes the post interesting.
 
Kendrick said:
There were cats who couldn't finish with their off hand when O played. Now you have 7-footers hitting step-back 3s.
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7-footers that are soft as damp tissue paper! 7-footers playing in today's Euro-Style game with absolutely no post up skills. Would love to see them try to guard The Dream down in the box.
 
wahines said:
Clyde Frazier, The Pearl Monroe, Tiny Archbald, Pistol Pete, Oscar Robertson, Jo Jo White could all dribble! So that point is wash! So Isaiah Thomas, Tim Hardway, John Stockton, Magic Johnson could not dribble either? Please! Isaiah Thomas crossover was just plain nasty and today, he would average 50 today because most of the players cannot defend and you cannot touch the offensive players today.

Curry is a great talent that plays in a league today where you cannot touch the players and if you sneeze on a player, if is a flagrant foul. What if Bernard King played today with that quick release and you cannot touch the offensive player? He would average 50.

Also, most people don't realize Curry can go to the basket as well and his all round game does not get the credit it deserves! If he did not have to share the ball, he might average 40.

Both arguments are well taken and makes the post interesting.
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For every one of those you had a Bob Cousey that like jag4life said had to look down while dribbling. Those 80's players and Pistol Pete had nice handles but the speed of the game and the strength of the players is well ahead than past years.
 
wahines said:
Clyde Frazier, The Pearl Monroe, Tiny Archbald, Pistol Pete, Oscar Robertson, Jo Jo White could all dribble! So that point is wash! So Isaiah Thomas, Tim Hardway, John Stockton, Magic Johnson could not dribble either? Please! Isaiah Thomas crossover was just plain nasty and today, he would average 50 today because most of the players cannot defend and you cannot touch the offensive players today.

Curry is a great talent that plays in a league today where you cannot touch the players and if you sneeze on a player, if is a flagrant foul. What if Bernard King played today with that quick release and you cannot touch the offensive player? He would average 50.

Also, most people don't realize Curry can go to the basket as well and his all round game does not get the credit it deserves! If he did not have to share the ball, he might average 40.

Both arguments are well taken and makes the post interesting.
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Stop exaggerating.

Nobody is averaging 50 points the game in the NBA now. I don't care how good they are or the state of the league. If a cat averages that many points, he'd have to be a Wilt-like figure that one has ever seen before.
 
wahines said:
7-footers that are soft as damp tissue paper! 7-footers playing in today's Euro-Style game with absolutely no post up skills. Would love to see them try to guard The Dream down in the box.
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Hell most of the 7 footers back in the 70's on back had an advantage because they were posting up players 6'6-6'8 but no one talks about that.
 
Kendrick said:
During that 100-point game Wilt had, the tallest player on the opposing team was 6-6.
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Exactly. Don't get me wrong those players back in those era's were great but they had advantages as well. Just like when I hear folks talking about Babe Ruth would hit 80 homers now it makes no sense at all.
 
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