Is Pierce a Top 5 All Time Celtic?

[RebusRankin]

Sam Jones gets so little love on these lists.

True

[thirstyboots18]

Tommy Heinson should be up there somewhere!

[Donoghus]

Sam Jones gets so little love on these lists.

True

Yeah, I agree.  People tend to overlook him when thinking about the great teams of the late 50s and 60s.  Russell, Cousy, Havlicek always come to mind.  Jones should certainly be given more consideration, IMO. 

Believe Hubie Brown (a pretty great mind of the game) called him the greatest ever to use the bankshot on a recent telecast.

[cdif911]

my list would be
1. Bill Russell
2. Larry Bird
3. Bob Cousy
4. John Havlicek
5. Tommy Heinsohn
6. Kevin McHale
7. Robert Parish
8. Paul Pierce
9. JoJo White
10. Sam Jones

not sure how well this idea works, but if you take the guy off the roster and replace with an average starter at their position (I forget what this stat is called), do they still win their titles... Russ is a no, Bird is a no, Cousy is a maybe, Hondo is a maybe, Heinsohn is a maybe, McHale is a very strong maybe, Parish is a very strong maybe, Pierce is a maybe (closer to no in my opinion) - that would make Pierce in the top 3... (but I'd argue with no KG we're nowhere close to beating the Lakers either, and its a 1 year sample vs. multiple years with a Russell, Hondo, etc.)

Sorry for thinking out loud!

But I do think he's top 5

Wait, try this

Replace Hondo with Pierce, team is as good or better, no?

[Neurotic Guy]

To be honest, after Russell and Bird, I have a hard time ranking the rest:  I think the order of the next 7 is impossible to assess -- different eras, different positions. Suffice it to say, all are/were great Celtics and belong in the discussion of the top ten Celtics of all time.  

Cousy
Havlicek
Cowens
Pierce
McHale
Parish
S. Jones

[GreenFaith1819]

Good Lists for Celtics Players in this thread..I would place Pierce in the Top Ten, probably around 8 or 9.

He has had an interesting career...not as many rings as Bird, but yet Paul IMO has endured probably more than any other Celtic in our history with the losing and the nightclub incident he came back from.

Paul has not had a history of complaining, either..the closest he came to giving an ultimatum was in 2007, when he was contemplating leaving Boston if Danny couldn't get some players around him. Even then he did it in a tasteful manner.

With Antoine's help, he almost took the C's to the Finals in 2002 I believe.

With the intangibles I just listed, maybe Paul Pierce is in the top 5 of Celtics All Time.

With the Accomplishments, definitely in Top Ten.

And some funny entries for Antoine a few posts ago, lol....but I'd place Antoine in the top 15-20 Celtics All Time..I know this is slightly off-topic, but I loved Antoine in Green. Even though he didn't win a ring (with Boston), the man competed.

[JBcat]

For what it's worth Bill Simmons did an in depth analysis of the top 100 players of all time.   The Celtics listed in top 100 are.  I'm excluding players like Ray and KG of course because they have only been here a couple years. 

95.  Jo Jo White
60 Nate Archibald
59 Robert Parish
57. Tommy Heinsohn
54. Paul Pierce
52. Dennis Johnson
51. Bill Sharman
35. Kevin McHale
33. Sam Jones
31. Dave Cowens
21. Bob Cousy
13. John Havlicek
5. Larry Bird
2. Bill Russell

I agree with most of this and this puts Paul right at 10th best Celtic.  Nothing to be ashamed of.   I started watching from the 80s on so I can't speak of players like Sam Jones but Paul being close to Dennis Johnson seems about right.  However I think when it's all said and done he will be right there with McHale if he has 3 or 4 more very productive seasons in green. 

[MF Doom]

For what it's worth Bill Simmons did an in depth analysis of the top 100 players of all time.   The Celtics listed in top 100 are.  I'm excluding players like Ray and KG of course because they have only been here a couple years. 

95.  Jo Jo White
60 Nate Archibald
59 Robert Parish
57. Tommy Heinsohn
54. Paul Pierce
52. Dennis Johnson
51. Bill Sharman
35. Kevin McHale
33. Sam Jones
31. Dave Cowens
21. Bob Cousy
13. John Havlicek
5. Larry Bird
2. Bill Russell

I agree with most of this and this puts Paul right at 10th best Celtic.  Nothing to be ashamed of.   I started watching from the 80s on so I can't speak of players like Sam Jones but Paul being close to Dennis Johnson seems about right.  However I think when it's all said and done he will be right there with McHale if he has 3 or 4 more very productive seasons in green. 

Tommy Point. Great find and that list seems very accurate. I know that list consists of greatest NBA players of all time but if it were converted to a Celtics list, I dont know if I would include Tiny in my top ten. He spent five seasons with the Celtics, and given his stats, it seemed he was passed his prime. He did however win a championship in 81 I beleive. If you include him, then you would have to include KG as well, who is also a great player, but did not wear a celtic uniform long enough in my opinion to be in a top ten list

[Celtics17]

It's really a tough call. I think it's a given that Russ, Bird, Havlicek, and Cousy are on the top 5 but after that? I have a difficult time picking Pierce over McHale. I probably would pick him over Parish although it's a closer call then many would admit. McHale though was just so tough. He could have easily been league MVP in 86. He has to be one of the toughest covers in league history and his defense was excellent too. Now that I said that and remember it I have to give the nod to McHale even though Pierce is "one of the best shooters in NBA history".

[ToppersBsktball10]

No doubt. But I'm still growing up so I'm biased. lol

[Eja117]

You need multiple rings, an MVP or two, a Hall of Fame bust, and possibly even a coaching championship or one at GM to crack that list. It also helps to be named to the NBA top 50 players list.

So no. 

[Eja117]

When all is said and done there's a chance he won't beat Rondo.

Not to say PP isn't top 10 or 20 or whatever, but sometimes it's easy to forget how hard it is to crack that list. It's like if you (much as I HATE to admit it) try to list the top Yankees or something.

We have arguably the best players that ever played at 4 positions.


Russell
Bird
McHale
Cousy

We've got players like Dennis Johnson at point that Bird says is the best player he ever played with. Bill Walton said on his first day on the team Bird told him the only players he should ever pass to is him and every once in a while DJ "cause he's pretty good".

The 1970s championship teams would be a dynasty anywhere else and don't even get love here.

He wasn't a top 3 swing man of his generation.

The Celts are so deep we have guys who made the all-nba rookie 3rd team that are considered laughable busts in this town.

[BASS_THUMPER]

1. Russel.......Antoine would be first if he won a ring here
2. Bird
3. Hondo
4. Pierce
5. Cousy
6. McHale
7. Cowens
8. JoJo White
9. Robert Parish
10. Scal.

i like this kid

[PLamb]

my list would be
1. Bill Russell
2. Larry Bird
3. Bob Cousy
4. John Havlicek
5. Tommy Heinsohn
6. Kevin McHale
7. Robert Parish
8. Paul Pierce
9. JoJo White
10. Sam Jones

not sure how well this idea works, but if you take the guy off the roster and replace with an average starter at their position (I forget what this stat is called), do they still win their titles... Russ is a no, Bird is a no, Cousy is a maybe, Hondo is a maybe, Heinsohn is a maybe, McHale is a very strong maybe, Parish is a very strong maybe, Pierce is a maybe (closer to no in my opinion) - that would make Pierce in the top 3... (but I'd argue with no KG we're nowhere close to beating the Lakers either, and its a 1 year sample vs. multiple years with a Russell, Hondo, etc.)

Sorry for thinking out loud!

But I do think he's top 5

Wait, try this

Replace Hondo with Pierce, team is as good or better, no?

I apologize since I do not know how old you are but did you ever get to see Havilcek on a regular basis

Pierce was not as good a player as Havilcek

Havilcek was so quick and had such unbelievable cardio-vascular(look it up he had some condition that allowed him to process oxygen at an inhuman rate which made him almost impossible to tire) that he is probably one of only one or two players i9n league history that I think would have given Micheal Jordan defensive fits

MJ would have had a lot of trouble scoring on Hondo, he was THAT good from a rookie on as a defensive player

He was incredible in transition ball

Take Hondo off those 60's and 70's teams and would they still win titles, maybe, but they would NOT have been better teams, no way

And I followed Hondo and Pierce religiously for many years

Pierce is a great scorer

He's only been a great player for the last 4 maybe 5 years

Hondo was a great, Hall of Fame caliber player from day one

[Edgar]

Pierce is the man
but we already did that
wheres that poll. huh

I cand remember
but we alredy rank all time Cs.
If i cant rememeber bad
pierce was shomewhere from 5 to 10