[AlexBrady]

There are over 1200 games played in every NBA season. Picking out a few and pinpointing sequences doesn't encapsulate an era.

The NBA has been legalizing physicality out of the game for decades now. The unofficial physicality rankings by era follows a neat pattern:

1946-49> 1950s> 1960s> 1970s> 1980s> 1990s> 2000s> 2010s

So why are the '80s referred to as the best brand of basketball ever played? The most physical? It is mostly because young veteran fans came of age at this time. The truth is that Larry Bird and Magic Johnson didn't invent the game.

The creator of this particular Youtube video seems to be a younger guy. Could his own ego be at stake here in believing today's game is the 'best'?

It was harder to get to the rim in the half court in the old days. Hand-checkers could play a tad farther off and stifle drives while flicking a hand at your jumper. Today's defenses are much more complicated than ever though to make up for the futility of playing effective man to man contain defense. Both styles can be almost equally effective.

LeBron is so big, strong, and skilled that he would put up highly respectable numbers whenever he played. Giannis' lack of an accurate perimeter shot would hurt him in the old days. The Greek Freak does lack some core strength which means he could be bumped about five feet further out than he is nowadays. When he enters the lane his too-high dribble could be sniped at for profit.

If Jordan were playing now his assists would likely skyrocket because of the necessity of double teaming and jamming his lane penetrations. It is unlikely but not entirely out of the realm of possibility that he could average 40 ppg.

Fans need to understand that teams don't really use pure zone or man to man. Combinations are used. A team gets into zone activities when two defenders trade assignments by calling a "switch" or by dropping back to give a poor shooter room to fire away. That has been going on forever and is nothing new.

"They better do something quick. Defense near the basket is hand to hand combat especially away from the ball. It's only a matter of time till someone gets killed. As much as I hate to say it, it's true. -- Anonymous coach, circa 1977

"Zones are punishable by a warning and then a technical foul but 'position defenses' are allowed." -- John Nucatola, Hall of Fame referee, 1979

"The referees are very inconsistent about calling zones. Most refs don't have the guts to make the call." -- Hubie Brown, Atlanta Hawks Coach, 1978

"Look, fellas, I know that both of your teams play a lot of exotic defenses. Well, tonight I am not going to penalize either of you if you do play them." -- Richie Powers, lead official, pre-game, March 1 1978

To beat these defenses the dribbling must be curtailed and lots of man movement must be used. Overloading an area and then quickly reversing the ball will usually generate good results.

It is true that long-range shooting can shred a zone defense but usually not consistently enough to win a title. The Knicks of 69-73 and the current editions of the Warriors are the exceptions to this rule.