Mechanics "experts" have failed to explain how "poor mechanics" lead to good free throws and "good mechanics" lead to poor free throws.
That's just not correct. Simple physics tells you that (a) the ball has an easier time getting through the hoop if it is shot with good arc, because the hoop "looks" larger from a more vertical angle, and (b) gentle backspin is likely to cause the ball to "die" on the rim and fall through, compared to a knuckle-ball shot which is more likely to kick out.
Good mechanics don't guarantee that someone will be a good shooter, and someone with terrible mechanics might, through repetition, be able to compensate for them. You can think of it like typing: I type pretty quickly, but I've improvised a bizarre system that works fairly well for my particular hands and fingers. A true touch typist, properly trained, has the potential to be much faster and more accurate than I am.
Iverson takes off balanced shots alot, that causes his inconsistencies. He also shoots poor free throws fro a guy who spends so much time at the line.
Barbosa has a minimal edge over Iverson in career FT%, 79% to 77%. So I don't think this line of argument provides much insight in this case.
I agree that, in general, someone's FT accuracy is a good measuring stick for his overall skill as a shooter. However, it's just one measuring stick, not a guarantee, and someone like Marion provides a good counterexample.
In this way, Kevin was not like todays selfish points, but more so than Magic, Cheeks, Nash , Stockton and some other other less successful points whos first goal was to get other involved in the game.
Cheeks is before my time (meaning, before I started paying much attention to players who weren't on the Suns). But if you're disqualifying Johnson because so many of his assists came from the two-man game, you need to disqualify Stockton and Nash for the same reason.
Kevin Learned to play the point but came into the league with two guard skills( you remember?).
I remember that point being made before, by other Barbosa apologists. I can't claim to have a crystal-clear memory of Johnson's earliest years in the league, but I do know that from the first time I saw him, he looked much more like a point guard than Barbosa ever has.
I'll take a Kevin Johnson over 90% of the points in NBA history, but he tended to take things on himself in a pinch, and preferred it that way.
I don't see how you can claim to know what he "preferred." As far as the observation goes that he took things upon himself too much, I reject that as a criticism. You have to take what the defense gives you. If they are playing off of your shot and making it difficult or impossible to find an open teammate, then you have no choice but to step up and take the shot yourself. Even Kidd, the alleged consummate "pure PG" of our day, finds himself taking crunch-time shots quite often. Of course, in his case, it's because he can't shoot, making it an even more effective strategy for the defense.
A point who puts his head down alot when he drives gives up court vision and is more predictable.
If you are saying that Johnson was a less effective point guard than Magic Johnson or Oscar Robertson, I agree. Those two players made excellent use of their height advantage.
We can just disagree on the relevance of your assuming how LB will turn out as a veteran.
We also seem to disagree on how quickly Johnson matured. Didn't the Suns acquire him in his rookie year? And didn't he lead the Suns to the WCF just a year or two after that? (These are honest questions; I can't remember and can't easily dig up the information.)
Yeah give me some more!
