Basketball Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson recently criticized Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors. Robertson thinks that coaches these days "don't know anything about defenses," players are unaware of how to properly defend Curry and the Warriors don't really even have any set plays or strategies. A lot of this is just Robertson fondly reminiscing about when he was one of the best to ever play but it is also extremely untrue and angered Warriors head coach Steve Kerr.
Asked about Robertson's comments before Golden State's win over the Orlando Magic on Thursday, Kerr gave a very sarcastic response, essentially dismissing the Hall of Famer's criticism.
From Fox Sports:
"Oh I'm sure, yeah," Kerr said when asked about Robertson's suggestion that players from the past could contain Curry better than the players of today. "I could have stopped this back in my time. Boy, I would have shut Steph down."
Kerr wasn't done there, however.
"Because athletes, you know, 50 years ago were much bigger, stronger and faster, more finely tuned," Kerr continued. "So Steph might not have made it in the league."
...
"He's doing things that nobody has ever done before," Kerr added of Curry. "He's so comfortable in his own skin and he really does play with so much joy. He's having fun. Night in and night out he's having fun. Nothing's bothering him."
Sure Kerr is being sarcastic but there are truths in his sarcasm. With advances in training and conditioning, modern day athletes are, as Kerr says, bigger, stronger and faster than ever before. Curry is one of the fastest guards in the league and can execute a crossover in astonishing speed. It is very hard to imagine a player from Robertson's era being able to keep up with Curry any more than today's defenders are able to. Yes, they could hold and hand-check back then and generally play a more physical style of defense, but skill is skill and nobody, arguably, has ever had more of it than Curry.
Robertson was one of the greatest players in the history of the NBA, able to do things on the court that no one else was able to do at the time. Curry is the same way and virtually unguardable with truly unlimited range. And while Robertson is entitled to his opinion and may truly believe what he's saying, as Kerr pointed out on Thursday, the Hall-of-Famer just sounds foolish.
