NBA roundup: Rodman says LeBron would be "average" in his era
Hall of Famer Dennis Rodman said on the Dan Patrick Show Friday that LeBron James would only be "average" if he played during his era.
Rodman, who helped the Detroit Pistons win two NBA championships in the late 1980s, won three more titles with the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls in the 1990s.
"It's really not a comparison. If LeBron was playing in the late '80s and early '90s he would be just an average player," Rodman said. "To do what Michael has done ... what he did was more charisma, there was more articulating and stuff like that. LeBron is more like ... there's no flash to his game. He's a great player, don't get me wrong, he's a hell of player, I'll give him that. But to me Scottie (Pippen) and Michael are probably the two best 1-2 punches I've ever seen."
Rodman also said Jordan would average at least 40 points per game in the current NBA.
"I'm just sick and tired of people comparing (James) to Michael Jordan," Rodman said. "It's a whole different era, man."
Rodman said the NBA game was much more physical then than it is now.
---Thursday's Game 1 of the NBA Finals between the San Antonio Spurs and Miami Heat drew a 10.6 overnight rating, according to the Nielsen Company.
The Spurs beat the Heat 92-88.
The rating was the third highest for a Game 1 since 2004 but down 10 percent from last year's NBA Finals opener between the Heat and Oklahoma City Thunder, according to Sports Business Daily.
---Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is funding research into the practice of flopping.
Cuban is paying Southern Methodist University $100,000 to conduct an 18-month study to investigate whether or not video or other motion capture techniques can differentiate flops from genuine player collisions.
