A Legendary Magician - Saeed Ajmal
A Thread 🧵👇
More from Sport
Aight. Here’s my favorite 2 stories about Bill Russell.
Both stories reveal how much of a humble human being he is. And one blows my mind because it dismantles what we think about the evolution of sports.
A thread:
The first is, that there is an assumption that today’s athletes are faster, stronger, etc. which is is based on ZERO evidence.
For instance, Wilt Chamberlain benched 465 lbs at 59 years old. Arnold Schwarzenegger says he benched 500 lbs on the set of Conan the Destroyer
Most basketball experts say Wilt has the highest vertical leap in NBA history. A few others argue that Michael Jordan did.
I think they’re both wrong.
Why?
Well let me tell you a story:
In 1956 Bill Russell was selected for the US Olympic basketball team
During this time, pros weren’t allowed in the Olympics, so the International Olympic Committee tried to say that he was ineligible since he had already signed with the Celtics, even though he hadn’t played yet
Luckily, Russell prevailed and led the team to the gold medal as the captain.
But if they would have stopped Russell from playing for the US basketball team, he would have STILL been in the Olympics.
How?
Because Bill Russell was one of the greatest high jumpers I. The world.
Both stories reveal how much of a humble human being he is. And one blows my mind because it dismantles what we think about the evolution of sports.
A thread:
Where is the thread? Love when you give us your take on these players. The KC Jones piece was outstanding. Had no idea.
— Bweasey (@Bweasey) December 27, 2020
The first is, that there is an assumption that today’s athletes are faster, stronger, etc. which is is based on ZERO evidence.
For instance, Wilt Chamberlain benched 465 lbs at 59 years old. Arnold Schwarzenegger says he benched 500 lbs on the set of Conan the Destroyer
Most basketball experts say Wilt has the highest vertical leap in NBA history. A few others argue that Michael Jordan did.
I think they’re both wrong.
Why?
Well let me tell you a story:
In 1956 Bill Russell was selected for the US Olympic basketball team
During this time, pros weren’t allowed in the Olympics, so the International Olympic Committee tried to say that he was ineligible since he had already signed with the Celtics, even though he hadn’t played yet
Luckily, Russell prevailed and led the team to the gold medal as the captain.
But if they would have stopped Russell from playing for the US basketball team, he would have STILL been in the Olympics.
How?
Because Bill Russell was one of the greatest high jumpers I. The world.
When thinking about who to play in DM for Leeds the word "role" is important. Let's have a think about the role:
A lot of people think Struijk isn't good enough in the build-up phase. Well, what does the DM do in build-up?
Here's a passing network from last season:
As you can see, Phillips' role in the Championship last season was largely facilitating build up in the wide area (on the left interestingly).
Per Wyscout, Phillips is putting up a figure of 7.03 long passes per 90 minutes and completes around 59%. Last season he was making 6.94 long passes per 90 mins at around 52%.
Per dribbles he's putting up similar numbers across both seasons (between 1 and 1.5 p90) and per duels he's putting up the same number (20 p90).
All of this suggests his role hasn't changed much over the last couple of seasons.
This exactly. I think the 8 and fullback roles in this system share quite a lot of common attributes, even forgetting how Bielsa looks to hybrid them in 3-3-1-3. No wonder that we've seen Dallas, Shackleton, Gotts etc play both. And these roles play to Dallas' strengths.
— Jacob Standbridge (@PocketTrumpeter) February 13, 2021
A lot of people think Struijk isn't good enough in the build-up phase. Well, what does the DM do in build-up?
Here's a passing network from last season:
As you can see, Phillips' role in the Championship last season was largely facilitating build up in the wide area (on the left interestingly).
Per Wyscout, Phillips is putting up a figure of 7.03 long passes per 90 minutes and completes around 59%. Last season he was making 6.94 long passes per 90 mins at around 52%.
Per dribbles he's putting up similar numbers across both seasons (between 1 and 1.5 p90) and per duels he's putting up the same number (20 p90).
All of this suggests his role hasn't changed much over the last couple of seasons.
