Robert Parish was not a "stiff"

[fairweatherfan]

<snip>

The dude's a Hall of Famer!  Any stiffs in the Hall of Fame?

NAY

What about Wilt Chamberlain?   ( too soon?)

I wasn't old enough to watch Parish at GS, but I never thought he was seen as a stiff - I do think it's safe to say he was underrated by management there, both personally and as a player.

I also never knew we also gave up the #13 pick in that trade - I guess it makes it a little less lopsided than giving up Parish just to move up 2 spots.

[Celtic_E]

Maybe some guys are forgetting the fact that Parish was 1/3 of the original Big 3. Some of us just doesn't appreciate history and greatness of a player. Calling one of the Big 3 stiff doesn't sit well with me 

Maybe Parish had his issues while he was in GS but calling him stiff is going too far for me. In my book, Mark Blount is a stiff. Putting him on the same line as the Chief doesn't work for me.

[RebusRankin]

First there's a would Bird be an all-star today thread? Now we get people calling Parish a stiff. What's next a McHale was a bum thread? 

[Roy Hobbs]

I want to clarify: nobody called Boston-era Robert Parish a "stiff".  Just the version in Golden State. 

[SShoreFan 2.0]

I want to clarify: nobody called Boston-era Robert Parish a "stiff".  Just the version in Golden State. 

Hmm, 17 points per game and 11 rebounds per game over his last two seasons w/ GS (75 games per season)

------------  Now that's what I call a "Stiff"

[fairweatherfan]

I want to clarify: nobody called Boston-era Robert Parish a "stiff".  Just the version in Golden State. 

Wow, talk about a tempest in a teapot, everybody's getting all worked up attacking these so called critics of pre-Boston Parish.  Unfortunately, I can't actually seem to find them.  I searched the comments Roy mentioned on the front page story - the word "stiff" was used only 3 times, and all in reference to O'Bryant.  So nobody called Parish a "stiff" at all, in any context. 

The closest thing I can find to the topic here is a couple of posts, which said

"You know the last big guy that came to Boston from Golden State worked out pretty well here. As I recall, they thought he too had been a big disappointment at Golden State."

and

"Just remember the last time Boston got an " underacheiving " big from the Warriors."

http://www.celticsblog.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3593&Itemid=189

Other than these comments (and responses to them), which stated that Parish was perceived as an underachiever by GS management (very true I think), there's nothing about Parish at all, and certainly nothing disparaging his playing ability.  Which is good, because as everyone here is saying, that would be a foolish statement.

This reminds me of the Larry Bird thread, where everyone agreed he would be an All-Star, but then went off on "all the people" who were claiming he wouldn't be - which was nobody.  Perception is a powerful thing...


EDIT: In the "Worth a Shot" front page posting, I found this comment:

"the last wasted lottery pick,lazy big stiff that we picked up from Golden State worked out OK...or another Joe Barry???...let's hope closer to Parish...lol...never know...no risker as they say"

So I stand corrected, someone did refer to Parish as a stiff - sounds pretty tongue in cheek to me, though.

[jay_jay54]

 Between sshorefan 2.0 and R.H.,they just about covered it all.All i want to add is,wish we could find a stiff like Parish was...  to either start for us,or back Perk up on a level "Parish the stiff" played in both cities.

[moskqq]

There must have been something wrong with Robert Parish for GS to trade him....was Parish a "stiff"?

Well, I'm OLD enough to have seen Robert Parish play when he first came to the Celtics.  There was a "Knock" on Parish!  He had "butter fingers" and only could handle certain types of passes in the post.  Credit Larry Bird with having changed Robert!

Bird "continued" to feed Parish in the post, hitting him in the chest, on the head etc. until Parish...partly in self defense...started catching the ball and once he started doing that he only seemed to get better with time.  It seemed that Robert had a confidence issue or lack of focus on balls fed into the post. From "butter fingers" to "glue", Robert Parish became an integral part of the Celtic's offense.

What most fans remember was the "new" Parish, one who was looked for in the post INSTEAD of being the last option.  Again credit Bird who was determined to challenge Parish with passes until Robert raised his bar of reliability.

While Robert may never have been a "stiff" he did arrive as "butter-fingers" or "stone hands".  Such is the adjustments that great players (especially big men) have to make in order to be successful.  Perhaps Ainge, Doc and the rest of the coaching staff saw rudimentary skills yet-to-be-honed when they signed Parick Obryant. We do need to start developing BIGS for the future and all we have to rely on is their probable POTENTIAL!

[Andy Jick]

at parish's age, this now requires vi@gra...

[bMunch]

not a stiff, but certainly funny looking when dribbling in the open court.

he had his super high dribble, and his knees coming up waist-high as he ran.

good times. one of the best.

[fairweatherfan]

I found someone else who called GS era Parish a stiff - Bill Fitch!

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?columnist=may_peter&id=1609347

As Carr recalled, "Bill kept calling him a big stiff. Well, that big stiff went on to become a Hall of Famer.''

Interesting too, the general tone is that Parish was, at the time of the trade, "almost universally regarded as an underachieving slug, having played four unremarkable seasons for the Golden State Warriors." 

[Hondo to Rondo]

If you remember being a fan of the eighties Celtics, then you also remember cringing sometimes when Parrish would dribble across halfcourt.  He was never well coordinated and he had, in my opinion, below average hands.  Yep, in that sense he was a stiff.

Really though, that makes his accomplishment and career that much more impressive.  He didn't have Roy Tarpley's physical skill to work with, but he honed what skills he did have, and was fundementally exceptional.  He was a very good back to the basket center with three very dependable moves, the turnaround jumper, the quick spin followed by the tomahawk jam, and a little half hook he would often shoot as he turned to the middle.  In addition to his low post game he averaged a dunk a night rolling to the hole after setting a pick for Larry.

He was also an excellent anchor in the middle--an intimidating shot blocker, an excellent rebounder and a good, maybe ever great defender.

He was not a spontaneous player, but a well-schooled post man.  Still he bobbled passes, more than one dribble went out of bounds off his feet, and his passing was merely adequate,  with the exception of his long outlets which were fine.

He played alongside two big men who were very gifted physically.  Both McHale and Bird had extremely good coordination, shot with a fluid motion, could handle the ball like jugglers, and had incredibly diverse offensive games.  Honestly, two more offensively gifted bigmen are not to be found.  Grouped with them every night probably made Parish's awkwardness more conspicuous.

In those days, I often wished we had someone with more "heart."  Looking back, I think I judged the man too harshly.  Parish did not run the full length of the court all the time, that is, he loafed every now and then, and it was often described as conserving his energy.  In that sense he was a stiff since he had great speed for a big man, speed that would have resulted in more putbacks etc. on the break, but once again, I was a little hard on him.  He was very productive, very healthy, and [dang]ed well clutch to boot.  Nonetheless, Bird did have to "make a concerted effort to get him involved," as Quinn Buckner once noted (Larry Bird:  A Basketball Legend).

No, to Call Parish a stiff  in the sense that Greg Kite was a stiff is absurd.  But there are a few little ticky tack claims that can be made--legitimately.

[Sweet17]

Sure..but I thought we already cleared this up on the comment page. <g>

[SShoreFan 2.0]

If you remember being a fan of the eighties Celtics, then you also remember cringing sometimes when Parrish would dribble across halfcourt.  He was never well coordinated and he had, in my opinion, below average hands.  Yep, in that sense he was a stiff.

Really though, that makes his accomplishment and career that much more impressive.  He didn't have Roy Tarpley's physical skill to work with, but he honed what skills he did have, and was fundementally exceptional.  He was a very good back to the basket center with three very dependable moves, the turnaround jumper, the quick spin followed by the tomahawk jam, and a little half hook he would often shoot as he turned to the middle.  In addition to his low post game he averaged a dunk a night rolling to the hole after setting a pick for Larry.

He was also an excellent anchor in the middle--an intimidating shot blocker, an excellent rebounder and a good, maybe ever great defender.

He was not a spontaneous player, but a well-schooled post man.  Still he bobbled passes, more than one dribble went out of bounds off his feet, and his passing was merely adequate,  with the exception of his long outlets which were fine.

I cringe anytime a legitimate center is bringing the ball across half court.

As for turnovers, the Chief averaged 2.1 turnovers a game for his career.  Compared to Kareem 2.7, Artis Gilmore 3.1, Bob Lanier 2.6, Laimbeer 1.5, Moses Malone 3.1 and Bill Walton 2.7 --- I'd say that's pretty good.

[Bankshot]

There must have been something wrong with Robert Parish for GS to trade him....was Parish a "stiff"?

Well, I'm OLD enough to have seen Robert Parish play when he first came to the Celtics.  There was a "Knock" on Parish!  He had "butter fingers" and only could handle certain types of passes in the post.  Credit Larry Bird with having changed Robert!

Bird "continued" to feed Parish in the post, hitting him in the chest, on the head etc. until Parish...partly in self defense...started catching the ball and once he started doing that he only seemed to get better with time.  It seemed that Robert had a confidence issue or lack of focus on balls fed into the post. From "butter fingers" to "glue", Robert Parish became an integral part of the Celtic's offense.

What most fans remember was the "new" Parish, one who was looked for in the post INSTEAD of being the last option.  Again credit Bird who was determined to challenge Parish with passes until Robert raised his bar of reliability.

While Robert may never have been a "stiff" he did arrive as "butter-fingers" or "stone hands".  Such is the adjustments that great players (especially big men) have to make in order to be successful.  Perhaps Ainge, Doc and the rest of the coaching staff saw rudimentary skills yet-to-be-honed when they signed Parick Obryant. We do need to start developing BIGS for the future and all we have to rely on is their probable POTENTIAL!

I agree.  When Parish first came to the Celtics I hated him as a player.  I never saw him play for GS so it wasn't as though I heard he was a scrub and didn't like him before he showed up in Boston.  I expected he was a good player since the Celtics brought him in.  But when he first played for the Celtics, I thought he was a scrub because he seemed to travel every time he touched the ball and couldn't hold onto passes.  Drove me insane at first.

He got better and I got to love him not long after he settled in.