Josh thinks he can come off the bench in the NBA

[H2o]

10 hours ago, Brand J said:

 

Yeah, many professional athletes grew up playing multiple sports, BUT basketball requires much more ball skill compared to football. Dribbling, passing, shooting, rebounding, defending, it’s much more specialized where all 5 players on the court have to have the ability to do it all. Not necessarily well, but well enough not to be a complete liability in any one area.
 

There are much better overall athletes in football, but none of those guys are 6’5”+ moving silky smooth and coordinated like basketball players. Peppers wouldn’t have had a chance in the league, not even the G league. Maybe overseas, but he’d be undersized for his skillset there too. Ditto for Moss. I think some of you guys don’t understand or truly appreciate the skill level of NBA players. Like Brian Scalabrine likes to tell street ball players (and even collegiate ones), “yeah I might suck in the NBA, but I’m much closer to Lebron James than you are to me.”

The best basketball player in the NFL likely wouldn’t beat the 12th man on an NBA bench. There aren’t numerous guys that could’ve played either sport, they all went where their projection was best, same thing Keon Coleman did.

I understand basketball. I played for years. I also understand how gifted athletes are in any professional sport.

 

I believe you're wrong on Peppers. He was a plus athlete, who was also 6'7" and 290lbs. His handles weren't crazy or anything, but he surely could post up anyone and he had hops. I think he could have certainly carved out a bench role, especially given the style of the game at that time. 

 

Rivers was acting like almost any basketball player could transition over to football. He's full of it. Just because you're big, can run, and are good at basketball does not mean you could transition that to a football field. It's a different type of coordination when you have to focus on doing your job and 200-300lb man is about to light you up on top of it. 

 

I respect all of them, in any professional sport. I think a lot of it, with these gifted types of athletes, comes down to which game they love more. If football is their passion, and they are gifted at their respective positions, then they are more likely to carve out a career in that sport over another. If basketball is their passion, and they are gifted at their respective positions, then they are more likely to carve out a career in that sport over the another. I do think there are guys who could be successful at both, had they chosen to put their all into the other sport. 

[julian]

12 hours ago, NewEra said:

Hockey is a completely different realm because it requires the athlete to already be an incredible ice skater.  Nba and NFL players are running.  Give some nba and nfl players up to speed on skates and they could compete+ imo

The problem is, you can’t “get up to speed” on skates lol. The ability to skate anywhere near the level needed to compete professionally comes from beginning to skate as a small child. Most people begin skating as young as 5 years of age or younger and almost all of them drop out of competitive hockey because their skating isn’t good enough to play at the highest levels.

 

 No professional athlete could ever cross over to the NHL, the skating is such a unique skill that requires almost a lifetime of training to even have a chance of playing.

[BillsShredder83]

15 hours ago, PBF81 said:

 

It's waaay too easy for the officials to control NBA games in favor of Vegas.  

 

 

i sincerely dont believe its vegas you g2 worry about.... its NBA offices calling for game 7's, close games, big market teams to get the help, teams w/ superstars being pushed through

i know its a slight difference but its a "less" ugly scenario

[Cray51]

10 hours ago, Dr.Sack said:

Luka reminds me of Allen, slow, yet steady, quicker mind than body, great pump fakes. 

Watching Luka pass is the thing that carries him closest to Allen.  Allen has the coordination with a ball in his hands to be precise.

 

allen was a plus high school basketball player, who then went through a growth spurt and is now a 6’5 beast of a precision athlete.  

 

I think he could step onto a low end D1 team and probably be able to not look terrible.  Maybe after a year or two of training he could be on the bench of a top D1 program.  It would be a whole different level for NBA however.

[TheBrownBear]

I mean I could come off an NBA bench and play 6-7 minutes.  My coach, teammates and fans just wouldn't like what they see.

[Brand J]

40 minutes ago, DabillsDaBillsDaBills said:

Josh is 6 foot 5 and freakishly athletic. It's not crazy to say he could be a contributing bench player. Give him a few years of professional level training and he might even be pretty decent. 

Josh is freakishly athletic for a 6’5” NFL QB, but he’d be a marginal athlete on the hardwood, next to other 6’6” NBA guards. 
 

29 minutes ago, H2o said:

I understand basketball. I played for years. I also understand how gifted athletes are in any professional sport.

 

I believe you're wrong on Peppers. He was a plus athlete, who was also 6'7" and 290lbs. His handles weren't crazy or anything, but he surely could post up anyone and he had hops. I think he could have certainly carved out a bench role, especially given the style of the game at that time. 

 

Rivers was acting like almost any basketball player could transition over to football. He's full of it. Just because you're big, can run, and are good at basketball does not mean you could transition that to a football field. It's a different type of coordination when you have to focus on doing your job and 200-300lb man is about to light you up on top of it. 

 

I respect all of them, in any professional sport. I think a lot of it, with these gifted types of athletes, comes down to which game they love more. If football is their passion, and they are gifted at their respective positions, then they are more likely to carve out a career in that sport over another. If basketball is their passion, and they are gifted at their respective positions, then they are more likely to carve out a career in that sport over the another. I do think there are guys who could be successful at both, had they chosen to put their all into the other sport. 

I grew up playing the sport as well so anything I offer is from that perspective. I spent hours and hours and hours on the court, but alas, was never special/didn’t have the mind that makes the game easier. Rivers is definitely wrong about his 30 player projection, there’s no chance for the majority of those lanky athletes to transition, but there are Zion Williams, Russell Westbrooks, Derrick Roses, and a few others with the build and explosion that transfers.
 

I will agree to disagree with your assessment that there are multiple NFL players who could’ve been NBA players had they chosen that path. Taking Peppers as an example, basketball was his favorite sport growing up. He wanted to be the next Michael Jordan out of NC and never cared for football much. When it became clear he had a much brighter future in the NFL than as an NBA prospect, he quit basketball and put all his efforts into football. You were right to include “at that time” because the game has certainly changed. Perhaps he could’ve served a role as a bench player, but I don’t see it. His statistical averages at UNC and his style of play didn’t suggest his game would transfer well on a professional level. 
 

Who in the current NFL has a chance to run a team as a point, or has a shot good enough to play the 2? I only reference those two positions, because I don’t see any of the taller athletes transitioning to the 3 or 4. Ochocinco said Xavien Howard was “super nice” at basketball, but his definition of super nice against an NBA professional is quite different. Anyone you name, from TO to Puka Nacua, at their height, could you realistically see any of those guys having the skill to compete in the NBA? They chose football for a reason, there’s far more opportunity. Less headache pursuing their first love. Less headache trying to stick on a bench somewhere. 

[Bleeding Bills Blue]

I think he was joking when he said it.  The biggest challenges to playing time in the NBA (for rookies and actual basketball players) are spacing and defense.  If you can't shoot well enough, or quick enough, your presence on the floor will clog up the interior.  You're useless in a pick and roll because they will switch and double.  Defensively, they'll pick on you every time up the floor if you are a minus in that regard.  You'll pick up fouls, give up easy buckets, screw up rotations, and just generally the other team will score points when you are out there.  

[H2o]

1 hour ago, Brand J said:

Josh is freakishly athletic for a 6’5” NFL QB, but he’d be a marginal athlete on the hardwood, next to other 6’6” NBA guards. 
 

I grew up playing the sport as well so anything I offer is from that perspective. I spent hours and hours and hours on the court, but alas, was never special/didn’t have the mind that makes the game easier. Rivers is definitely wrong about his 30 player projection, there’s no chance for the majority of those lanky athletes to transition, but there are Zion Williams, Russell Westbrooks, Derrick Roses, and a few others with the build and explosion that transfers.
 

I will agree to disagree with your assessment that there are multiple NFL players who could’ve been NBA players had they chosen that path. Taking Peppers as an example, basketball was his favorite sport growing up. He wanted to be the next Michael Jordan out of NC and never cared for football much. When it became clear he had a much brighter future in the NFL than as an NBA prospect, he quit basketball and put all his efforts into football. You were right to include “at that time” because the game has certainly changed. Perhaps he could’ve served a role as a bench player, but I don’t see it. His statistical averages at UNC and his style of play didn’t suggest his game would transfer well on a professional level. 
 

Who in the current NFL has a chance to run a team as a point, or has a shot good enough to play the 2? I only reference those two positions, because I don’t see any of the taller athletes transitioning to the 3 or 4. Ochocinco said Xavien Howard was “super nice” at basketball, but his definition of super nice against an NBA professional is quite different. Anyone you name, from TO to Puka Nacua, at their height, could you realistically see any of those guys having the skill to compete in the NBA? They chose football for a reason, there’s far more opportunity. Less headache pursuing their first love. Less headache trying to stick on a bench somewhere. 

Oh, yeah, I don't know enough about any football player outside of football to be able to say "he definitely could" or anything like that. Most of them have only been football players since they finished HS. You don't really see the two way players like that much anymore. They typically focus on one thing now, and I believe partially because of how the seasons overlap one another. It's much easier for a football player to also double up in baseball.

 

I also agree that Zion, physically, could probably play, but he is often injured even on the basketball court. Westbrook and Rose could likely have played WR or one of the DB positions. They said LeBron was good as a WR in HS, I've seen some of the old videos, and he probably could have been an elite TE in the NFL. Anthony Edwards seems like he's athletic enough to play WR in the NFL. Charlie Ward was a better QB than he was a PG, but still played for 12 years in the NBA. 

 

In all, I'm sure there are some exceptions when you take into account the number of players in each sport. Guys who might be able to play the other. It doesn't mean they would be top shelf in the other sport, just that they could make a roster. Using Gates as a cross-reference to generalize all of them is grasping at straws. It's not that easy and not everyone is built where they could be as successful as he was. 

[NewEra]

3 hours ago, julian said:

The problem is, you can’t “get up to speed” on skates lol. The ability to skate anywhere near the level needed to compete professionally comes from beginning to skate as a small child. Most people begin skating as young as 5 years of age or younger and almost all of them drop out of competitive hockey because their skating isn’t good enough to play at the highest levels.

 

 No professional athlete could ever cross over to the NHL, the skating is such a unique skill that requires almost a lifetime of training to even have a chance of playing.

My point was, if you can get an nfl or nba player up to speed.  You can’t say that that’s impossible because some players may already be very good skaters. It’s not as if there aren’t any players that played hockey growing up.  Lukas Van Ness was an accomplished hockey player.  He was an enforcer in HS but stopped playing to pursue football.  I can’t say that he couldn’t have been as good as Colton Orr and Derek Boogard.  Enforcers have a role in the NHL and some of them weren’t very good at playing hockey.  
 

I get your point though.  You aren’t getting an nba/nfl player up to speed if they haven’t skated before.  

 

[Pete]

Athletes are great at several sports.  Dave Winfield was drafted in 4 sports.  Rogan says LeBron would be MMA Champion with his build and athletic skills. Athletes come in all shapes and sizes.  Kyle Williams was best athlete on Bills  Great at golf, ping pong, swimming, etc. The Knucklehead with Sal this AM was arguing Josh couldn't play in the NBA for 6 minutes a game, Keon couldn't- hes too short.  Yes Josh could play 6 minutes in the NBA, and Keon Coleman was a top basketball recruit.  He is a a 6'3 point guard that can rain 3s from downtown and throw down 360 degree dunks.   Athletes are great at most everything athletic.  I have a friend who has a beer belly, and no one would peg for athlete.  Ive seen him do backflips diving off a 40 foot cliff, ive seen him hit a softball as far as Ive ever seen one hit, he will ski off 20' cliffs no problem, doing helicopters, hes a 3 handicap.  If you are a good athlete, you are great at most things athletic

[Brand J]

9 minutes ago, Pete said:

Athletes are great at several sports.  Dave Winfield was drafted in 4 sports.  Rogan says LeBron would be MMA Champion with his build and athletic skills. Athletes come in all shapes and sizes.  Kyle Williams was best athlete on Bills  Great at golf, ping pong, swimming, etc. The Knucklehead with Sal this AM was arguing Josh couldn't play in the NBA for 6 minutes a game, Keon couldn't- hes too short.  Yes Josh could play 6 minutes in the NBA, and Keon Coleman was a top basketball recruit.  He is a a 6'3 point guard that can rain 3s from downtown and throw down 360 degree dunks.   Athletes are great at most everything athletic.  I have a friend who has a beer belly, and no one would peg for athlete.  Ive seen him do backflips diving off a 40 foot cliff, ive seen him hit a softball as far as Ive ever seen one hit, he will ski off 20' cliffs no problem, doing helicopters, hes a 3 handicap.  If you are a good athlete, you are great at most things athletic

This is generally true, Pete, most athletes are very good at many different sports, but they’re not so good that they could make a living in another sport. Take the fastest guys in the NFL, they all probably ran track growing up, but none are so great that they could make a living at it. Kyle Williams was an excellent swimmer, Marshawn Lynch was as well and thought he’d beat Williams easily, but Williams smoked him. That said, Kyle isn’t so great a swimmer that he could make money in the sport. He’s not competing with those top athletes. This is true across the board. Whoever the best golfer is in the NFL, I’m sure he’s an outstanding player, but he’s not making a living on a PGA Tour.
 

I echo the knucklehead who said Josh couldn’t come off an NBA bench. He can’t. He might be a very good basketball player, one of the better guys in the NFL, but he’s not so good that he could realistically compete with other professionals in that sport. Same with Keon, which is why Izzo encouraged him to pursue football when they had a heart to heart chat.
 

There's tons of guys in the NFL whose first love is basketball, they play for hours in the offseason, might have even been top recruits in HS, but there’s a reason why they’re on a field and not the hardwood. Even McDonald’s All American basketball players flame out. There’s levels to these things!

[PBF81]

5 hours ago, BillsShredder83 said:

i sincerely dont believe its vegas you g2 worry about.... its NBA offices calling for game 7's, close games, big market teams to get the help, teams w/ superstars being pushed through

i know its a slight difference but its a "less" ugly scenario

 

That for sure, but I wouldn't dismiss the other.  

 

 

[julian]

2 hours ago, NewEra said:

My point was, if you can get an nfl or nba player up to speed.  You can’t say that that’s impossible because some players may already be very good skaters. It’s not as if there aren’t any players that played hockey growing up.  Lukas Van Ness was an accomplished hockey player.  He was an enforcer in HS but stopped playing to pursue football.  I can’t say that he couldn’t have been as good as Colton Orr and Derek Boogard.  Enforcers have a role in the NHL and some of them weren’t very good at playing hockey.  
 

I get your point though.  You aren’t getting an nba/nfl player up to speed if they haven’t skated before.  

 

Van Ness was an American high school hockey player who played hockey as a hobby, in no alternate universe or this one does he have the skating ability to play at professional level.

 

Skating is a unique skill, stick handling, shooting, checking, blocking shots and the many other skills needed to play hockey could possibly be taught to an elite skater   as me in that case it would interesting to see what level of hockey they could function at.

 

[Pete]

3 hours ago, Brand J said:

This is generally true, Pete, most athletes are very good at many different sports, but they’re not so good that they could make a living in another sport. Take the fastest guys in the NFL, they all probably ran track growing up, but none are so great that they could make a living at it. Kyle Williams was an excellent swimmer, Marshawn Lynch was as well and thought he’d beat Williams easily, but Williams smoked him. That said, Kyle isn’t so great a swimmer that he could make money in the sport. He’s not competing with those top athletes. This is true across the board. Whoever the best golfer is in the NFL, I’m sure he’s an outstanding player, but he’s not making a living on a PGA Tour.
 

I echo the knucklehead who said Josh couldn’t come off an NBA bench. He can’t. He might be a very good basketball player, one of the better guys in the NFL, but he’s not so good that he could realistically compete with other professionals in that sport. Same with Keon, which is why Izzo encouraged him to pursue football when they had a heart to heart chat.
 

There's tons of guys in the NFL whose first love is basketball, they play for hours in the offseason, might have even been top recruits in HS, but there’s a reason why they’re on a field and not the hardwood. Even McDonald’s All American basketball players flame out. There’s levels to these things!

Good post.  All the great Tight Ends are playing Power Forward in NBA.  Danny Ainge is one of all time great athletes.  Danny was First Team All American in football, basketball, and baseball.  He played for Blue Jays 3 years before winning championships with Celtics.Tony Gwynn was basketball and baseball all American.  Jackie Robinson was a 4 sport star 

[major]

On 5/22/2024 at 4:53 PM, 78thealltimegreat said:

I have to chuckle at Austin Rivers cause I think Josh’s odds of coming off the bench in the nba are better then someone from the nba throwing 60 yard ropes as bills qb 

 

Hope my Knicks sign him in the offseason 🤘🏀

[NewEra]

2 hours ago, julian said:

Van Ness was an American high school hockey player who played hockey as a hobby, in no alternate universe or this one does he have the skating ability to play at professional level.

 

Skating is a unique skill, stick handling, shooting, checking, blocking shots and the many other skills needed to play hockey could possibly be taught to an elite skater   as me in that case it would interesting to see what level of hockey they could function at.

 

Again……. If they can get up to speed.  

 

you’re assuming that’s impossible. I’m assuming that it’s possible for someone to excel at hockey at a young age and also excel at other sports.  Ever see Colton Orr or Derek Boogard play hockey?  They stunk.  They were there for one reason and it wasn’t to play hockey 

[julian]

1 hour ago, NewEra said:

Again……. If they can get up to speed.  

 

you’re assuming that’s impossible. I’m assuming that it’s possible for someone to excel at hockey at a young age and also excel at other sports.  Ever see Colton Orr or Derek Boogard play hockey?  They stunk.  They were there for one reason and it wasn’t to play hockey 

We’ll agree to disagree, respect your position though.