[HallOfFamer]

Originally posted by kflo!


i'd say some of rice's records are not nearly as unbreakable as the others listed - there are players today who have comparable or better average numbers per season than rice had - they just need the longevity and consistency - no easy task of course, but at least there's potential there.

Yep, Moss is on pace to break Rice's career records if he continues his pace. There are also a bunch of new crop of receivers who could possibly stay at the same pace.

But then again, Jerry Rice's level of play hasnt seen a major dropoff. He may not be an elite receiver anymore, but the longevity he's displayed is something that is hard to match. Rice isn't as athletic as Moss, but Moss doesn't work as hard as Jerry. During the end of your career, I think work ethic is much more important then athleticism for a WR. Thats why Jerry has been able to stay around for so long.

[kawika]

Originally posted by 1 Penny!
If NBA wants new records set, they would need to implement new rules. Maybe increase game time from 48 mins to 60 mins. So that more players can put stats. But it aint gonna happen.

No, no, they wouldn't. Really. (Or at least nothing as dramatic as increasing the game length by 25%.)

Standards change over time. Look, in 1971 Willis Reed finished 10th in the league with 13.7 rebounds per game. Last year that number would be just behind KG (13.9) at #1 and more-than-comfortably ahead of TD and Ben Wallace (12.4) who tied for 2nd.

The game is changing and evolving as we speak. Maybe the influx of big guys with what used to be considered guard's skills will make the idea of merely having one guy on a team have the lion's share of assists seem ridiculous, and therefore make Stockton's mark MORE unobtainable that it is now.

The point is, it's almost impossible to guess how the NBA will change in the next thirty+ years, only that it will.

PS-I do agree with jokeaward, that it's really hard for me to envision a time when baseball would go back to the deadball era, no matter what the circumstances. The trend of pitchers pitching less and less is a long, historical one, not a current hiccup.

[Minstrel]

Originally posted by kflo!

i'd say some of rice's records are not nearly as unbreakable as the others listed - there are players today who have comparable or better average numbers per season than rice had - they just need the longevity and consistency - no easy task of course, but at least there's potential there.

Many players have started off on pace. The pace early is not the hard part, many wide receivers start off with big numbers...the hard part is not even staying healty (though that's no easy task either). It's playing at Rice's incredibly high level for as many years as he did. Rice was still putting up elite numbers (1300 yards, for example) at age 40. He missed only one season due to injury and never had a bad season. Almost every season, until last season, was great.

The other thing that argues for Rice's numbers being unbreakable is how much he smashed previous records by. He was already setting these records a decade ago. He's only been adding on to them for the past decade.

For some records, the pace is difficult, but they don't have to hold it for as long, nor is it as hard to play many years in other sports. For Rice's records, holding the pace for such a long period is the test, in a game that punishes you more than any other.

In some sense, it's equivalent to Nolan Ryan's strikeout record. There have been pitchers who matched or exceeded his "pace" (which is under 300 Ks a year) early. But striking out that many one year after another for 20 years is almost impossible. Similarly, I think it will be nearly impossible for Moss or Harrison to keep up their paces for anything close to 20 years.

Isaac Bruce and Michael Irvin were previous "on pace to break Rice's records" guys and they never even came close to approaching his records as they were a decade ago.

[Minstrel]

Originally posted by kawika!

PS-I do agree with jokeaward, that it's really hard for me to envision a time when baseball would go back to the deadball era, no matter what the circumstances. The trend of pitchers pitching less and less is a long, historical one, not a current hiccup.

But that could change. Very careful studies have shown that pitchers in four- or even three-man rotations didn't suffer injuries or drop-offs in effectiveness at a greater rate than pitchers in today's five-man rotations.

Injury and pitching ineffectiveness is much more linked to having high pitch counts in individual games, not pitching more often with a reasonable load (like 100-110 pitches maximum).

If that sort of information catches on, some team or teams may well seek to get a competitive edge by dropping their fifth and maybe fourth starters (who will surely be worse than their top-three). If it works for them, that could spark a wave across baseball.

Historical trends are one thing, but with our knowledge always growing, revolutions can occur, returning to previous circumstances.

[jmk]

Originally posted by PacersguyUSA!
If it weren't for his health, Tinsley had the potential. He has the record for number of assists in a game as a rookie (23).

I hope that was a joke.

[KeiranHalcyon]

Most assists, rookie, game
25-Ernie DiGregorio, Buffalo at Portland, January 1, 1974
Nate McMillan, Seattle vs. L.A. Clippers, February 23, 1987

According to the NBA website.