Questionable toughness in today’s NBA player

NEW YORK, NY — The first two rounds of the NBA Playoffs have been filled with hard fouls and extremely physical play. The Golden State Warriors were throwing elbows and whatever else they could at the Utah Jazz, while the Phoenix Suns were crying to the league about Bruce Bowen and his bottomless bag of “dirty” tricks.

No matter what the case, some sports talk radio experts have begun to compare this current physical style of play with that of teams in the early 90’s – like Detroit’s “Bad Boys” Pistons. Reggie Miller played against those Pistons teams as an Indiana Pacer and believes people have forgotten how rough the NBA was.

“Man, walking out onto the court against the Detroit Pistons was like walking onto Death Row,” the clutch three-point shooter said. “And they weren’t the only ones. The Bulls, Jazz, Cavs – don’t get me started on Mark Price. He may look like a little mama’s boy, but that bastard would rip out your eyes and start your house on fire if he thought it would help him win. You just don’t see guys like that anymore.”

While the players of today are stronger, faster, bigger, and more athletic, they simply are not as tough as guys like Bill Laimbeer. As a Piston, Laimbeer was the closest thing to a perfect NBA Player. With length, tenacity, and enough moves to blow by a 97-year-old street-baller from Queens, NY, Laimbeer would likely shut LeBron James down like the over-hyped youngster he is.

No doubt current players could learn a thing or two from watching a little NBA Classic during their free time. But first, these guys need to commit to slow, below-the-rim basketball – that will allow them to play the game the way it was meant to be played.

It’s going to be tough for this sport to sweep any nations, but it’s still pretty frickin’ cool!