Help me settle a debate (re: Larry Bird)

[droopdog7]

Arguing with a friend of mine and Bird and the position he played.  The question is simple:  Was Bird a power forward or a small forward?

And yes, I know full well people are going to say he was unique, a point forward, etc.  But to me the answer is obvious, though I don't want to bias the discussion by stating my stance; at least not now.

[nickagneta]

He played small forward. Period. End of story.

[kozlodoev]

He played small forward. Period. End of story.

Up until 1985, Bird was paired with Max in the frontcourt, and was the bigger of the two forwards. Make of this what you will.

[Lucky17]

Arguing with a friend of mine and Bird and the position he played.  The question is simple:  Was Bird a power forward or a small forward?

And yes, I know full well people are going to say he was unique, a point forward, etc.  But to me the answer is obvious, though I don't want to bias the discussion by stating my stance; at least not now.

He played both positions during his career. Most remember the Big Three years, when he was a SF.

In today's game? Bird probably plays PF, in a Draymond Green type of role. Man, he'd be great to watch today.

[Moranis]

He played small forward. Period. End of story.

Up until 1985, Bird was paired with Max in the frontcourt, and was the bigger of the two forwards. Make of this what you will.

true, but even during those years he was playing a lot in a unit with Parish and McHale. 

[Boris Badenov]

He played small forward. Period. End of story.

Up until 1985, Bird was paired with Max in the frontcourt, and was the bigger of the two forwards. Make of this what you will.

Their size wasn't relevant. If you look at where and how they played in the offense (and who, I suspect they defended though I'm not 100% on that) Bird was the SF.

I'm on my phone and limited but it'd be interesting for someone to go back to a few games in he early 80s and see who Bird covered.

[Vermont Green]

He played small forward. Period. End of story.

Up until 1985, Bird was paired with Max in the frontcourt, and was the bigger of the two forwards. Make of this what you will.

Their size wasn't relevant. If you look at where and how they played in the offense (and who, I suspect they defended though I'm not 100% on that) Bird was the SF.

I'm on my phone and limited but it'd be interesting for someone to go back to a few games in he early 80s and see who Bird covered.

Bird in my opinion was a natural small forward.  McHale was the power forward he played alongside for the most part.  Like many players, Bird could line up at other positions but I think it is pretty clear that he was a SF.

The thing about who he played on defense, I remember that McHale used to cover Dominique Wilkins.  It was strange but McHale could actually defend him better.  But that doesn't make Bird a PF anymore than it makes McHale a SF.

[Eddie20]

He played small forward. Period. End of story.

Up until 1985, Bird was paired with Max in the frontcourt, and was the bigger of the two forwards. Make of this what you will.

Their size wasn't relevant. If you look at where and how they played in the offense (and who, I suspect they defended though I'm not 100% on that) Bird was the SF.

I'm on my phone and limited but it'd be interesting for someone to go back to a few games in he early 80s and see who Bird covered.

Bird in my opinion was a natural small forward.  McHale was the power forward he played alongside for the most part.  Like many players, Bird could line up at other positions but I think it is pretty clear that he was a SF.

The thing about who he played on defense, I remember that McHale used to cover Dominique Wilkins.  It was strange but McHale could actually defend him better.  But that doesn't make Bird a PF anymore than it makes McHale a SF.

McHale was always placed on the quicker forwards/better scoring options where he could use his length and it would allow Bird to roam defensively.

[Boris Badenov]

He played small forward. Period. End of story.

Up until 1985, Bird was paired with Max in the frontcourt, and was the bigger of the two forwards. Make of this what you will.

Their size wasn't relevant. If you look at where and how they played in the offense (and who, I suspect they defended though I'm not 100% on that) Bird was the SF.

I'm on my phone and limited but it'd be interesting for someone to go back to a few games in he early 80s and see who Bird covered.

Bird in my opinion was a natural small forward.  McHale was the power forward he played alongside for the most part.  Like many players, Bird could line up at other positions but I think it is pretty clear that he was a SF.

The thing about who he played on defense, I remember that McHale used to cover Dominique Wilkins.  It was strange but McHale could actually defend him better.  But that doesn't make Bird a PF anymore than it makes McHale a SF.

And I think Bird covered Willis right? Because it allowed him to roam.

[jambr380]

So essentially we are saying that Bird is very similar to:

[RebusRankin]

Larry Bird was the greatest forward of all time. Your debate is now over.

[gift]

So essentially we are saying that Bird is very similar to:

If you go back to the 1986 finals you can see time travelers holding up a sign in the crowd calling Larry Bird the American Jonas Jerebko. Some people claim it to be remnants from the old film mixed with the smoky lit Garden atmosphere. But I believe it is true.

[chiken Green]

So essentially we are saying that Bird is very similar to:

May these 2 players never be spoken in the same breath sir..

[Big333223]

I think he was clearly a SF in the 80's.

But in today's game, he'd clearly be a PF. That's the thing about positions in the NBA. Jalen Rose talks about how positions only exist to help people who don't know much about the game understand what's going on. Positions don't actually mean anything and that just becomes more apparent across eras.