Are Steroids a bigger issue in the NBA than we realize?

[cfoo]

Some of these guys are freaks of nature athletically especially the top stars. I was looking at footage of Larry Bird the other day. He averaged similar numbers to LeBron but athletically there is no comparison. Larry Bird looked human where Lebron does not. Even Jordan was skinny compared to these guys. It kind of seems to me like they are doing something and it's not just basic supplements and better health care these days. Even Rondo you look at his head and it doesn't look normal.

Just comparing some of the stars who have been in the league to some of these young players coming in. There is a huge gap.

Kind of sucks to me if that is the case. Most of these guys are cheaters and hurting the integrity of the game.

[cfoo]

Bird to me was a much more skilled player compared to LeBron. He would not miss when he wanted to and his knowledge of the game was much better. Lebron is stupid in comparison. Just much more athletically gifted and it's like playing a video game for him.

[eja117]

You mean you aren't buying that Tim Duncan is playing like a 24 year old at the age of 38 and that he's doing it all naturally?

[cfoo]

No that I can believe. I can still play and am that old. Never took steroids. I think Duncan is probably on a ridiculous diet though and training regiment.

it's more the big headed players. Duncan I actually think is pretty natural and hard work.

[cfoo]

I think 40 is when your b ody naturally has had enough though. I was playing some of my best basketball at 37-38. Had I actually taken care of myself it would have been better. 40 and it's like hitting a wall. I think up until 35 your body gets stronger after that its a decline. once 40 hits its all over.

[cfoo]

These guys play so much though steroids probably go in and out of their bodies like nothing. It probably does spurn muscle growth in ways and prolong them. Protects against muscle and ligament deterioration etc.. Guys like Lebron and even rondo s ometimes seems like he is juiced though.

[derrenattheoffice]

From what I heard/read, if a person has a huge upperbody and narrow hips after some time of in the weight room, there's good chance that he's juicing.

Paul Pierce has a natural body. Andre Miller has a natural body (shocking, right?). Dwight Howard doesn't have a natural body.

[eja117]

Did u notice a couple years ago Duncan had a pretty clear decline, then suddenly rebounded? You think that was just some nutrition and exercise?

[cfoo]

I tend to think as medical stuff and healthcare has evolved so has steroid use for some of these athletes. There are probably some benefits if done in a safe way. Rondo is that description Derren why I say that. So is LeBron.

Older players and guys like Pierce I sort of doubt it. Maybe sometimes but the science was there like it is now. I think it's just a part of the game for some of these guys and just no one says anything.

[cfoo]

The Barry Bonds and Maguire and Sosa stuff was just it getting out of control and it got out. Now they are just more responsible about it and it's not the same story. I think a lot of players are on something though. Different time. Bonds had some serious emotional issues because of that stuff.

[cfoo]

Sammy Sosa turned white for a while. I think he's black again. Did you see those photos of him? some people are messed up.

[freshnthehouse]

MJ got pretty ripped during that last three-peat with the Bulls. I think it was in the 90s when that last stigmas about basketball players lifting weights disappeared. Up until the mid/late 80s it was accepted that lifting would destroy the form on your jumper and make you less agile. Then as more players bucked the trend and started getting serious results from lifting, it slowly became the norm. I know Bird started lifting around 88 or so in order to help him hold up to the rigors of an 82 game season.

Could LBJ be roiding? Possibly, but I doubt it. Some guys are just built like brick sh*thouses. Gus Johnson looked like he was carved out of granite, and he was playing in the mid/late 60s. I doubt he was juicing.

[DERRENMATTS]

You look at guys like David Robinson and Scottie Pippen, and you can see how slender people who lift weights will look like when they start getting stronger. They don't start bulking up and looking like Karl Malone.

[freshnthehouse]

Man Robinson was a monster too. Dude was such a freak. I know there is no way to truly measure it, but some guys seem to be able to jump faster than other. It seems like Robinson could from being flat footed to blocking a shot 13 feet in the air in the blink of an eye.

[Roadrunner]

Interesting topic. I think HGH is not being tested in the NBA, hence players who are taking the drug recover quicker. HGH wasn't available until the 1990s.