I am certainly more familiar with the likes of Larry Bird, the greatest white NBA superstar, Julius Erving, who revolutionized the slam-dunk, top point guard John Stockton, his partner Karl Malone, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Nate Archibald, Wes Unseld, Isiah Thomas, Dominique Wilkins, and of course, the 1990s with Michael Jordan and his Bulls, just to name a few.
And if I were to look at the present NBA playoffs, which I am able to follow on YouTube regularly, there are a lot of differences from before to now, excluding the fact that the league is playing under the present conditions of the pandemic, that in turn has taken a big big toll on major sports leagues.
Playing inside the NBA “bubble” for one has taken out completely one’s home-court advantage and with it, the crowd support a team enjoys when playing in their own city.
Take a look, too, at the way the NBA is played now, very much less physical from where it was in the 1970s up to the 90s. Again, watch the games then, the brawls, especially with Bill Laimbeer of the Pistons. Players then even fight with fans, in some instances.
In fact, during the Bulls-Pistons championship series, Detroit had its own Jordan rules on how to stop MJ with physical plays, and MJ had to bulk up after losing a semis series with Detroit, realizing he had to match up with the way the Pistons defend him.
When it comes to field-goal shooting, Warrior Stephen Curry and his team again changed the rules, using a lot of 3-point shots the same way 2-point shots were used before. Now, everyone, including big men, shoot from the the distance. Check the statistics and see how many three-point shots are now attempted by teams.
Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis and Lebron James, Nikola Jokic, Kristaps Porzingis, Brook Lopez, Marc Gasol, Joel Embiid—these are just some of the biggies, who are comfortable making those treys.
Smaller players have also imitated Curry’s outside shooting style, such as Damian Lillard, his teammate CJ McCollum, younger players Luka Doncic, Donovan Mitchell, Kyle Lowry, and a host of still relatively unfamiliar names. Practically everyone can shoot from 25 feet out.
NBA players now depend more on skills and finesse than on brawn, to the point that there are arguments on how a Larry Bird or even MJ would fare out now, or who would win between a team of the 1980s and 90s against current teams.
But then, it is difficult to answer because conditions and environment are different and styles of playing are also very much changed. In my case, this is an objective piece to express my observations.
Now, allow me to look at the present only with most of the initial playoff games decided already, Boston and Toronto both swept their opponents 4 -0, against Philadelphia and Brooklyn, respectively. This was matched by Jimmy Butler and Miami against Indiana. The Lakers, after a first-game loss to the Trailblazers, won their next 3 games, same with Milwaukee over Orlando.
Tied at 2-all are Houston and Oklahoma, while Utah is ahead, 3-2, against Denver, the same as the Clippers over the Mavericks.
My 4 semis winners picks are, Boston and Milwaukee in the east, Lakers and Clippers (unless Doncic proves me wrong), in the west.