1. Defense in the 1980s was hilariously non-existent. It's the biggest reason I can't stand watching basketball from that era; getting open shots was incredibly easy. It was the defense and overall physicality in the mid-1990s that forced the NBA to make rule changes to open the game up.
2. Maybe "scrub" is a bit strong. Still, I find it hard to believe that Eaton would do well against most matchups he'd face in today's NBA. He's a less mobile, less skilled Hibbert. He played in a post-centric era, where his strengths far outweighed his weaknesses. I don't think that would be the case now.
Your crazy to think that defense was non existent in the 80's NBA. Here is a list of the best defensive players both retired and active.
Rank Player DWS
1. Bill Russell* 133.64
2. Tim Duncan 98.11
3. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar* 94.49
4. Hakeem Olajuwon* 94.47
5. Wilt Chamberlain* 93.92
6. Karl Malone* 92.41
7. Kevin Garnett 89.23
8. Elvin Hayes* 83.65
9. Patrick Ewing* 81.42
10. David Robinson* 80.14
11. Jason Kidd 75.14
12. John Havlicek* 74.09
13. Robert Parish* 72.98
14. Ben Wallace 70.58
15. Dikembe Mutombo 68.53
16. Scottie Pippen* 67.29
17. Shaquille O'Neal 66.36
18. John Stockton* 64.93
19. Michael Jordan* 64.13
20. Wes Unseld* 64.11
21. Charles Oakley 63.34
22. Nate Thurmond* 62.23
23. Buck Williams 61.79
24. Jack Sikma 60.69
25. Shawn Marion 60.33
26. Paul Pierce 59.14
27. Larry Bird* 59.03
28. Rasheed Wallace 57.12
29. Dolph Schayes* 56.15
30. Dwight Howard 55.95
31. Clifford Robinson 55.89
32. Dave Cowens* 55.83
33. Marcus Camby 54.89
34. Dennis Rodman* 54.46
35. Moses Malone* 54.36
36. Charles Barkley* 53.91
37. Dirk Nowitzki 53.14
38. Vlade Divac 52.90
39. Shawn Kemp 52.17
40. Paul Silas 51.74
As you can see there a quite a few 80's players.
Team strategies were focused on defense back then. The rules allowed them to play hard defense without being penalized with a foul. Big men cleared space by throwing elbows. Guards/forwards though twice about driving in because they could be hammered to the floor. I have to ask, did you watch basketball in the 80's?