I've seen great shooters like Ray Allen, Craig Hodges, Steve Kerr, Dirk, Mark Price, Reggie Miller, Kobe Bryant, Glen Rice, Allah Houston, Steve Nash, Chris Mullin, Pistol Pete, Mitch Richmond,Carmelo, Dennis Scott, etc...but NOBODY in NBA history ever had the shooting touch like Larry bird. When he swished the ball thru the nets it was like an explosion back then. With his fundamentals and heart he would totally obliterated the NBA today.
It's funny because Danny Ainge was like Boston's enforcer. Like in Hockey how every team has an enforcer to protect their best player. If someone goes after their leading scorer the enforcer will throw his gloves off and start pounding the guy. Danny Ainge didn't mind having the bad reputation as long as he helped his team...and especially Bird. Of course it seemed like everyone on the Pistons was an enforcer. They were all mean and had a bad reputation. Ha ha ha.
Bird And Ones not called - 1:023:294:44 I tell the Jordan jockers all the time, Jordan wasn't getting to the FT line b/c he was a slasher or 'ultimate driver' - Stern coddled Jordan for bucks. Still the jockers want to believe that grown men don't know how to double and triple team a guy without fouling.
Many say the Pistons injuries prevented them from winning this series..LOL! What about boston being injured badly..and they still won! Isaih was full of himself. Same with the lakers series. In 1989 the Lakers swept the playoffs then had injuries to Magic and their leading scorer B Scott. All the games were close Towards the end. Magic was the 1989 MVP. At Full strength, IMO..Lakers win that series in 5...
@mikenotnumberone1 I'm not sure what you're getting at but the Pistons were definitely better than the Lakers 87-91. And injuries to Thomas in 88 definitely gave the Lakers that series in 7. And you really buy that Magic being injured jazz? He was always pretending his hammy was soar. Magic never had one major injury his entire career.
@FavreianVengeance LOL!! um..no they were not. The lakers in 1991 got to the finals and were beat up. the lakers in 1989 were missing 40% of their offense and the leagues MVP in Magic. Watch those games in the 1989 finals..they were all close..add magic and B scott to them..game over. Are you telling me the 1987 Pistons were better than that showtime squad that murdered the NBA that year? LMFAO!! Magic pretending injury and misses finals games? WHAT??
@mikenotnumberone1 also..magic was out most of 1981 with a broken knee cap..played much of his career with tendonitis. I am a huge fan of Bird and Magic. I am not your enemy man..Joickers are the worst. I agree with you there.
@mikenotnumberone1 Oh I agree with all of that. The C's of the 80s were the best team ever and people don't know it b/c of injuries and the fact that they had to play tougher competish in the east than the Lakers and then Bias died. But my point is that the Pistons were a better team than the Lakers from 87 to 91.
@FavreianVengeance Those LAkers in 1987 were just flat out faster, smarter and had waves of attacks that most of the NBA could not handle. in a 7 game series that year..no one xcept a healthy Boston was going to beat them. With Len..now then I am not soo sure. Len bias would have been a difference maker. 1988 zeke was hurt but man he played out of his mind hurt..what is to say he does that not hurt? he went into a zone. In 1989, that laker team was too good in the playoffs.
@mikenotnumberone1 87 I won't even count Walton. But even if McHale and Parish weren't playing on hurt ankles I think it'd have been different. If Bias was in the mix, the C's would have three peated 86 to 88 and I think they would have even competed in 89 with Bird out. He was that good. 85 - NBA politics gave it to the Lakers. Game 5 was in LA and not Boston like it should have been and that was the diff. 87 - I give the Lakers credit but the company men had their effect.
@MerkinMuffly You see..this is why I have problems with shaq. What he did in Boston is inexcusable. It was just for the money and that is wrong. He knew he was injured so accepting that contract adn giving boston nothing..is wrong..his last game sums it up..one pt and zero rebounds was it?? Pathetic. If he stayed in shape and ended his career letting Kobe take over ala Kareem and magic..they win a few more in LA.
@FavreianVengeance I think a 87 LA beat Pistons, but Pistons should have won 88 if not for some ticky tack fouls called with the clock running down. A healthy 87 BOS would have easily beaten 87 DET. If you watch the 91 BOS DET series, you can see Bird is hobbled, slow, didn't even play in the 1st game. I don't think I saw Bird make 1 drive to the basket, all he does is try to keep rodman off the boards. 91 celts were a good team, but Bird & McHale were to far gone by playoffs.
@MerkinMuffly To me. I was shocked when the C's lost this series in 91. The Pistons really had lost their athletic edge and the skills of the C's should have prevailed. I think the combination of injuries and the refs not calling brutal fouls allowed the Pistons to win this series. 87 I'd take a healthy Pisons over the Lakers but it couldve went either way esp. since the Lakers had more exp. But 88 went to closing seconds in LA even with Thomas's ankle f'd up.
@FavreianVengeance I was pissed off they lost at the time, but looking back, I can see why, Bird looks horrible, he's passing up shots and slow as hell. McHale was still coming off the bench with his injuries. Pistons had Dumars to back up Isiah, but there's no one to back up Bird, he was there point guard, really wasn't a good point guard on Boston, Shaw was more of a shooting guard.
@MerkinMuffly Nah. 91 the Celts were better. The Pistons had a sharp drop off from 90 to 91. All of that rough play in the 80s had made its toll. I really think it came down to injuries and even still poor officiating. I mean watch all the crap the Pistons are getting away with. Stern wanted the Pistons and Celts to beat each other up in the hopes of getting Jordan in a Finals.
@FavreianVengeance Very good points here fav..I never really examined this side...from what I am revisiting I do see some homer calls and of course a boat load of aging and injured bodies. Detroit looked battered. The bulls were younger and fresher and many were ready. It would have taken a younger boston or detroit to beat them..and the refs. I was in complete shock at the Lakers knocking off the blazers. But that is how they rolled. always choking.Portland= choke city
@MerkinMuffly In their primes....Scottie pippen or Bernard King? Personally I say King. Scottie was better defensively..but in their primes? BK was too fast..his jumper was unreal..his leaping was off the charts. If BK never got injured..the knicks vs Chicago years might have went down a different path..but we can say this about the celtics losing Len and then reggie. Strange how all this comp disappeared clearing a path for some teams. Sad to lose them
@mikenotnumberone1 Magic tore his ACL in 81, a serious injury and probably the reason he had such a poor playoffs. Pretty sure he wouldn't fake any injuries.There's no doubt LA doesn't get swept in 83 with Worthy and 89 if Magic doesn't go down and if Worthy isn't hurt, they win more than 1 against Bulls in 91. While I think LA was lucky to face an injured BOS in 85 and 87, I give credit where do. I think DET were a little overrated because they looked good against an injured, old BOS & LA team.
@MerkinMuffly You are correct. I was thinking worthy in 1983 with the broken leg. Boston in 1987 was not at full strength. If Len played..this would have been a completely different finals. B scott would have had his hands full..or worthy. In 1983 I think macadoo and one of the LA guards was injured too. 1989 really pissed me off! I hated those pistons and to me they will always be overrated..LOL I watched LA tear up the playoffs then injury struck and they were done!
@mikenotnumberone1 Yeah, Worthy broke his leg and McAdoo missed 7 games of the playoffs. I'm not saying they beat Philly, because that Philly team was a monster, but they put up a better fight. I don't even bring Bias up any more, I've wiped that from my memory. Bad player moves after 88 didn't give BOS much of a chance, but they would have had a great team in 91 if not for Bird & McHale being injured. Brad Lohaus, Mark Acres, Michael Smith, Fred Roberts, need I say more?
@MerkinMuffly Boston in 1988= still injured, tired and needing a blood transfusion. Look what they did in the 80's. They dominated the east. With all the comp in that era..it was amazing how good they were. That team would have taken down Russel's celtics imo if somehow they faced each other. They were stacked! I always just SMH when I think of what ifs..with Bird, Len and Walton. What a damn shame! I watched Len vs Jordan in college today..damn he was good!
@MerkinMuffly I disagree. I think the Pistons are over-rated in history b/c of their back to back championships. But I think the Lakers were on their downhill by 88 and they would have lost that series if Thomas didn't injure his ankle. In 89, the Pistons just wooped on the Lakers big time. If the Lakers were at full strength they still don't take that series more than 5 or 6 games.
@FavreianVengeance Maybe 6 games, Kareem was basically decrepit by that time, Michael Thompson isn't exactly a spring chicken. I think the Pistons beat LA 1st game before Magic's injury so it's not like they couldn't do it with Magic in there. I'm not even sure Bulls get past 91 Pistons if Isiah and Edwards are not injured.
@MerkinMuffly 91 like most of the Bulls championships was a gift. A healthy C's and Pistons were better than the Bulls. In the West there were 3 or 4 teams better than the Bulls. It sucked that the Lakers caught fire and reached the Finals.
i disagree with people saying larry bird not being athletic. he might not be fast or jump high but he is very very coordinated, and when he needs to move quick he usually delivers. and more importantly this guy reaction to defense is definitely at the top 3 all time. it makes him hard to defense.
lol bird shitted on thomas& co. in every way possible,no wonder rodman and thomas disrespected him later...it must have been bad to get humiliated like that.
@netcap001 I agree. The Celtics played just as nasty (and trash talked) as much as the Pistons would later do throughout '88-'90.
Ainge instigating Dumars to retaliate after that foul was a good example. But their antics were over-looked because Bird (& Magic) were considered "gods of the NBA" in the 80's. When the Pistons later took on the Celtics toughness, they would be labeled the "Bad Boys" because of it.
@stewiedog01 Actually, I think Magic summed it up best "The difference between Boston and Detroit was that Boston hit you once during a play and Detroit would hit you twice". I think there is a clear difference between playing tough defense and crossing the line into just taking cheap shots. I think Boston had really good defenders & may have crossed the line a few times during tough play......but Detroit crossed that line constantly. That's why everyone in the league dubbed them "The Bad Boys".
@stewiedog01 i think the celtics were just as capable of pulling cheap shit,like bird pushing cooper in 1984 or picking a fight with jabbar. boston player m.l carr was a thug-i think i remember him fouling julius erving very hard. but these are some exceptions,they did not do that on a regular basis,detroit did-as the poster above pointed out. physical play does not equal being dirty. when you have thomas,mahorn and rodman on your roster...you know you are a dirty team.
@netcap001 I think the East had a reputation in general of being a tough league. Boston was tough.....Philly was tough.....New York could be tough.....Milwaukee could be tough.....and then Detroit took all the lessons of the East and took it beyond tough into just smacking people.
I've seen great shooters like Ray Allen, Craig Hodges, Steve Kerr, Dirk, Mark Price, Reggie Miller, Kobe Bryant, Glen Rice, Allah Houston, Steve Nash, Chris Mullin, Pistol Pete, Mitch Richmond,Carmelo, Dennis Scott, etc...but NOBODY in NBA history ever had the shooting touch like Larry bird. When he swished the ball thru the nets it was like an explosion back then. With his fundamentals and heart he would totally obliterated the NBA today.
chiladin 4 weeks ago
It's funny because Danny Ainge was like Boston's enforcer. Like in Hockey how every team has an enforcer to protect their best player. If someone goes after their leading scorer the enforcer will throw his gloves off and start pounding the guy. Danny Ainge didn't mind having the bad reputation as long as he helped his team...and especially Bird. Of course it seemed like everyone on the Pistons was an enforcer. They were all mean and had a bad reputation. Ha ha ha.
Flipper79able 1 month ago
This doesn't include a ton of and ones that should've been called either.
FavreianVengeance 1 month ago
Schooling 7`0 plus Salley in the Post
Defender80s 2 months ago
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Bird And Ones not called - 1:02 3:29 4:44 I tell the Jordan jockers all the time, Jordan wasn't getting to the FT line b/c he was a slasher or 'ultimate driver' - Stern coddled Jordan for bucks. Still the jockers want to believe that grown men don't know how to double and triple team a guy without fouling.
FavreianVengeance 2 months ago
4:44 - And one not called.
FavreianVengeance 2 months ago
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FavreianVengeance 2 months ago
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FavreianVengeance 2 months ago
Many say the Pistons injuries prevented them from winning this series..LOL! What about boston being injured badly..and they still won! Isaih was full of himself. Same with the lakers series. In 1989 the Lakers swept the playoffs then had injuries to Magic and their leading scorer B Scott. All the games were close Towards the end. Magic was the 1989 MVP. At Full strength, IMO..Lakers win that series in 5...
mikenotnumberone1 2 months ago
@mikenotnumberone1 I'm not sure what you're getting at but the Pistons were definitely better than the Lakers 87-91. And injuries to Thomas in 88 definitely gave the Lakers that series in 7. And you really buy that Magic being injured jazz? He was always pretending his hammy was soar. Magic never had one major injury his entire career.
FavreianVengeance 2 months ago
@FavreianVengeance LOL!! um..no they were not. The lakers in 1991 got to the finals and were beat up. the lakers in 1989 were missing 40% of their offense and the leagues MVP in Magic. Watch those games in the 1989 finals..they were all close..add magic and B scott to them..game over. Are you telling me the 1987 Pistons were better than that showtime squad that murdered the NBA that year? LMFAO!! Magic pretending injury and misses finals games? WHAT??
mikenotnumberone1 2 months ago
@FavreianVengeance Just be thankful bird got injured and len bias died..or the pistons never see the floor of the finals..
mikenotnumberone1 2 months ago
@mikenotnumberone1 also..magic was out most of 1981 with a broken knee cap..played much of his career with tendonitis. I am a huge fan of Bird and Magic. I am not your enemy man..Joickers are the worst. I agree with you there.
mikenotnumberone1 2 months ago
@mikenotnumberone1 Oh I agree with all of that. The C's of the 80s were the best team ever and people don't know it b/c of injuries and the fact that they had to play tougher competish in the east than the Lakers and then Bias died. But my point is that the Pistons were a better team than the Lakers from 87 to 91.
FavreianVengeance 2 months ago
@FavreianVengeance Those LAkers in 1987 were just flat out faster, smarter and had waves of attacks that most of the NBA could not handle. in a 7 game series that year..no one xcept a healthy Boston was going to beat them. With Len..now then I am not soo sure. Len bias would have been a difference maker. 1988 zeke was hurt but man he played out of his mind hurt..what is to say he does that not hurt? he went into a zone. In 1989, that laker team was too good in the playoffs.
mikenotnumberone1 2 months ago
@mikenotnumberone1 87 I won't even count Walton. But even if McHale and Parish weren't playing on hurt ankles I think it'd have been different. If Bias was in the mix, the C's would have three peated 86 to 88 and I think they would have even competed in 89 with Bird out. He was that good. 85 - NBA politics gave it to the Lakers. Game 5 was in LA and not Boston like it should have been and that was the diff. 87 - I give the Lakers credit but the company men had their effect.
FavreianVengeance 2 months ago
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MerkinMuffly 2 months ago
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@MerkinMuffly You see..this is why I have problems with shaq. What he did in Boston is inexcusable. It was just for the money and that is wrong. He knew he was injured so accepting that contract adn giving boston nothing..is wrong..his last game sums it up..one pt and zero rebounds was it?? Pathetic. If he stayed in shape and ended his career letting Kobe take over ala Kareem and magic..they win a few more in LA.
mikenotnumberone1 2 months ago
@FavreianVengeance I think a 87 LA beat Pistons, but Pistons should have won 88 if not for some ticky tack fouls called with the clock running down. A healthy 87 BOS would have easily beaten 87 DET. If you watch the 91 BOS DET series, you can see Bird is hobbled, slow, didn't even play in the 1st game. I don't think I saw Bird make 1 drive to the basket, all he does is try to keep rodman off the boards. 91 celts were a good team, but Bird & McHale were to far gone by playoffs.
MerkinMuffly 2 months ago
@MerkinMuffly To me. I was shocked when the C's lost this series in 91. The Pistons really had lost their athletic edge and the skills of the C's should have prevailed. I think the combination of injuries and the refs not calling brutal fouls allowed the Pistons to win this series. 87 I'd take a healthy Pisons over the Lakers but it couldve went either way esp. since the Lakers had more exp. But 88 went to closing seconds in LA even with Thomas's ankle f'd up.
FavreianVengeance 2 months ago
@FavreianVengeance I was pissed off they lost at the time, but looking back, I can see why, Bird looks horrible, he's passing up shots and slow as hell. McHale was still coming off the bench with his injuries. Pistons had Dumars to back up Isiah, but there's no one to back up Bird, he was there point guard, really wasn't a good point guard on Boston, Shaw was more of a shooting guard.
MerkinMuffly 2 months ago
@MerkinMuffly Nah. 91 the Celts were better. The Pistons had a sharp drop off from 90 to 91. All of that rough play in the 80s had made its toll. I really think it came down to injuries and even still poor officiating. I mean watch all the crap the Pistons are getting away with. Stern wanted the Pistons and Celts to beat each other up in the hopes of getting Jordan in a Finals.
FavreianVengeance 2 months ago
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@FavreianVengeance Very good points here fav..I never really examined this side...from what I am revisiting I do see some homer calls and of course a boat load of aging and injured bodies. Detroit looked battered. The bulls were younger and fresher and many were ready. It would have taken a younger boston or detroit to beat them..and the refs. I was in complete shock at the Lakers knocking off the blazers. But that is how they rolled. always choking.Portland= choke city
mikenotnumberone1 2 months ago
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@MerkinMuffly In their primes....Scottie pippen or Bernard King? Personally I say King. Scottie was better defensively..but in their primes? BK was too fast..his jumper was unreal..his leaping was off the charts. If BK never got injured..the knicks vs Chicago years might have went down a different path..but we can say this about the celtics losing Len and then reggie. Strange how all this comp disappeared clearing a path for some teams. Sad to lose them
mikenotnumberone1 2 months ago
@mikenotnumberone1 Magic tore his ACL in 81, a serious injury and probably the reason he had such a poor playoffs. Pretty sure he wouldn't fake any injuries.There's no doubt LA doesn't get swept in 83 with Worthy and 89 if Magic doesn't go down and if Worthy isn't hurt, they win more than 1 against Bulls in 91. While I think LA was lucky to face an injured BOS in 85 and 87, I give credit where do. I think DET were a little overrated because they looked good against an injured, old BOS & LA team.
MerkinMuffly 2 months ago
@MerkinMuffly You are correct. I was thinking worthy in 1983 with the broken leg. Boston in 1987 was not at full strength. If Len played..this would have been a completely different finals. B scott would have had his hands full..or worthy. In 1983 I think macadoo and one of the LA guards was injured too. 1989 really pissed me off! I hated those pistons and to me they will always be overrated..LOL I watched LA tear up the playoffs then injury struck and they were done!
mikenotnumberone1 2 months ago
@mikenotnumberone1 Yeah, Worthy broke his leg and McAdoo missed 7 games of the playoffs. I'm not saying they beat Philly, because that Philly team was a monster, but they put up a better fight. I don't even bring Bias up any more, I've wiped that from my memory. Bad player moves after 88 didn't give BOS much of a chance, but they would have had a great team in 91 if not for Bird & McHale being injured. Brad Lohaus, Mark Acres, Michael Smith, Fred Roberts, need I say more?
MerkinMuffly 2 months ago
@MerkinMuffly Boston in 1988= still injured, tired and needing a blood transfusion. Look what they did in the 80's. They dominated the east. With all the comp in that era..it was amazing how good they were. That team would have taken down Russel's celtics imo if somehow they faced each other. They were stacked! I always just SMH when I think of what ifs..with Bird, Len and Walton. What a damn shame! I watched Len vs Jordan in college today..damn he was good!
mikenotnumberone1 2 months ago
@MerkinMuffly I disagree. I think the Pistons are over-rated in history b/c of their back to back championships. But I think the Lakers were on their downhill by 88 and they would have lost that series if Thomas didn't injure his ankle. In 89, the Pistons just wooped on the Lakers big time. If the Lakers were at full strength they still don't take that series more than 5 or 6 games.
FavreianVengeance 2 months ago
@FavreianVengeance Maybe 6 games, Kareem was basically decrepit by that time, Michael Thompson isn't exactly a spring chicken. I think the Pistons beat LA 1st game before Magic's injury so it's not like they couldn't do it with Magic in there. I'm not even sure Bulls get past 91 Pistons if Isiah and Edwards are not injured.
MerkinMuffly 2 months ago
@MerkinMuffly 91 like most of the Bulls championships was a gift. A healthy C's and Pistons were better than the Bulls. In the West there were 3 or 4 teams better than the Bulls. It sucked that the Lakers caught fire and reached the Finals.
FavreianVengeance 2 months ago
i disagree with people saying larry bird not being athletic. he might not be fast or jump high but he is very very coordinated, and when he needs to move quick he usually delivers. and more importantly this guy reaction to defense is definitely at the top 3 all time. it makes him hard to defense.
popeyeisgood 3 months ago
lol bird shitted on thomas& co. in every way possible,no wonder rodman and thomas disrespected him later...it must have been bad to get humiliated like that.
netcap001 3 months ago
@netcap001 I agree. The Celtics played just as nasty (and trash talked) as much as the Pistons would later do throughout '88-'90.
Ainge instigating Dumars to retaliate after that foul was a good example. But their antics were over-looked because Bird (& Magic) were considered "gods of the NBA" in the 80's. When the Pistons later took on the Celtics toughness, they would be labeled the "Bad Boys" because of it.
stewiedog01 3 months ago
@stewiedog01 Actually, I think Magic summed it up best "The difference between Boston and Detroit was that Boston hit you once during a play and Detroit would hit you twice". I think there is a clear difference between playing tough defense and crossing the line into just taking cheap shots. I think Boston had really good defenders & may have crossed the line a few times during tough play......but Detroit crossed that line constantly. That's why everyone in the league dubbed them "The Bad Boys".
Flipper79able 2 months ago
@stewiedog01 i think the celtics were just as capable of pulling cheap shit,like bird pushing cooper in 1984 or picking a fight with jabbar. boston player m.l carr was a thug-i think i remember him fouling julius erving very hard. but these are some exceptions,they did not do that on a regular basis,detroit did-as the poster above pointed out. physical play does not equal being dirty. when you have thomas,mahorn and rodman on your roster...you know you are a dirty team.
netcap001 2 months ago
@netcap001 I think the East had a reputation in general of being a tough league. Boston was tough.....Philly was tough.....New York could be tough.....Milwaukee could be tough.....and then Detroit took all the lessons of the East and took it beyond tough into just smacking people.
Flipper79able 2 months ago
unstoppable...hahaha
Everybody who played him said he was frustrating to guard...
usnate1 3 months ago
Great game! Thanks a lot. Bird may lack the elegance of Mchale when he posts up but boy does he get the job done!
NeuMasterful 3 months ago
Love the way Larry schools Salley once and again
mikiikanen 3 months ago
Nice 1 on 4 break for Bird 4:45
MerkinMuffly 3 months ago
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MerkinMuffly 3 months ago
Ahh, I was about to do this one, but you beat me to it, good one. Bird had an amazing game.
MerkinMuffly 3 months ago