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...
19 comments
Read more

In defense of Marcus Smart

By
 Let me make it clear first of all that I am totally against making a threat of any kind that even hints at harming, or certainly killing, another human being. Marcus Smart was wrong in doing so in the Celtics loss to the tanking Oklahoma City Thunder , and he deserved the one-game suspension. But to be honest, part of me loved that it occurred. . This type of thing can happen when a player gets to a point "beyond frustration" and is having a bad game. Marcus and his teammates have been under-performing generally - were in the process of losing to a pathetic-and-tanking Thunder team - and Smart was having a bad game . And he let loose verbally at the closest target - an NBA official. Wilt Chamberlain did a similar act versus referee, Earl Strom when Wilt was having his usual tortuous time at the free throw line (per Chicago Tribune's Sam Smith): ''He was in one of those 1-for-13s,'' recalls referee Earl Strom. ''Nothing was getting close. S...
Post a Comment
Read more

Did the Celtics Kevin McHale really have a wingspan of 8-feet?

By
According to many sources, the Celtics Kevin McHale did indeed have an estimated wingspan of 8-feet. One of those sources is Wikipedia, as seen below: Kevin McHale American basketball player DescriptionKevin Edward McHale is an American retired basketball player who played his entire professional career for the Boston Celtics. He is a Basketball Hall of Fame inductee, and is regarded as one of the best power forwards of all time. He was named to the NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team. Wikipedia Born: December 19, 1957 (age 61 years), Hibbing, MN Wingspan: 8′ 0″ Height: 6′ 10″ Spouse: Lynn McHale (m. 1982) NBA draft: 1980, Boston Celtics (Round: 1 / Pick: 3) Hall of fame induction: 1999 Number: 32 (Boston Celtics / Power forward, Center) Kevin was listed at 6'10" tall when he was drafted with the 3rd pick in the 1980 draft. Red Auerbach, in yet another heist, brought in both McHale and center Robert Parish (via trade) prior to the Celtics' 1980-81 Champion...
Post a Comment
Read more