well, based on the list provided, the 86 celtics.
I'd take any of the Celtic or Laker teams from 80-87 against anyone who came after them and any Philly team from 80-85 as well.
GSW may have a lot of shooters but C's have a frontline none of the other teams could deal with when healthy
I said in a thread prior that it all depends on the rules of the era.
If we played by 1986 rules, Boston would likely sweep GS. They simply couldn't handle the physical differences of hand checking, pushing, shoving, elbows and so forth that came about when only two refs were on the court. They'd be manhandled right off the court with no free looks at the 22 foot 3 point line.
Played by today's rules, the 86 Celtics would be lucky to extend the series to 6. GS would get a lot of clean looks and while Boston would still clean up on the boards, they'd be shooting 2 pointers at a 55% clip while GS would be hitting 3s at a 40% clip. Parrish would have to get out of the lane or 3 seconds would be called every time. GS would slowly pull away and as the Celtics got into foul trouble they'd sprint away.
I'd pay good money to see a good McHale clothesline on Draymond or DJ ripping Curry's foolish mouthpiece out of his mouth (seriously, what is the guy a 2-year old? No one wants to see that!)
so would I. GSW won't get much shooting from their all-stars when they're on the bench in foul trouble trying to guard Mchale and Parish in the post. Bird would pick them apart with his passing and shooting. DJ and Ainge would do a credible job on Curry and Klay--particularly Klay.
C's frontline would have trouble guarding Green and Durant on the perimeter but not in the paint. GSW's offense would only last so long because C's would just jam the ball into the paint and they'd definitely own the defensive and offensive boards against that GSW line-up
Yes, because if there's one thing the evolution of basketball has proven it's that offenses jamming a bunch of people into the post because they can't shoot 3s is clearly a recipe for an explosive offense. Stop with this nonsense.
obviously you've never paid attention to how the game was played until after Shaq retired.
If everyone plays the same style someone has to be considered successful whether it's efficient/effective or not.
no doubt. GSW is the most successful team in this style of play that's taken over the NBA recently. the thing is, when comparing teams across eras, the capabilities of the players on the teams should be taken into account.
GSW is geared towards the type of play in the game today which is bomb away from outside. probably the best team at doing that on the list of options provided to select from. that doesn't mean the other teams are devoid of shooters that could play bombs-away as well.
they also have a pretty solid fastbreak team as well. They're not the fastest team on the break but they're all very solid finishers (and even better than 'solid'). I wouldn't rate them as good as the Laker teams of the 80's but the Celtic teams of the 80's were at least as good in this aspect as GSW.
the style where GSW comes up short in regards to the older teams is half-court basketball. The earlier teams are geared towards that style. GSW, not so much. Who would play in the post for GSW to draw fouls? no one I could see other than Durant who'd likely be covered by Mchale for the Celtics since he took the better offensive forward. Bird would render Green useless on the offensive boards. Zaza wouldn't have a chance against Chief. DJ and Danny would be up to the task of keeping Curry and Klay out of the paint on drives if they tried to although I'd think they'd mostly stay on the perimeter which helps provide the defenders with an area to focus on. sure, GSW bigs would draw the C's bigs out of the paint on offense which may open up lanes for drives but DJ was a top defender and Ainge was more than solid --> Curry and Klay aren't exactly speedsters that would blow by either of them.
I'd love to see the matchup if it could happen but I'll take the C's and Lakers of the 80's over GSW every time.
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