Getty Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant against Knicks
The 80s era Detroit Pistons were a talented, rugged bunch and they have the hardware to prove it.
Guided by head coach, Chuck Daly, Isiah Thomas, Joe Dumars, Vinnie Johnson, Bill Laimbeer, John Salley and Dennis Rodman more than excelled.
What’s intriguing is that the Pistons started Johnson, Thomas and Dumars at positions one through three.
Thomas was listed at 6’1, Dumars at 6’3 and Johnson at 6’3. Some may consider that a three point guard lineup.
In today’s NBA era, it seems that comparatively, the Brooklyn Nets are looking to assemble a championship caliber team with two viable point guards in Spencer Dinwiddie and Kyrie Irving.
One might argue that the two could start together with Kevin Durant, Caris LeVert, DeAndre Jordan and Jarrett Allen filling out Brooklyn’s starting five.
I asked NBA Hall of Famer, Isiah Thomas if he sees any similarities.
“I can see the similarities, but we didn’t have a Kevin Durant,” he tells the Heavy Live With Scoop B Show.
“Let’s be clear. That’s a WHOLE nother level in terms of basketball play. But in terms of versatility which they bring to the floor from the three guards like me, Joe [Dumars], and Vinnie [Johnson]; when you look at [Caris] LeVert, Spencer Dinwiddie , Kevin Durant and you also look at Kyrie; who is probably the most creative player in the game. He is really about exploring the art and the artistry of the game – I relate to that [smiling]. I admire that. And then when you pair him with another creative mind like a Steve Nash, I just think the Nets are not only going to be exciting, but they have the potential to be just beautiful watching them play every single night.”
Added Thomas:
“I like that they have a basketball culture and they have basketball minds. So what they have is participants in the sport who have excelled at the sport; and what the Nets have done is basically rewarded the ‘workers’ so to speak, and not only reward the workers by excelling and moving them to coaching positions and general manager positions and now the players have a voice within their team. So you really have from an educational standpoint – they say the best way to have pure education is to have participation and observation and therefore, you have total immersion. When you look at the Brooklyn Nets from a basketball standpoint, they have total immersion within the basketball culture and the organization. Now, can they bring all that education out and put it out on the floor and apply it.”