
He’s the Michael Jordan of Darts. He Just Has to Prove It - jstreebin
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/13/sports/michael-van-gerwen-darts-championship.html?_r=0
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hanasu
I have issue with the claim that Taylor was just beating up on inferior
competition historically. One way we can measure this is by the 'three-dart
average' \- the average score of each player's turn of three darts at the
board. Taylor had the televised world record from 1991-2004 and from
2008-2012. He was leagues better than anyone on the planet. Van Gerwen is in
my mind a better player now but this article really sells short how utterly
dominant Taylor was. He wasn't just better than everyone else, his opponents
weren't even playing the same game.

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abritinthebay
> I have issue with the claim that Taylor was just beating up on inferior
> competition historically.

As you should - because, even if it's true, it's silly.

Jordan arrived at post-expansion NBA and his early dominance of the game can
be directly attributed to that. But we don't downplay his achievements and
skill because of that - we take them what they were - incredible for the era.

Taylor has won 216 professional tournaments - 84 major titles and a record 16
World Championships. Taylor won eight consecutive World Championships from
1995 to 2002 and reached 14 consecutive finals from 1994 to 2007.

We're not dealing with the 60s here in Taylor - we're dealing with a man that
is _currently_ dominant in the game. Not as much as he _was_ but he's still
the man to beat.

Van Gerwen is good - great even - but he's no Jordan yet. He's only been good
for 2 years, let me know when it's been 10.

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GFK_of_xmaspast
I'm not sure what you mean by "post-expansion", by my reading of the wiki
timeline
([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expansion_team#National_Basket...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expansion_team#National_Basketball_Association))
Jordan came in during the middle of what would become the longest drought
between NBA expansions. (And considering the rest of the league at the time,
it's hard for me to get my head around what "incredible for the era" could
mean)

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abritinthebay
Jordan's major wins - his 91-93 championship run - and thus a fair portion of
his legacy, came post-expansion of the NBA by 4 teams.

It's not a knock on Jordan or the Bulls, but there was a talent drought for a
few years. The Bulls took full advantage and Jordan _shone_.

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billforsternz
Claiming Messi is 20 times better than Maradona at his peak is silly. Just as
silly as claiming to be 20 times better that Taylor at his peak. Maybe take
the reciprocal, 5% better. Maybe. Incidentally, darts as a spectator sport is
borderline at best. Van Gerwen is right, it's boring! I think the enthusiastic
fans are really just enthusiastic about the vast quantity of alcohol they're
imbibing. It's a fad and it will decline just as fast as it's risen. I think.

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akkartik
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_van_Gerwen#World_Champ...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_van_Gerwen#World_Championship_results)

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thomasthomas
does anyone actually believe he doesn't practice!? seems like he read 48 laws
of power "Make Your Accomplishments Seem Effortless"

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codyb
I dunno, once you've mastered something practice can become meaningless. It's
an incredible skill to be able to hit any point on a dart board, but once you
can do it... you can sorta just do it. Some sports require practice to
maintain stamina and strength but not darts. And there's only so much variety
you can really add to your throw. You can be certain he'd have to practice if
he wanted to start throwing with his non dominant hand.

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generalledger
A skill in just about any physical competition is perishable. If you don't
keep up with it, you won't be as good at it as you once were. I have only
casually played darts, but I have to think this isn't much different from
hitting baseballs, shooting free throws, or hitting a golf ball. It takes
practice to get good, and it takes practice to stay good, especially at the
highest levels of competition.

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3131s
Eh, there's no comparison. Playing most sports at a high level requires a
massive amount of strength training and maintenance work just to keep your
body functioning. I don't play darts, but from a purely physical aspect there
is so much less potential for injury and less need to stay in superb physical
condition across the entire body. Elite level athletes need to do everything
from flexibility work, daily massage / myofascial release to promote blood
flow and break up scar tissue, strengthen vulnerable areas like the neck to
protect against concussions, careful nutrition, etc. If you don't train and do
the work that accompanies training, you won't make it through half a season.

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shmageggy
Wow, if he's as good at darts as Michael Jordan is at machine learning, that's
really saying something!

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MrQuincle
From a nonparametric Bayesian perspective you're clustering the wrong people
with this prior.

