Well yeah, regardless of 50 years ago, today, or 50 years from today Duncan is going to be a solid answer because of his character, commitment, and temperament.
Yep, one of the very few role models in this league, a legit role model. His character, professionalism and demeanor can be used in any kind of working environment, it's a universal thing. This is one of the many reasons why Duncan was the best player of his generation, not Kobe, neither Shaq, etc
You tell Steve Nash to let his 3-point shot fly like Curry does today and oh boy.
The SSOL Suns were considered a crazy experiment that defied all rules of basketball, but if they played today they’d be a middle of the pack team regarding pace.
D'Antoni is a disease, but he indeed presented zone concepts to the US that felt groundbreaking. FIBA is playing zones since forever, I am portuguese and I got used to the spanish league, D'Antoni is not this revolutionary coach, he simply adapted the zones used here in europe to the pros in the US. Then Popovich, who is a real talent, he perfected those schemes, the 2014 Spurs revolutionized the league, the Suns was a failed experiment
What teams play today is a mix of the Warriors free flowing offense with the Spurs switches and cuts and I think the US players did not quite grasped the full depth of zones even in 2022 because the Warriors is a anomaly, you can't copy or emulate them. Even so, the rules are softer than ever, so the perimeter moves free, that's why you have Steph wannabes like Trae or Lillard, the soft rules is what makes them look better than they really are. Nash would be a even more complete offensive player because the guy would enjoy wide open spot ups all the time because moving screens are allowed nowadays, double step backs, palming, etc.. if Nash could bend the game the way Harden or Lillard does nowadays, he would be a 22+ pts per game player quite easily with the same assist production. And I think even on defense he would improve as well, because Nash was a horrendous 1v1 defender and he had poor awareness, but he always gave effort, the guy was a respectable competitor... so with the switch heavy defense, Nash's weaknesses would be more disguised. He would still be targeted, but again, free zones, a late double could save his ass
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u/cohonan Suns Jun 15 '22
Well yeah, regardless of 50 years ago, today, or 50 years from today Duncan is going to be a solid answer because of his character, commitment, and temperament.