25 Greatest Celtics of All-Time : #11

[Timdawgg]

DJ
Sharman
Macauley

[PistolPete]

DJ
Satch
KC

[Rondoholic]

DJ
Reggie
Sharman

[Casperian]

Sharman
White
Garnett

[Jon]

I'm going to go with DJ, since Larry Bird said he was the greatest player he ever played with (though given Bird's moves as GM in Indy, I'm beginning to question his eye as a talent evaluator). 

Thus, I'll go:

DJ
White
Sharman

If KG wins another title I'll put him into consideration, but he hasn't played enough seasons for me yet (same with Ray).  As for Reggie, while he might've been a Celtic great, I have a tough time putting him (or Ed Macauley) all that high since neither won a title with the C's. 

[paintitgreen]

Sharman
Garnett
Jo Jo

PS - Could somebody who voted for Ed Macauley talk to me about him because I frankly just don't understand why he's up there and want to know more. All I know about him is that he was here six seasons, was an All Star most seasons and All NBA a couple times, never won a championship in Boston (though he did win in St. Louis), and it seems to me his biggest asset to the organization was being the piece that allowed us to move up from 7th or 8th to 2nd in the draft to take Russell. I mean, helping us bring in Russell is great and all, but I'd give that credit to Red, not Macauley. Can somebody who saw him play explain a little better what was great about him as a player on the Celtics? Maybe because he played with Cousy and Sharman (pre-Russell, pre-championships) I consider him the third guy on teams in an 8 team league that didn't win any titles. But I may be influenced by Cousy's and Sharman's later accomplishments, and frankly just don't know. This is not a criticism of voting for him, he's just one guy I can't find much out about because he precedes even our earliest championship.

[Roy Hobbs]

Sharman
Garnett
Jo Jo

PS - Could somebody who voted for Ed Macauley talk to me about him because I frankly just don't understand why he's up there and want to know more. All I know about him is that he was here six seasons, was an All Star most seasons and All NBA a couple times, never won a championship in Boston (though he did win in St. Louis), and it seems to me his biggest asset to the organization was being the piece that allowed us to move up from 7th or 8th to 2nd in the draft to take Russell. I mean, helping us bring in Russell is great and all, but I'd give that credit to Red, not Macauley. Can somebody who saw him play explain a little better what was great about him as a player on the Celtics? Maybe because he played with Cousy and Sharman (pre-Russell, pre-championships) I consider him the third guy on teams in an 8 team league that didn't win any titles. But I may be influenced by Cousy's and Sharman's later accomplishments, and frankly just don't know. This is not a criticism of voting for him, he's just one guy I can't find much out about because he precedes even our earliest championship.

Macauley was the team's first superstar.  He was absolutely dominant in the early NBA.

1950-51:  First team All-NBA,  All-star, #3 in points per game, #2 in field goal percentage, #2 in free throws

1951-52: First team All-NBA,  All-star, #4 in points per game, #3 in field goal percentage, #2 in free throws

1952-53:  First team All-NBA,  All-star, #3 in points per game, #1 in field goal percentage, #2 in free throws

1953-54:  First team All-NBA,  All-star, #3 in points per game, #1 in field goal percentage

1954-55: All-star

1955-56: All-star

Arguably, the only players to be as dominant during their time in green have been Bill Russell and Larry Bird.

[paintitgreen]

Thanks, Roy. Everything's arguable but I see your point. I think something that threw me off on basketballreference was the fact that his field goal percentage was so low by today's standards for a big man. Appears it was a very different time when guys putting up 55 and 60% shooting was pretty much unheard of.

It will never really have that same affect on me, but it's nice to know what underlies the admiration for Macauley.