What makes Bird greater than Shaq/Duncan?

[allball]

What about 29.7/13.6/3.8/3.0 on 57.4% from the field at a much slower pace with 10 more wins than Bird and a championship to cap it off. Then we can mention his 31/15 playoff averages and 38/17 finals averages that season...

ah yes that 31/15 came against Vlade Divac, Luc Longley/Oliver Miller, and a 35 yr old Arvydas Sabonis/Rasheed and Ric Smits / Dale Davis a virtual whose who of HOFers.

[torontofan]

eisenhower is a far better president than clinton.

George Washington > eisenhower > clinton

[Da_Realist]

[QUOTE=ThaRegul8r]Larry Bird:

[kuniva_dAMiGhTy]

Bird was and is the definition off Celtics Pride. He was a confident, competitive, smart hardworking player who thrived in the clutch. He inspired his teammates and made them better. Bird would force the spotlight upon himself, but also brought out the best in the players around him. Bill Russell, Hondo, Cousey, even those legendary players didn't fill Boston Garden, wowing fans and dominating games as Bird did. The cliche yet perfect quote that described Larry Bird was that he was playing chess while you were playing checkers.

Career Stats/accomplishments:
- points: 21,791 (24.3 ppg)
- assists: 5,695 (6.3 apg)
- rebounds: 9,874 (10.0 rpg)
- 3

[Carbine]

But why? It can't be because Larry won more. It can't be because Larry had more accomplishments. It can't be because Larry had better longevity....all of those things are in Duncan's favor.... all off which are really important when factoring who is greater.

[Big#50]

[QUOTE=kuniva_dAMiGhTy]Bird was and is the definition off Celtics Pride. He was a confident, competitive, smart hardworking player who thrived in the clutch. He inspired his teammates and made them better. Bird would force the spotlight upon himself, but also brought out the best in the players around him. Bill Russell, Hondo, Cousey, even those legendary players didn't fill Boston Garden, wowing fans and dominating games as Bird did. The cliche yet perfect quote that described Larry Bird was that he was playing chess while you were playing checkers.

Career Stats/accomplishments:
- points: 21,791 (24.3 ppg)
- assists: 5,695 (6.3 apg)
- rebounds: 9,874 (10.0 rpg)
- 3

[kuniva_dAMiGhTy]

Tim has one more ring. Tim has one less reg season MVP but was robbed in 99. Tim is at least a top 5 defensive player of all time. Tim has the same amount of Finals MVP's. Tim is just as clutch if not more clutch than Bird. Bird played in the 80's. Do you think a slow unathletic 6'9 forward can play in today's league at that high level? **** NO. How is Bird better?

Not athletic because he's Caucasian? Get some perspective. I don't argue sentiments, rather facts. If Dirk Nowitzki and Steve Nash are getting theirs now, why couldn't Larry? He was a much better player and just as good of a shooter. Tim Duncan was not more clutch. Tim couldn't shoot like Bird. Tim couldn't pass like Bird. Tim doesn't have the IQ Bird had. Tim doesn't have the killer instinct Bird had. Tim didn't captivate and revitalize the NBA for a decade like Bird did.

[CB4GOATPF]

Tim has one more ring. Tim has one less reg season MVP but was robbed in 99. Tim is at least a top 5 defensive player of all time. Tim has the same amount of Finals MVP's. Tim is just as clutch if not more clutch than Bird. Bird played in the 80's. Do you think a slow unathletic 6'9 forward can play in today's league at that high level? **** NO. How is Bird better?

[B][COLOR="DarkGreen"]Larry Bird has more clutch shots, steals and plays than the whole Spurs franchise.

Larry Bird averaged 6.3 and 6.5 APG for his Career and in his Prime close to 9 APG.

Larry Bird actally played Floor Defense and was one of the Best Team and Floor Defending SFs Ever

Larry Bird was a Better Far Range Shooter, Mid Range Range Shooter, FT Shooter, 3 Point Shooter and Clutch Shooter.

Larry Bird had PG like Court Vision/Ball Timing/Desicion Making

Larry Bird is the Smartest Player Ever Offensively and His B-Ball IQ is compared to Very Few (Russel one of them)

Larry Bird had the Greatest Body-Hand to Eye Coordination Ever

Larry Bird was Ambidiextrous

Larry Bird was a Better Ball Handler[/COLOR]

[COLOR="darkgreen"]Larry Bird [/COLOR]Battled [COLOR="DarkOrange"]Kareem-Magic-Worthy-McAdoo-Nixon-Lucas-Cooper-Scott[/COLOR]/[COLOR="Red"]Dr J-Moses-Toney-Cheeks-Jones-Bobby then young Barkley[/COLOR]/[COLOR="Blue"]Laimbeer-Isiah-Mahorn-Dumars-Salley-Dantley-Aguirre-Rodman[/COLOR]/[COLOR="Red"]Jordan-Pippen-Grant[/COLOR]/....REAL TEAMS

[COLOR="DarkGreen"]Larry Bird has the Highest Statistical Plus/Minus for any Small Forward in NBA History.[/COLOR]

....

[COLOR="DarkSlateGray"]Duncan was the Better Impact Player (just as was Barkley)...as Most Cs and CFs do but Larry was the More Skilled Player than Duncan and made Others Better More (just as Barkley over Duncan)

Duncan was a Better Post Defender/Shot Blocker and Post Player thats it[/COLOR]

[COLOR="DarkRed"]Larry Bird was More Athletic from 1979 and 1986 than People Think...Go Watch Those Clips

Larry Bird

[Big#50]

Not athletic because he's Caucasian? Get some perspective. I don't argue sentiments, rather facts. If Dirk Nowitzki and Steve Nash are getting theirs now, why couldn't Larry? He was a much better player and just as good of a shooter. Tim Duncan was not more clutch. Tim couldn't shoot like Bird. Tim couldn't pass like Bird. Tim doesn't have the IQ Bird had. Tim doesn't have the killer instinct Bird had. Tim didn't captivate and revitalize the NBA for a decade like Bird did.

Who said anything about being white? Dirk is 7ft tall and still faster than Bird. Nash is good on offense but sucks on D. Duncan's IQ is just as good as Bird. Tim has a bigger killer instinct. Bird did captivate the NBA more. I agree but doesn't mean he's better. It might have had something to do with being white like you said.

[Big#50]

[QUOTE=CB4GOATPF][B][COLOR="DarkGreen"]Larry Bird has more clutch shots, steals and plays than the whole Spurs franchise.

Larry Bird averaged 6.3 and 6.5 APG for his Career and in his Prime close to 9 APG.

Larry Bird actally played Floor Defense and was one of the Best Team and Floor Defending SFs Ever

Larry Bird was a Better Far Range Shooter, Mid Range Range Shooter, FT Shooter, 3 Point Shooter and Clutch Shooter.

Larry Bird had PG like Court Vision/Ball Timing/Desicion Making

Larry Bird is the Smartest Player Ever Offensively and His B-Ball IQ is compared to Very Few (Russel one of them)

Larry Bird had the Greatest Body-Hand to Eye Coordination Ever

Larry Bird was Ambidiextrous

Larry Bird was a Better Ball Handler[/COLOR]

[COLOR="darkgreen"]Larry Bird [/COLOR]Battled [COLOR="DarkOrange"]Kareem-Magic-Worthy-McAdoo-Nixon-Lucas-Cooper-Scott[/COLOR]/[COLOR="Red"]Dr J-Moses-Toney-Cheeks-Jones-Bobby then young Barkley[/COLOR]/[COLOR="Blue"]Laimbeer-Isiah-Mahorn-Dumars-Salley-Dantley-Aguirre-Rodman[/COLOR]/[COLOR="Red"]Jordan-Pippen-Grant[/COLOR]/....REAL TEAMS

[COLOR="DarkGreen"]Larry Bird has the Highest Statistical Plus/Minus for any Small Forward in NBA History.[/COLOR]

....

[COLOR="DarkSlateGray"]Duncan was the Better Impact Player (just as was Barkley)...as Most Cs and CFs do but Larry was the More Skilled Player than Duncan and made Others Better More (just as Barkley over Duncan)

Duncan was a Better Post Defender/Shot Blocker and Post Player thats it[/COLOR]

[COLOR="DarkRed"]Larry Bird was More Athletic from 1979 and 1986 than People Think...Go Watch Those Clips

Larry Bird

[CB4GOATPF]

It was all done in the 80's. Faster pace. His rebounding and assists would be at around 7 and 4 in today's league.

How do u explain Larry Bird averaging 9.6 RPG in 36.9 MPG in hist last season (91-92) at age 35 with a destroyed back since 1988-89 (nearly career end)?



While Charles Barkley pulling down 33 rebounds in his NBA game at age 33 during the 1996-97 season and averaging 13.5 RPG (he lead the league with 14.6 RPG during the 80s) and during the 1999 play-offs 13.8 after having the same back problems as Bird had, no leap left and playing half footed cause of his knee problems those years?



How do u explain that old no leap, back injured, knee injured 34-36 year old Barkley outrebounding young athletic healthy Duncan in their meetings while playing lesser minutes?



BTW under these zone rules Larry Bird would average like 2.5 SPG for his Career do to his anticipation as a Team Defender.

[kuniva_dAMiGhTy]

Who said anything about being white? Dirk is 7ft tall and still faster than Bird. Nash is good on offense but sucks on D. Duncan's IQ is just as good as Bird. Tim has a bigger killer instinct. Bird did captivate the NBA more. I agree but doesn't mean he's better. It might have had something to do with being white like you said.

It had nothing do with him being white. Look at his and Magic Johnson's production. The two solely took the NBA to new heights and helped pave the way for Jordan, Kobe and LeBron. Bird helped rebuild a Celtics franchise that had been suffering from substandard play and poor attendance in the late 70s. With him as the focal point of a well-rounded team, Boston won 3 titles and 10 Division titles. In addition to his 3 rings, Bird piled up an incredible collection of personal achievements. The guy became only the third player to win three consecutive NBA Most Valuable Player Awards. He was a 12 time All Star, 2 NBA Finals MVP and a 9 time member of the All-NBA First Team. He led the league in free-throw percentage four times as well.

The "highest IQ" players to have stepped on the court are Larry Bird and Magic Johnson. Also possessing the NBA's equivalent of a genius IQ would be Michael Jordan and Stockton. There are others, but let's use these 4 as an example of The Gold Standard. Not that these guys never committed a turnover or made a mistake, they just made fewer than the rest. These 4 also were able to elevate their play and thought process during the most pressure moments. Each of these Gold Standard players exhibited the same abilities and instincts. They all had that sense for when to pass and when to shoot. They could all make the great pass. They could all make the big shot. The smartest players are always able to think 2 or 3 moves ahead of the opponent and all of these players had that. It's the reason Larry Bird was a good defender and rebounder: He was always two or three steps ahead of everyone else on the court.

[Fatal9]

at the claim that Duncan is on par with Bird offensively, who has a legit argument for being the greatest offensive player ever. Scoring wise he was top 5 (flawless scoring ability), was the best non-PG passer ever and arguably the most skilled offensive player to ever play...how the **** is Duncan "on par" with that? Not to mention Bird can create offense for himself and his team the moment he grabs a defensive rebound (why I prefer Bird or Jordan's offensive ability to any big man).

Bird's rings will always be more impressive than Duncan's in peoples minds because of the era Bird won them in (and also since one of Duncan's came in maybe the weakest year ever? the shortened season. another one was also very controversial) so this "he won more" logic isn't convincing anyone. Bird's durability is the only legit knock on him, he got injured way too often, even before '88 and that probably cost him 1-2 rings (in 1985 for sure).

[CB4GOATPF]

Who said anything about being white? Dirk is 7ft tall and still faster than Bird. Nash is good on offense but sucks on D. Duncan's IQ is just as good as Bird. Tim has a bigger killer instinct. Bird did captivate the NBA more. I agree but doesn't mean he's better. It might have had something to do with being white like you said.

[B]Dirk can

[Fatal9]

He was a poor post defender and not quick enough to stay with high scoring perimeter players.

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