Quote:
Originally Posted by TomBarndtsTwin
This.
Can you imagine the The Bad Boys (88-90 Pistons) playing in today’s NBA? Half of their roster would have been fouled out by the 3rd quarter. Much different game back then. You could really play some defense. And some teams were particularly nasty about it.
I fully believe those Pistons helped make Jordan into the competitor he ultimately was and led to his dominance in the playoffs and particularly, the NBA Finals. They were either gonna break his will or he was going to rise to a new level. Once he figured out how to get by them, there was no stopping him. He never looked back after that . . . .
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What those Pistons played was not really what any sane person should call defense. The Celtics, Bulls and a bunch of other teams played tough, hard-nosed defense, but even they were pushing the line pretty aggressively. The Pistons ignored the line altogether with some (Laimbeer especially) just playing dirty. He was, as Larry Bird said, literally out to hurt you.
Go to 18:20 mark:
If you think an NBA with everyone playing THAT style of defense would be good for anyone -- players or fans -- I really don't know what to tell you. That's an ugly, uninteresting, version of the sport.