Back in the Day

 Oscar Robertson thinks Stephen Curry is great only because NBA defenses are so bad.  Robertson blames the coaches, who “do not understand the game of basketball, as far as I’m concerned.”

Ex-players resent the prefix that comes with retirement, so they lash out the way Robertson did on sports-talk radio last week.  This generation is never as good as the ones before.  New York Giants’ manager John McGraw practically invented “small ball” with the bunt, stolen base, hit-and-run.  Naturally, McGraw hated what Babe Ruth did to baseball in the 1920s because small things were traded in for Ruthian things.  And here I always thought Ruth was “old school” personified.

Is Robertson right about Curry?  Maybe, but another way to look at it is to ask: What about today?  Does Robertson made young again think he could guard Curry?  I wonder.  Switching back to Babe Ruth, imagine him facing a steady diet of lefty starters and relievers, dealing with curves and splitters.  I suspect the Babe would be looking for the first time machine home.  Ditto Robertson, who never struck me as the fastest player on the court.  The 6’5” 220-pound Robertson was a star in the 1960s, when the NBA played more of a half-court game.  I think he’d be hard-pressed to keep up with the likes of the 6’3” greyhound Curry, who’s a good 30 pounds lighter.  For that matter, Robertson would find all of the NBA a taller and faster world than the one he played in.

Sometimes, you just have to give the kids their due.