Could Iverson cross a Prime Jordan?

[The Mamba]

Jordan wasn't slow in '96, '97, '98. Slow on Jordan is what he was during his second comeback. Jordan was still an elite defender in the late 90's. He just got rocked hard. Happens to the best of us.

[MaxFly]

The reason that I asked this question is that I've never seen Jordan get left behind like that by anyone else, not to mention that easily... It looked almost effortless on Iverson's part. So I was wondering whether you guys though that it's only a result of Jordan's age, that even if Jordan were younger, he'd still get left behind, or a happy medium.

[bigkingsfan]

You can find ballers everywhere that can cross over an elite NBA player.

[MaxFly]

You can find ballers everywhere that can cross over an elite NBA player.

But this is the GOAT...

[The Mamba]

Not just an elite NBA player, the GOAT. Iverson would get by Jordan regardless. Isiah got by Mike alot, and he is similar to Iverson.

[shadow]

Iverson has one of the best crossovers. He could get by MJ or any great defender multiple times. Just because its MJ doesn't mean he can't get beat. The guy is human, bigger than iverson and most importantly slower!

[Knoe Itawl]

The reason that I asked this question is that I've never seen Jordan get left behind like that by anyone else, not to mention that easily... It looked almost effortless on Iverson's part. So I was wondering whether you guys though that it's only a result of Jordan's age, that even if Jordan were younger, he'd still get left behind, or a happy medium.

The NBA is an 82 game season, plus playoffs. A starter especially one of Jordan's calibre, can lodge 40+ minutes a game. Given the sheer amount of time played, and the number of posessions there are for the opposing team, of course a great offensive player is going to eventually shake even the greatest of defenders. The key is that it won't happen to a great defender very often.

As many times as Philly played the Bulls during the season, and the amount of times Iverson has the ball in his hand in those games, it's not that surprising he would catch MJ even several times. Given these facts, I've always thought the big deal people made out of that move was overexaggeration. Don't get me wrong, it was a beautiful move, shook MJ and all that, but is that one move in a regular season game a career defining moment? Absurd, IMO.

I don't mean this in a negative way like most who chant "Do you play ball", but I'm curious as to how much you play. I just think that when you play a lot of ball, you see all kinds of things like the slow kid lucking out and putting a move on the neighborhood star (not saying Iverson's move was lukcy by any stretch but you get my point).

[bigkingsfan]

Hot Sauce could crossover Jordan, any street baller with a mean crossover could.

[StarJordan]

Spud Webb slipped through Mike once or twice also. Its not a big deal in the context of a 48 minute team set up. But forget prime, one on one Jordan would handily beat him (MJ went on to win the scoring title not iverson that year).

[StarJordan]

Jordan wasn't slow in '96, '97, '98

He wasn't slow but he was a different player than he was when he made his name. He wasn't doing tomohawks like this:

[MaxFly]

I don't mean this in a negative way like most who chant "Do you play ball", but I'm curious as to how much you play. I just think that when you play a lot of ball, you see all kinds of things like the slow kid lucking out and putting a move on the neighborhood star (not saying Iverson's move was lukcy by any stretch but you get my point).

I've played and still play a lot of ball. I've seen people get lucky and pull a move... It's happened to me. The question wasn't whether Iverson got lucky, or whether this was bound to happen because of the amount of time Jordan played, the amount of possessions the opposing team had the ball, the amont of time Iverson had the ball in his hands, etc... etc... I'm not asking if this was a perfect storm or an inevitable occurrence. The question was whether people think Jordan got burned that badly because of his age at the time, or whether age is negligible.

[Knoe Itawl]

I've played and still play a lot of ball. I've seen people get lucky and pull a move... It's happened to me. The question wasn't whether Iverson got lucky, or whether this was bound to happen because of the amount of time Jordan played, the amount of possessions the opposing team had the ball, the amont of time Iverson had the ball in his hands, etc... etc... I'm not asking if this was a perfect storm or an inevitable occurrence. The question was whether people think Jordan got burned that badly because of his age at the time, or whether age is negligible.

It may have been harder to pull on a younger Jordan, but given all the factors I outlined, it could happen to him at any age.

[eliteballer]

Wasn't Jordan only like 32 when that happened. Dude wasn't ancient.

[hateraid]

But he's the "GOAT"
He can play goalie for the Blackhawks and break the shoutout record
He can catch a bullet with his bare hands
He has the ability to see into the immediate future and see the play before it happens
:rollingeyes:
Why is it because of this GOAT status all of a sudden he's the best on the ball defender ever to play, so good he can't be crossed up or get blown by. Reality check guys, he's a basketball player. An argument of "he's the GOAT" is not a valid enough of an argument.

[LakersDynasty]

But he's the "GOAT"
He can play goalie for the Blackhawks and break the shoutout record
He can catch a bullet with his bare hands
He has the ability to see into the immediate future and see the play before it happens
:rollingeyes:
Why is it because of this GOAT status all of a sudden he's the best on the ball defender ever to play, so good he can't be crossed up or get blown by. Reality check guys, he's a basketball player. An argument of "he's the GOAT" is not a valid enough of an argument.

Tell it like it is, couldn't agree more.