Would Larry Bird be an All-Star today?

[nickagneta]

Yes it was in jest.  Our Constitution explicitly states that Freedom of Speech is paramount.

Haha.  And Celticsblog rules state that Freedom of Speech doesn't apply here.

Oh Roy?!?!?! Please don't tell me you just opened up that old Celticsblog promeotes censorship argument again!!

[dooyork]

Someone above mentioned Bird was a great team defender.  True, and he'd be even better today, since Bird played under the old rules.  You couldn't wander off your guy, and the refs were always calling illegal defenses that left a lot of fans scratching their heads.  Now the rules would be even more favorable for a defender like Bird because he could roam more.  I think he would be ideal on a team like the current Celtics that plays great team defense, where the defense relies not on fouling until the refs whistles get tired like the Pistons, nor on pure athleticism, but mostly on all the players being aware of where everyone else is and following the scheme.  Bird would be at least as good in today's NBA.

[Roy Hobbs]

Yes it was in jest.  Our Constitution explicitly states that Freedom of Speech is paramount.

Haha.  And Celticsblog rules state that Freedom of Speech doesn't apply here.

Oh Roy?!?!?! Please don't tell me you just opened up that old Celticsblog promeotes censorship argument again!!

Haha.  I think most people have gotten over that one.  That argument has less a chance of succeeding than arguing Larry wouldn't be great in today's NBA.

[Eja117]

He'd be better. The League is so watered down. Who could defend BIrd? He'd still be a 6'9" small forward with great hands, a sweet stroke, very good rebounding, fantastic basketball smarts. YES he'd be fine.
He'd probably have better basketball shoes....

I totally agree.   Absolute worst he's Wally with way better rebounding and passing. That's pretty good.  Or Dirk, but better shooting and defense.

How much more insulting can you get to Larry by calling him at "worst he's Wally with way better rebounding and passing" or "Dirk, but better shooting and defense"?

The only player now in the league that comes even close to Larry in his overall skill set is, believe it or not, Kevin Garnett. Now Garnett is a much better defender and shot blocker and Larry's range was further and he could create off the dribble and was a better passer, but that's as close as it comes. But both are excellent shooters, great passers, great positional rebounders, excellent in the low post in scoring(that means ending up with the points whether via turnaround jumpers or inside moves, not necessarily low posts moves ala McHale), and having a general sense of court awareness.

Consistent 20/10/5 guys happen only once every 25 years. Oscar Robertson, Larry Bird, and Kevin Garnett. Without researching that's all I can think of who put numbers like that together over a period of years. I'd have included Magic but Magic just preferred not to rebound consistently to get 10 rebounds, it's not that he couldn't do it.

Wally and Dirk? Are you kidding me? Their names shouldn't even be on the same page as Larry's when descibing Larry's game. Unless of course you are describing players who were compared unfairly to Bird when they entered the league simply because people used the stereotypical Larry's white so we'll compared these white guys' games to Larry's.

And believe me, that is a cliche that is unfortunately used all the time.

Well I think Wally and Dirk are pretty good. One won an MVP and another went to an all-star game. It wouldn't surprise me that if you put those guys back in the 80s that they'd do better than they do now.

I don't Larry is anything like KG