If you missed part two on positions, click here.
If you missed part three on teamwork, click here.
If you take a trip back to what I would argue was the height of basketball in the '80s and '90s, you'll see most of the players then would just battle. They battled on the court in more ways than one. You had to battle back then or else you'd get beat up by guys like Karl Malone, Shaquille O'Neal or the entire Pistons team.
The league was tough back then. Players would purposely put you on your back and dare you to get back up. These "playoff fouls" we're seeing in the playoffs on TV right now were common fouls throughout the season. If you came into the key with the forwards and centers, be prepared to be physically harmed, and you'd better make the basket because you might not get the foul call.
Now, guys run through the key and get barely bumped and throw a wild shot at the basket while going out of their way to prove it was a foul. Who cares if you make the shot, because you'll get to shoot free throws. If you don't get the call, you complain to the referee about it and you'll get the next 10 calls to go your way.
Picture from ign.com.
Take a look at that picture of Karl Malone. That guy is 6 foot 9 and is 260ish pounds of pure muscle.
He played in at least 80 games in 17 of his 19 years. He played in those games because he wanted to be out there battling with his team. He also knew people came to see him.
Former Utah Jazz coach and executive, Frank Layden, told the following story about Malone:
"We were playing down in Albuquerque, and Karl Malone, his index finger gets bent back. I mean, it's against his wrist. And so he runs in and ... I almost threw up. And then the doctors were around. I mean, 'Well, we gotta take him in, get X-rays. We'll probably have to operate" and everything.
"The next thing, mrrrraaaaaaahhhhh, there's Karl and he pulls the finger back and straightens it out and tells Sparky (Don Sparks), our trainer, 'Tape it up.'
"So, after the game, someone said to him, 'Well, did it hurt?' and everything. And he says, 'You're darn right it hurt.' He says, 'But I'll tell you something. A lot people came here to see me play, I'm not gonna let them down.' That was an exhibition game...It wasn't even about winning the game or doing anything else, but how many fans came to see Karl Malone. A lot."
Could you imagine if someone in the league today broke their finger? They'd be done for the season. George Hill sat out of the second round of the playoffs due to a sore toe. Players sit out due to a bruise and it's getting to be ridiculous.
Resting
In the 2015-2016 season, there were 146 players (some multiple times, obviously) that sat out due to rest throughout the year. That was up from 86 the year before.
The San Antonio Spurs resting their top three players. The Spurs could be the biggest contributor and factor in resting players. Picture from thebarrieexaminer.com.
Could you imagine if Malone was asked to sit out to rest? Or John Stockton? Frank Layden had this to say about resting players:
"I mean, could imagine now, all right, that someone -- Jerry Sloan saying, 'Well, Stockton, we're gonna rest you tonight. You're not gonna play.' And the next thing, they'd be in a fist fight. You know, I mean, that's the way it was. So, it's a mental attitude. You're gonna talk about being tired, you'll be tired. Everybody's tired. The other guys are tired too."
Coaches and athletes today need to realize that people come to games to see certain players play. These players are making an absurd amount of money to play the game, so why wouldn't you play them every game? According to Cleveland.com, LeBron makes $2.29 a second. That means if a game lasts three hours, he is making $24,732 to just sit the bench. The league should make it so these players don't earn money in games they don't play in, but alas, that's a different post for another day.
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