I probably going to catch flack from this but it needed to be pointed out Biggest difference: Jordan's era looked to use physical play as a defensive strategy. LeBron's era needs to avoid physical play because in this era it's a foul.
I took random plays on my computer and matched up the similar attacks from similar areas so we can see the difference in resistance between the two eras.
All you need to do is look at the way that coaches like Phil Jackson spread out the floor with their offense in a lot of sets just to pull the bigs way outside of the paint, he gets Farmar or Kobe easy penetration because the outside defender can't contain anything anymore. If it wasn't for things like the 3 second rule and the handchecking rule, teams would be forced to use more team passing. Allow handchecking, get rid of that stupid defensive 3 second rule, teams would use more passing and the fg% in the league would go back up because less players would be forcing shots. It would also force the shotjackers to completely alter their style.
Back in the day you were lucky to see your favorite player show off on a breakaway, the game was more hard nosed than that at the time. Also keep in mind that with no contact rules, it does not matter if you double or triple a player in today's game, the great players should be able to back out, slip out, split, slip through, or shake the double. I mean hell, if the offensive player draws contact he's gonna draw a foul anyways. It's not like the old days where you actually had to fight through traps and double teams.
Defenders from this era = always on the side or coming from the side, rarely in front, too many look to avoid contact in fear of a foul. Weak. It's like playing a video game on easy mode.
Notice how you see plays happening in the half court set that only happened in the open court on a fast break in Jordan's days because the defense was too good to give up that type of penetration in Jordan's era. If Jordan played now his highlight reel would be like LeBron's, full of dunks, one problem though, LeBron doesn't have near as good of a jumper as Jordan, add Jordan's jumper to LeBron's game, what do you got?
So believe me, if I can figure out how players are taking advantages of the rules changes, coaches in the NBA have also found ways to CAPITALIZE on these rules. Further proof that these rules allow for easier scoring when coaches spread the floor to attack the weak new era painted area. Sure there are plays where you see good defense in the NBA today, it's rare to see a defense that can shut down players from getting to the rim. Infact, even the Boston Celtics and Pistons can't shut down the lane. They are pretty good at limiting it, but nothing like the elite defenses of the physical contact era.
Players in Jordan's era were like track athletes, most of them were so fast. The dunk contests in the 80's and 90's are a testiment to the athletes in the game at the time. Forget the creativity of the dunks, look at the athleticism. Old era teams were also better at getting back on transition defense. Creating all-time rankings takes research and film study. Highlight videos show you Michael Jordan scoring, but not what he had to do to get open in most cases, or the plays he was stopped. Never scout with highlight videos, use raw film. The only way to seal of penetration today is to get directly in the path of the ball handler with both feet planted, outside of the circle in the paint, to get credit for drawing a charge. Now keep in mind that the offensive player already has the advantage of decision defenders have no choice but to react, it puts him at a 1/4 a second disadvantage anyways. Jordan's era utilized handchecking, which is similar to what offensive linemen & defensive backs use in the NFL to detain receivers and pass rushers. In the NFL, allow a pass rusher to penetrate the pocket, it's a sack. A defensive back lets the receiver penetrate the secondary & catch the ball, first down or TD. In the NBA, allow players to penetrate the paint, it makes it easier for them to score. At the very least physical resistance should be offered to make it a level playing field. This is not allowed in today's game. Of course in any era, under any rules, there are defensive breakdowns, coaches who use bad coaching schemes, among other factors that can contribute to non-contested shots. There are those players who are able to shake defenders in such a fashion that it doesn't matter if you double, or triple them, they are gonna get loose.
Michael Jordan era vs LeBron era defenses - the rim attack
