West Rips JJ Riddick

[biggunsbob]

Jerry West isn't happy with J.J. Redick.

The Hall of Famer took offense to Redick's comments in April when Redick downplayed Bob Cousy's accolades by claiming Cousy "was being guarded by plumbers and firemen" when discussing the Boston Celtics guard's legacy versus that of Phoenix Suns guard Chris Paul on ESPN.

West went for the jugular in his rebuttal of Redick's claim by pointing out Redick's career relative to Cousy's.

"I know J.J. just a little bit, he's a very smart kid and everything, but tell me what his career looked like?" West said on Sirius XM NBA Radio on Friday. "What did he do that determined games? He averaged 12 points a game in the league? Somewhere along the way, numbers count. At that point and time, the players aren't what they used to be. J.J. certainly wasn?t going to guard the elite players. So you can nitpick anyone. The only reason I?m talking about him is because he was not an elite player, but he was a very good player, but he had a place on the team because of the ability to shoot the ball. ...

"Winning is all that mattered, that's what drove me. I subtly got better every year. We didn't have the facilities to get better. We had to work in the summers to support our family. JJ should be very thankful that he's made as much money as he's made, and Bob Cousy, whom I played against a couple of years, not very long ? I just think it's disrespectful myself."



https://youtu.be/LVfPLx674Ak

 

[Mitchrapp]

Cousy 13 seasons, all star every year. MVP. Lead the league in assist 8 years in a row. 12 All NBA, 10 first team. And he could play good defense.

Redick, lol.

 

[tomdalton22]

Cousy 13 seasons, all star every year. MVP. Lead the league in assist 8 years in a row. 12 All NBA, 10 first team. And he could play good defense.

Redick, lol.

I'm not going to compare Cousy to Redick, but all of Cousy's all star teams etc. don't mean squat. There were only 4 teams in the east. Anybody that is good is going to make the all star team.

 

[tomdalton22]

I picked a random year in the middle of Cousy's career. I'm no NBA historian, but I only recognize one other name on the entire list of NBA players. Bob Pettit.

https://www.basketball-reference.com/leagues/NBA_1956_per_game.html

I think I lean towards JJ Redick on this one. Bob Cousy couldn't hold Chris Paul's jock

 

[Mitchrapp]

I picked a random year in the middle of Cousy's career. I'm no NBA historian, but I only recognize one other name on the entire list of NBA players. Bob Pettit.

https://www.basketball-reference.com/leagues/NBA_1956_per_game.html

I think I lean towards JJ Redick on this one. Bob Cousy couldn't hold Chris Paul's jock

No you're not. Paul Arizin, come on now. You have to compare with era's. Maybe in 75 years people will think Jordon was overrated. You can't criticize players just because now players are bigger and faster. Cousy set the tone playing guard. NBA 35th Anniversary All-Time Team 1996-97 50 Greatest Players in NBA History 2021-22 NBA 75th Anniversary Team.

Give him his do.

 

[tomdalton22]

No you're not. Paul Arizin, come on now. You have to compare with era's. Maybe in 75 years people will think Jordon was overrated. You can't criticize players just because now players are bigger and faster. Cousy set the tone playing guard. NBA 35th Anniversary All-Time Team 1996-97 50 Greatest Players in NBA History 2021-22 NBA 75th Anniversary Team.

Give him his do.

he was good, but give me a break. He played in the NBA east. There were only 4 teams in the NBA east. He's competing with 4 other PGs for an all star spot. That's pathetic! It's like being the smartest kid on the short bus.

 

[Mitchrapp]

he was good, but give me a break. He played in the NBA east. There were only 4 teams in the NBA east. He's competing with 4 other PGs for an all star spot. That's pathetic! It's like being the smartest kid on the short bus.

Then was he on all the great top 50, 35th anniversary & 75th anniversary teams. I guess the NHL was pathetic, only 6 teams.. I guess Mr. Hockey was overrated.

 

[tomdalton22]

Then was he on all the great top 50, 35th anniversary & 75th anniversary teams. I guess the NHL was pathetic, only 6 teams.. I guess Mr. Hockey was overrated.

He probably made the teams based on the awards that you mentioned and on his name alone. Mr Hockey was probably over rated as well if he was only playing in a league with 6 teams.

Being named an all star back then is a joke. Even being named all NBA or NBA MVP in a league with only 6 or 8 teams isn't really that great of an accomplishment. Winning a championship is much easier too.

 

[Mitchrapp]

NHL was 6 teams until 1967. And Mr. Hockey was not overrated. Look at his numbers after '67. He had a 103 points at age 40 after expansion. His highest point total he ever had. Just because teams played with fewer teams doesn't mean they aren't any good. How many crappy players are there now in the NBA, NFL, NHL, MLB .. more teams means the mediocre and the bad players make teams.

 

[tomdalton22]

NHL was 6 teams until 1967. And Mr. Hockey was not overrated. Look at his numbers after '67. He had a 103 points at age 40 after expansion. His highest point total he ever had. Just because teams played with fewer teams doesn't mean they aren't any good. How many crappy players are there now in the NBA, NFL, NHL, MLB .. more teams means the mediocre and the bad players make teams.

I honestly don't know if Howe was over rated or not. I don't follow or even care about hockey. That said, using all star appearances, MVP's, and ALL NBA or NHL to compare players from different eras is stupid. Being an all star when you are in a division with 3 or 4 teams in it is pretty meaningless. It would similar if they gave Stafford 2nd team all pro because he was the 2nd best QB in the NFC north. :lmao:

 

[Mitchrapp]

I honestly don't know if Howe was over rated or not. I don't follow or even care about hockey. That said, using all star appearances, MVP's, and ALL NBA or NHL to compare players from different eras is stupid. Being an all star when you are in a division with 3 or 4 teams in it is pretty meaningless. It would similar if they gave Stafford 2nd team all pro because he was the 2nd best QB in the NFC north. :lmao:

You just said he was overrated the previous post. And it was never about all star games and things like that but you can't disregard someone because they played with fewer teams. Tc Cobb played with fewer teams as well. Maybe Ruth or Gehrig sucked, each league with only 8 teams.

 

[tomdalton22]

You just said he was overrated the previous post. And it was never about all star games and things like that but you can't disregard someone because they played with fewer teams. Tc Cobb played with fewer teams as well. Maybe Ruth or Gehrig sucked, each league with only 8 teams.

I said he was probably over rated based on the size of the league at the time.

 

[Mitchrapp]

I said he was probably over rated based on the size of the league at the time.

Every sports league had smaller leagues back then. Some would say more teams dilute the content. And comparing era's is never a good idea. Players should be valued in the era they play. You shouldn't compare Cousy to Magic Johnson. If Lebron played back then he'd be smaller and slower.

 

[tomdalton22]

Every sports league had smaller leagues back then. Some would say more teams dilute the content. And comparing era's is never a good idea. Players should be valued in the era they play. You shouldn't compare Cousy to Magic Johnson. If Lebron played back then he'd be shorter and slower.

The point of this is comparing athletes of older generations to those of today. Athletes are bigger, faster, and stronger now and I don't think anybody will ever dispute that fact. And there are millions of more of them to choose from. Sports are way more popular now than they ever were in the past which creates more people playing those particular sports.

 

[Mitchrapp]

The point of this is comparing athletes of older generations to those of today. Athletes are bigger, faster, and stronger now and I don't think anybody will ever dispute that fact. And there are millions of more of them to choose from. Sports are way more popular now than they ever were in the past which creates more people playing those particular sports.

Better athletes doesn't translate to better players. You can't criticize older players because they were less athletic. They couldn't do crossovers, and palm the ball - didn't have the same training facilities and much more. Put Oscar Robinson in a time machine and he'd clean up in todays game.

 

[tomdalton22]

Better athletes doesn't translate to better players. You can't criticize older players because they were less athletic. They couldn't do crossovers, and palm the ball - didn't have the same training facilities and much more. Put Oscar Robinson in a time machine and he'd clean up in todays game.

well, Oscar Robertson was a better athlete that Cousy. He was a 6'5" black guy. His game and physique was more similar to today's NBA players.

Cousy and Robertson did play in the NBA together for 3 years.

Cousy averaged about 15/7/3 a game over that time period while shooting about 37% from the field.

During that same period of time, Robertson averaged 30/11/11 and shot about 49% from the field.

Oscar would do fine in today's NBA because he was tall, athletic, and could shoot. Cousy would be lucky to be a bench player.

 

[Mitchrapp]

well, Oscar Robertson was a better athlete that Cousy. He was a 6'5" black guy. His game and physique was more similar to today's NBA players.

Cousy and Robertson did play in the NBA together for 3 years.

Cousy averaged about 15/7/3 a game over that time period while shooting about 37% from the field.

During that same period of time, Robertson averaged 30/11/11 and shot about 49% from the field.

Oscar would do fine in today's NBA because he was tall, athletic, and could shoot. Cousy would be lucky to be a bench player.

But he was in 4 team divisions so maybe he sucked?

 

[Mitchrapp]

Go watch some Cousy videos.

 

[Mitchrapp]

John Havlicek, he'd be the best 3-point shooter in todays game.

 

[tomdalton22]

John Havlicek, he'd be the best 3-point shooter in todays game.

that's a pretty bold statement. I would have to guess that almost all NBA players shoot worse from behind the arc than they do overall.

Steph Curry has the reputation as being the best 3 point shooter in the game today. Over his career his shooting percentage is 47.3% and his 3 point percentage is 42.8%

Havelicek's shooting percentage was 43.9%. My guess is his 3 point shooting would be lower than that. :shrug: