Skip to main content

"Who's gonna get 2nd place?" - Top 10 All-Time Celtics - Part 2 - small forward

Image
By
If you don't recognize the quote in the title of this piece, you may not be a dyed-in-the-wool Larry Bird fan. In Part 2 of my series, we are evaluating the best small forward Boston has ever had on the roster, and the only question is, who comes in second. If you read Part 1, you already know Larry comes in first, followed by The Truth, Captain Paul Pierce. Here's a partial list of Bird's accomplishments, via Wikipedia:

3-Time NBA Champion
2-Time Finals MVP
3-Time NBA MVP
12-Time All-Star
9-Time All-NBA First Team
3-Time All-Defensive Second Team
3-Time 3-point Champ
2-Time 50-40-90 Club

Shooting, passing, defense, leadership, anticipation, basketball IQ, confidence, arrogance - he had them all. Here's the deal on Bird's "Who's gonna get 2nd place" challenge prior to winning the 3-point shootout.


Did I mention confidence and arrogance? Larry chose to play a large part of one game left-handed (he was a righty).


The Bird Man was also one of the top assist guys ever to play the forward position. His passing skills were mesmerizing:


Let me end this piece by emphasizing that we have never seen a player like Larry, and we may never again. He was truly unique. And tough as nails.


So who comes in second for All-Time Celtic at the small forward position? The Captain - The Truth - Paul Pierce. I have always loved this guy, but he had no chance for first place at SF with Bird in his way. And I would have loved to place Paul first at shooting guard, but Jarrin' John Havlicek, the Bouncing Buckeye from Ohio State, won that one. We will look at him in Part 3.

Follow Tom at @CelticsSentinel and @_Celtics_Center

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Elm Street Nightmare

By
 A true-and-suspenseful horror tale of haunting, homicides and the hunt for triple-murderer, Daniel Laplante - as told by the cops that were there By Lt. Thomas Lane (Ret.)  Daniel Laplante - cold, calm, clever, calculating- Photo: YouTube   Elm Street  surfaces on six (6) occasions in the Laplante saga: 1.) He  resided on Elm Street  in Townsend, Massachusetts  2.) He  kidnapped a woman  at gunpoint on  Elm Street, Pepperell , Massachusetts 3.) That kidnapped woman fled to the Gillogly residence on Elm Street after escaping from the armed fugitive, Laplante. 4.) He was arrested and transported to Massachusetts State Police Barracks on Elm Street in Concord . 5.) He was  tried, convicted   and sentenced for the murders at  Superior Court , corner of  Elm Stree t and Gorham Street, Lowell, Massachusetts. 6.) The author, Thomas Lane, lived on Elm Steet, Pepperell, Massachusetts while a police Sgt./Lt. for the t...
23 comments
Read more

A sorrowful farewell to Kitty's Restaurant (North Reading, MA) as a family tradition

By
  Time to say "Goodbye" to Kitty's Restaurant - my   family's destination and tradition for six generations and more than 80 years. My memories of Kitty's go back to the early-1950's . I would accompany my dad and grandfather on fishing trips to the Ipswich River in North Reading, Massachusetts - followed by a visit to the restaurant on Main Street. In later years, my wife, Linda, and I would eat there with our two kids, Marc and Lisa - and years later - with our two grand daughters - and still later - with our great grandson, Carson. Author and family at Kitty's approx. 10 years ago Kitty's never disappointed. The drinks were big and well-made . The food was terrific - as were the portions. The service was exceptional and we became well-acquainted with the waiters and waitresses. It all worked so very well for many decades. My grand daughter, Courtney , was particularly fond of the restaurant. She was born with cystic fibrosis , and during her fr...
15 comments
Read more

Wemby versus Kareem as rookies

By
 We already know that the Spurs Victor Wembanyama is going to be an NBA phenomenon, but will he surpass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar by the end of his career. It is highly likely.  I did a "per-36-minutes" comparison between the two stars, mainly because Kareem logged 43.1 MPG in his rookie campaign - while Wemby has been held to only 29.4 MPG. Kareem: 24.1 PPG - 12.1 RPG - 3.4 APG - .518 FG - .653 FT Wemby:  25.9 PPG - 12.9 RPG - 4.5 APG - .463 FG - .796 FT No blocks, steals or 3-pointers were looked at since they were not tracked in Jabbar's first year in the NBA. It should also be noted that Kareem was 22 years old at the time, while Victor started at age 20. Two factors favoring Wembanyama ultimately surpassing Jabbar on any "Best-of-All-Time" charts are his point guard skills , shared by so many European players.  and the fact he is being mentored by Gregg Popovich. His potential seems astounding. But the question remains. Can he garner six Titles and six MVP ...
1 comment
Read more