this post was submitted on 21 Nov 2023
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For those who aren’t familiar, british soccer commentator Andy Gray said this of Messi back in 2010/11, questioning whether Messi could dominate in tough conditions against a physical premier league club. It’s now a popular joke within the soccer and internet community.

For the NBA, is it “Can he do it after a night out in Miami?” “Can he do it on the second night of a back to back in Denver?” “Can he do it after the Lakers sent missed foul call video evidence to the league?” Something else?

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[–] skoobaskiz@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

Can he suck a with a dick in his mouth?

[–] skoobaskiz@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

Imagine using “physical” and “soccer” in the same sentence.

[–] Ieatzdabootyy@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

Harden used to average 30+ while having all-night binges in strip clubs. I honestly think that should count lol

[–] Immediate_Rage_@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

Can they do it on the road in the 2nd nite of a back- to-back!

[–] Hopeful_Relative_494@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

Can he do it with the stomach flu in Utah?

[–] beforeitcloy@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago
[–] Della86@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

Can he do it after shitting his pants on the court in the finals?

[–] 3s2ng@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

Can he do it with the aircon off? Spurs vs Heat in 2014 Game 1 finals.

LeBron unable to play in the final minutes due to severe cramps.

[–] ivarokosbitch@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

But could he do it during March Madness?

[–] Elite_Racist_45@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

Explain in NBA terms

[–] KJR37@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

"Can he do it out the bubble?"

[–] aucs@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

Could he do it with sandals on?

[–] Texan628@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

"Can he do it over a 7 game series...."

[–] luvvdmycat@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

Can he do it in the playoffs?

[–] itsjohnlazy@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

Okay, but can he beat the 95-96 Chicago Bulls?

[–] wjbc@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

This comes up more when ranking all time NBA greats — could he do it back when the game was more physical and soft players got trounced? People even ask this about LeBron James, but more often they ask it about Steph Curry.

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[–] apple_jack1011@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Can he do it against Dillon Brooks?

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[–] nthumedasner@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

Lemme tell ya, playing in Miami after a night out would test anyone's skills. Can he do it? Who knows, man. But I'm just hoping for some good basketball and maybe some free throw airballs to laugh at.

[–] Ladnil@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Does he still contribute to winning when his shot isn't falling?

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[–] Embarrassed_Tackle_5@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

They say for young players can they do it consistently

[–] SHashbrowns1@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

Can he do it after two off days in Los Angeles or Miami

[–] Timoteo-Tito64@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

I think the only unironic answer to this is in Denver, maybe on a back to back as well

[–] MaxEhrlich@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

Can he do it after tons of rumors linking him in trade talks?

[–] jjkiller26@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago (4 children)

"Lebron wouldn't survive in the physical era of the 80s/90s"

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[–] Weak_Caterpillar_861@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

Can he do it in a road game in Atlanta on a team with James Harden?

[–] The_prawn_king@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago (2 children)

To actually answer your question there’s two ways of going about it:

  1. Part of the Stoke quote is because they were a physical team more than a footballing team at times. I’m not sure you really have that in the nba but the bad boy pistons and the 2000’s title winning pistons side were quite physical teams. So maybe it’s “can he do it in the second night of a back to back in the palace?”

  2. You focus on the rainy night aspect of Stoke being grim and cold. Now the obvious answer would be Toronto as it’s the most north, the coldest and no one wants to move there it seems. But I’d pitch instead Denver because there’s always this altitude talk of how difficult it is to play away there when you don’t have time to climatise. So maybe “can he do it at 5000ft in Denver?”

That’s my best attempt

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[–] Megatron_McLargeHuge@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago (6 children)

Can he do it against NCAA competition?

(Said about Luka before he entered the league)

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[–] Current_Anybody4352@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

segababa in denver

[–] eastcgnutd@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

Can he do it on a bright slippery in-season tournament court?

[–] elchico97@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Another one I’d throw in: “Can he do it despite being drafted by Charlotte?”

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[–] toadtruck@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

Can he do it after a night at Shotgun Willie’s

[–] Ramu_1798@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

#FATE OF THE UNIVERSE ON THE LINE. THE MARTIANS HAVE THE DEATH BEAM POINTED AT THE EARTH. YOU BETTER HIT IT.

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[–] kaceytronwhiteknight@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

Lebron went through quite a few of these types of goalpost moving statements in his career

"Can he do it without Wade"

"Can he do it without a 'superteam' "

Pretty sure both Kobe and Shaq had the "can they do it without the other" which got even more play after Shaq won with Wade in 2006, before Kobe won 2 more in 2009 and 2010

I don't know if there's any stadium-specific versions of this because basketball is played indoors, but a lot of players have reverence for places like the Lakers and Knicks stadiums

There are NBA fans that say things like "Jordan never won without Phil Jackson" or "how good would x player be if they'd had Popovich as their head coach". Those are far more common and probably closer to the rainy night in Stoke.

In the NFL back in the early to mid 2000s it was "can you beat the Patriots in the cold"

Tom Brady also had the "can he do it without Belichick" thing for 20 years, then he won with the Buccaneers

[–] WhackedOnWhackedOff@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Can he adequately protect his testicles while being guarded by Draymond?

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[–] kennyonsmogon@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

lebron in sandals

[–] EliteDelta3@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

Can he do it when the AC goes out in San Antonio?

[–] ElMaskedZorro@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

Back to back in Denver probably the answer

[–] comandosc@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

Can he do against the pistons in the palace?

[–] Grumpysaurus-Rex@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

Years ago in the early days of r/nba they used to meme “can he do it in flip flops”

[–] TMaier16@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

Can he do it up 3-1 with Scott Foster reffing?

[–] Ok_Awful@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

Once upon a time it would have been “Could he do it on a back to back in Detroit?” Since the Bad Boy Piston were so much more physical than the next team on that list. Now a days I am not sure who that team would be. But maybe if we are taking nominations I say we should still use Detroit.

[–] blackmarksonpaper@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

Can he do it at the Garden?

[–] noknownothing@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

Can he do it in the middle of a mass shooting in Memphis?

[–] boozinf@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

Can he do it against Danilo Gallinari when death is on the line?

Can he do it when the lemon pepper ran hot last night?

[–] rmacthafact@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

People questioning if Lebron could win in a “loaded West” comes to mind

[–] wbro322@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

Did Messi dominate?

[–] the_alert@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

There is none, because nba games all have the same playing conditions.

[–] WyngZero@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

Pretty much can any high level player actually play well in the playoffs against good teams and actually good defenses.

Very few (LeBron, warriors players, Giannis, Jokic, Durant, Taytum) have demonstrated they can with consistency.

Lots of players are good in the regular season when a lot of the teams are mid or suck, very few step up when it matters and they need to take over (ex. James Harden, Chris Paul).

Upcoming players will be eventually be judged by the same standard because end of day - NBA is a league of superstars.

[–] Tearz_in_rain@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

Can he do it during a June heat wave in Boston when the AC isn't working?

[–] skoobaskiz@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

This is so cringe

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