Would Larry Bird be a starter for these Celtics

this is the dumbest thing i have ever heard....you are literally a retard and not a hoops fan. Larry Bird would make this team unstoppable...and would be the best player on this team. his basketball IQ is as high as this entire teams combined....saying he couldn't start on this team is like comparing Apples to Gorillas. please buy the Larry Legend DVD...watch it twice...and then apologize to everyone that has ever picked up a basketball....jesus christ...dude is in the conversation as one of the greatest of all time and you say he couldn't handle the game in 2010...you must be WNBA fan.

Hi All,Just my opinion to the original question.Not only would Larry start for the 2009-2010 Celtics,He would probably start at any position except point guard or center(and we all know he could fill in admirably for Perkins,if need be).I have a question for the originator of this post,Please think long and hard,how many of todays Celtics would start on Larry's teams(mid 80's to early 90's)?

malmo wrote:

Magic Johnson said that when you played against Bird he was going to do something that you've never seen before.

Bird wasn't athletic? He led one of the best fastbreak eams of all-time. As a 6-9 forward, he was one of the top rebounders in the league for his entire career. One of the best scorers in league history despite being mugged constantly by 2-3 players. Best of all he was the king of smack, often telling defenders where is next shot was going to be and "there ain't nuthin you can do about it"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULvo7__wwBU

Thanks Malmo - I got goosebumps like 6 times.

No US marathoner from the 80s would make the trials today right? :)

Yeah him and THE ENTIRE REST OF THE NBA!

Wow, this takes the cake. NOBODY could defend Dominique in his prime.

Idiot!

I hope you mean Moses and not Karl Malone. Moses was a great, great player and would be even better today. Big men can't even drop step anymore.

Hardcore Troubadour wrote:

This is similar to a discussion I had a few months ago with my much younger cousins about today's current NBA superstars vs. The Dream Team.

Any thoughts?

Yah.........the Dream Team would play defense and snuff todays streetballers out.

distance guy wrote:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULvo7__wwBU

Thanks Malmo - I got goosebumps like 6 times.[/quote]

You're welcome. Take a look at the 'Greatest Passer of Alltime" video that 'Flipping the Bird' put up. The genius, inventiveness, and athleticism is on another level. At least 20 times you'll whoa and chuckle. Some of those passes you can't believe he (or any human) was able to think of, especially while falling and off-balance, yet those quick thinking plays were the norm for bird, not highlights.

Larry's pure talent.look at him looks out of shape even in his hay day,but boy can he shoot the lights out.can u imagine him today in actual shape?old tapes show him cornered he's still gonna score.

dominique was very dependable...he had no jumpshot.

Yanqui wrote:

I have no doubt that more of today's players are great athletes. I'm just not so sure too many of them know how to play basketball.

It is crazy how many times over the course of the draft you'll hear a player's strengths list as: length and athleticism, and weaknesses as: shooting and ball handling. And these are the first rounders. Too bad the draft has devolved into a prospects market rather than a skills market.

Watching old clips from the Bird/Magic era really makes me miss the "true" fast break...get the rebound, outlet to the PG, fill the lanes, etc. Teams like the Lakers and Celtics could get the ball all the way down for layups with the ball barely hitting the floor. I know defenses designed to stop the easy break have a lot to do with that, but so does the guy rebounding the ball bringing it up the floor, which happens way too often. Being a Bulls fan, it drives me nuts to see a guy like Joakim Noah get a rebound and start bringing it up the floor, even if he gives it up after a few dribbles. Why? A big guy dribbling the ball like that just eats up time off the shot clock and kills possessions.

If you have a guy like Magic or Bird on your team you would get him the ball because if you busted ass down the floor chances are they would give it back.

Can I correctly assume that you would be thrilled to see Ricky Rubio receiving outlet passes from Kevin Love in Minnesota with Brewer and Jefferson filling the lanes?

drinker wrote:

Larry's pure talent.look at him looks out of shape even in his hay day,but boy can he shoot the lights out.can u imagine him today in actual shape?old tapes show him cornered he's still gonna score.

Don't be fooled, he was in great shape, never had any trouble getting up and down the court as well as any big man. One scary thought: He mangled his finger senior year in college and it bothered him for the rest of his career, just think how much better he might have been.

Whatever, dickwad. You know exactly what I was saying. I'm talking about guys like Rondo flanked by Pierce and Garnett, with Allen trailing for the kickout three, or Nash running with Amare and Hill (which they do a lot). Good players who know what they are doing. I threw Larry's name in there because he could run the break like a point guard with his passing skills.

But thanks for the comment, it just further proves that most of the schmucks who pass for NBA "talent" would have been wiped off the floor by a ton of teams from the Bird/Magic/Jordan era. But at the same time, if those three guys ran it right I'd enjoy watching it because I appreciate good basketball, which is rare in the league these days.

I wasn't trying to be a dickwad, but appreciate that such is the default assumption on these boards.

As a basketball fan, I'm genuinely excited about Love and Rubio on the same court together. Love throws great outlets (he's actually a great example of an anti-Noah, a guy who gets the ball to his point immediately). Rubio runs a break well (if the Wolves can ever get him over). Both Jefferson and Brewer are good finishers. With the right coach/system, the T-wolves have some good parts. No sarcasm intended.

FWIW, I can't remember the last time I saw Garnett legitimately run the floor on those knees. Makes me sad.

My apologies, you and I both know your best defense on this board is to get defensive. LOL

Any time a team runs a true break is great, but when it would be something like Kareem (rebound) to Magic (2 dribbles to 1/2 court) to Byron Scott/Jamaal Wilkes on one wing, back to Magic (1 or 2 more dribbles to the FT line and then to the other side for Worthy to throw it down, that's just basketball at a whole nother level.

Love the videos Malmo --- silly question asking would Larry start for these current Celtics!

I don't know - at age 53 he probably would not start. Probably be the first guy off the bench.