The Hick from French Lick

[78]

No wonder that fast break with Cousy was so devastating. He had the ball out to them before the def. could turn around.
Most basketball fans see offense and the ball going in the basket. Def. is half the game. Russell proved it every night. He studied
the ball movement off the rim. He usually knew where it was going before it hit the rim. Throw in his 7 4 wingspan and at least 40+ vertical leap and you had the perfect def player. He didnt slap the ball out of bounds for effect on blocked shots. He blocked them to gain possession.
You have to realize he was going up against the most dominate and imposing figure of all time in Wilt. 11 rings to 2.

The Celtics of that era epitomized the whole being greater than the sum of its parts. Every man on the roster played a unique and pivotal role, and none of them put personal goals above team goals.

 

[T REX]

67 Years of Height Evolution in the NBA - In-depth Research

When your 6'11" playing against midgets, you should dominate.

Give me a freaking break. Go out and play with the 5th graders...I bet you dunk on them and get 25 rebounds a game.

 

[78]

The elephant in the room. Black athletes. Russell was the only black player on the roster when Boston won its first title in '57. Nine years later, the Celtics' championship roster included seven black players.

Russell wasn't only taller, he was quicker and more athletic than most of his NBA peers.

80% of the NBA today is made up of black athletes.

How does one word this without sounding racist? There's a reason why the NBA is 80% black. Black athletes on average are quicker, bigger and better. I intend that to sound deferential to the truth.

 

[deuce]

But Russell's biggest obstacle was Wilt.......

I don't think Wilt ever scored 30 on a healthy Russell.

 

[78]

But Russell's biggest obstacle was Wilt.......

I don't think Wilt ever scored 30 on a healthy Russell.

Russell held Chamberlain below his season averages, but Wilt won most of those head to head battles. Unfortunately for him, his surrounding cast was seldom as good.

Red Auerbach did more than coach those great Celtics teams. He stocked 'em.

 

[Marine1]

But Russell's biggest obstacle was Wilt.......

I don't think Wilt ever scored 30 on a healthy Russell.

In 94 regular season matchups Wilt averaged 29.9 ppg and 28.2 reb against Bill. In 49 playoff matchups Wilt averaged 25.7 ppg and 28.0 rpg.

It’s hard for some to imagine how good Wilt was. He was dominant. He also played on 2 of the greatest teams in NBA history...the 67 Philadelphia Warriors and the 72 Lakers.

 

[Concrete Helmet]

Red Auerbach did more than coach those great Celtics teams. He paid off all NBA officials and executives for over a decade.

FIFY...

 

[GatorInGeorgia]

Defensive matchups:

Longley on Parish (advantage Parish)
Rodman on McHale (advantage Rodman)
Pippen on Bird (pick 'em)
Jordan on Ainge (Jordan)
Harper on Johnson (advantage Harper)

Parish on Longley (Parish)
McHale on Rodman (McHale)
Bird on Pippen (Pippen)
Ainge on Jordan (lol)
Johnson on Harper (pick 'em)

Bird > Pippen on both sides of the court.

 

[78]

Bird > Pippen on both sides of the court.

Obviously better on the scoring end. Nada on the other end. Pippen was a 10-time All-Defensive selection. There are few people who defended as well as him.

 

[Marine1]

Obviously better on the scoring end. Nada on the other end. Pippen was a 10-time All-Defensive selection. There are few people who defended as well as him.

Pippen was a great defender no doubt but Bird was a much better rebounder.

 

[78]

Pippen was a great defender no doubt but Bird was a much better rebounder.

Perhaps but that's missing the point about Pippen. He was often asked to guard wings and point guards, which took him away from the basket. He practically shut down Magic Johnson in the '91 Finals. He averaged two steals for his career and had one season where he fell just short of three. He was Phil Jackson's go-to guy for stopping the opposing team's best scorer or playmaker.

Without Pippen's efforts on defense, Jordan doesn't have as much energy on the offensive end.

It's by no means a stretch to say Pippen was the best all-around defender in NBA history.

 

[g8tr72]

What is this "defense" you speak of? /Modern NBA Fan

 

[Marine1]

Perhaps but that's missing the point about Pippen. He was often asked to guard wings and point guards, which took him away from the basket. He practically shut down Magic Johnson in the '91 Finals. He averaged two steals for his career and had one season where he fell just short of three. He was Phil Jackson's go-to guy for stopping the opposing team's best scorer or playmaker.

Without Pippen's efforts on defense, Jordan doesn't have as much energy on the offensive end.

It's by no means a stretch to say Pippen was the best all-around defender in NBA history.

Can’t say I would disagree.

 

[Concrete Helmet]

Just thought I'd drop this here for some who said he didn't shoot well from the outside(led in 3 pointers several times) or play defense....had he not retired at 31 he would own most records....oh and those that said he couldn't lead in scoring listen to the part about how he upped(at will pretty much)his scoring toward the end of his career when most players scoring should be falling off. Just showing how if he had played for anyone other that the Lakers he would have averaged 30-35PPG...

 

[78]

Career 3-point percentage

Stockton .384
Bird .376
James .343
Bryant .329
Jordan .327
Pippen .326
Johnson .303
Malone .274
Abdul-Jabbar .056

We could make a pretty good team with sixth man off the bench from the top six guys.

 

[Minister of Information]

A game is more than just raw stats and scoring. It's leadership, it's teamwork, it's setting an example of relentless effort, it's toughness, will, intimidation, and gamesmanship, and it's not letting the serious side of all of the above steal the singular joy of competition at the highest level of achievement, which is what makes the whole thing entertaining.

By those standards alone Johnson and Bird are the two greatest all around players in league history. Easily.

 

[itsgr82bag8r]

But Russell's biggest obstacle was Wilt.......

I don't think Wilt ever scored 30 on a healthy Russell.

Wilt was scoring plenty off the court....

 

[Swamp Donkey]

Wilt was scoring plenty off the court....

 

[stephenPE]

A game is more than just raw stats and scoring. It's leadership, it's teamwork, it's setting an example of relentless effort, it's toughness, will, intimidation, and gamesmanship, and it's not letting the serious side of all of the above steal the singular joy of competition at the highest level of achievement, which is what makes the whole thing entertaining.

By those standards alone Johnson and Bird are the two greatest all around players in league history. Easily.

 

[deuce]

Wilt was scoring plenty off the court....

The evidence says Wilt lied!