NBA "mileage" overstated?

[Bruno87]

This might be your worst thread of all time.

x2. its like a paragraph from onion article.

[sep11ie]

The OP is the DoMeFavors of thread making...

[el hidalgo]

For every Kobe or any other paragon of health/mileage, I could counterpoint with a Brandon Roy, Jamal Mashburn, Greg Oden, etc. You are playing the outlier game with players who have remained remarkably healthy while ignoring the rest.

The league is a grind, every player admits that. Every player also admits there will come a day when their body cannot keep up.

no, you cant counterpoint with brandon roy and greg oden. both injury prone players who had bodies that weren't meant for basketball. nothing to do with mileage. their body just couldnt handle basketball and broke down.

[KnicksorBust]

For every Kobe or any other paragon of health/mileage, I could counterpoint with a Brandon Roy, Jamal Mashburn, Greg Oden, etc. You are playing the outlier game with players who have remained remarkably healthy while ignoring the rest.

The league is a grind, every player admits that. Every player also admits there will come a day when their body cannot keep up.

Amount of time I spent reading/thinking about your post = 15 seconds
Amount of time I spent watching and re-watching kate upton = 30 seconds

You gotta be careful when your post quality to sig ratio is 2 to 1 or higher.

no, you cant counterpoint with brandon roy and greg oden. both injury prone players who had bodies that weren't meant for basketball. nothing to do with mileage. their body just couldnt handle basketball and broke down.

This makes no sense. Their bodies did "handle basketball" but they broke down because their mileage was far inferior to the Kobe/Duncan/Nash/Pierce/KG group.

[Teufelshunde4]

people always put weight into the "mileage" players have. kobe is the best example probably. he has played so long in the league. it is already his 17th season. the thing is, he is only 34. people talk like he is some old man because he has more mileage on him. the thing is, kids are still playing when they are in college. sure, it isnt nearly as much, but they still play. with modern medicine now a days, i think a players mileage is completely overstated. it seems like most guys break down when their body genetically breaks down, not from an extreme amount of mileage.


do you think too much weight is put into this? quiet frankly, i am not that impressed when people rave about kobe's mileage. with modern medicine, most players can keep going as long as their genetics allow.

I would bet if you looked at tape from Kobe's early years and today the biggest difference is his efficiency vs his raw athletic ability. Kobe knows how to pace himself every game and season.. Modern medicine has help no doubt..


Dont have time to look it up but what were his minutes his first 3 seasons in the league?

[Money_23]

nvm

[Vinylman]

I don't think it's overstated. College games do not take the kind of toll a full NBA season does. Sure, Kobe is having an amazing year at 34, but he's the kind of player Jordan was. At 34 MJ was having a very similar kind of year.

A full NBA season is not overstated. Usually players decline very very quickly. But then, MJ played at an all-star level even at age 39. So you can't really compare players like Kobe/MJ since they are special. If injuries (and the chances of getting bad ones increase as you age) don't cause decline then minutes per game certainly will.

kobe has already played around 200 more games in his career than Jordan when you factor in the playoffs

[el hidalgo]

steroids don't count?

are you saying kobe is roiding?

[Money_23]

are you saying kobe is roiding?

no but it's just the first example that comes to mind. LEGAL modern medicine can slow down aging as well.

[Gritz]

How are you supposed to get the belt with threads like this?

[LA4life24/8]

Topsy turvy, who is that in your sig, omg she is sooo sexy

[Doogolas]

no, you cant counterpoint with brandon roy and greg oden. both injury prone players who had bodies that weren't meant for basketball. nothing to do with mileage. their body just couldnt handle basketball and broke down.

Here's the thing:
Kobe is still rocking prime Kobe numbers right now. Hell, one could potentially argue this is the second best season of his career to this point offensively. Meanwhile, even guys like KG and Pierce and Allen and now really even Wade to an extent, don't have close to the numbers in their prime years:

KG PER36 age 26-29:
20.9PP 12.3RP 4.8AP 1.3SP 1.5BP

Minutes Per Game: 39.2

Age 34-36:
17.7PP 9.6RP 3.0AP 1.3SP 1.0BP

Minutes Per Game: 30.8

Paul Pierce age 26-29:
22.8PP 6.2RP 4.4AP 1.4SP

Minutes Per Game: 37.8

Age 34-35:
20.7PP 5.7RP 4.5AP 1.4SP

Minutes Per: 33.7

Ray Allen age 26-29:
21.6PP 4.5RP 3.9AP 1.2SP

Minutes Per Game: 38.1

Age 34-37:
16.2PP 3.5RP 2.6AP 1.0SP

Minutes Per Game: 33.8

Kobe Bryant age 26-29:
27.5PP 5.2RP 4.7AP 1.4SP

Minutes Per Game: 40.3

Age 34:
27.8PP 4.6RP 4.5AP 1.4SP

Minutes Per Game: 38.6


Pretty much everyone except Kobe has some drop off in their production and again, keep in mind these are the PER36 minutes numbers, not what they're actually capable of putting up. When you factor in the fact that with KG you have 8.4 fewer minutes per game. Pierce you have 4.1 fewer minutes per game, Ray Allen you have 4.3 fewer minutes per game and then with Kobe you only have 1.7 fewer minutes per game and no real drop off in production, what he is doing is nothing short of remarkable.

I didn't include Wade cause the dude is still way too young to be compared fairly at this point.

[LeperMessiah]

different players have different lifespans.

[LongIslandIcedZ]

Mileage absolutely is a factor, but it isnt limited to just sheer number of games played. Style of play must be taken into account. There is a reason why Wade is declining so early in his career. Not that he isnt still a great player, but its pretty obvious he is at least starting to decline a bit. The guy plays 100 mph and is always getting beat up when he is on the floor. That takes way more of a toll than the fact that he is 27-28 (?). Kobe evolved his game to the point where he doesnt have to play wreckless, improving the finesse aspect of his game. This will allow him to play later.

Age is just a number, its about wear and tear on the body.

[MrfadeawayJB]

Mileage absolutely is a factor, but it isnt limited to just sheer number of games played. Style of play must be taken into account. There is a reason why Wade is declining so early in his career. Not that he isnt still a great player, but its pretty obvious he is at least starting to decline a bit. The guy plays 100 mph and is always getting beat up when he is on the floor. That takes way more of a toll than the fact that he is 27-28 (?). Kobe evolved his game to the point where he doesnt have to play wreckless, improving the finesse aspect of his game. This will allow him to play later.



Age is just a number, its about wear and tear on the body.

same could be said for Ginoboli early on in his career