I didnt say Bill Walton and Baby were comparable. In fact I said I was only comparing their relative importance to the team in that the 86 team would not have won it without Walton and if Baby doesnt play this season we will have a hard time winning it this year. Laugh if you want but you know the old saying about the guy who laughs last.
Exactly my point: their roles and importance are drastically different.
Let's list the differences:
1) Walton was the first big off the bench
2) Walton played significant minutes
3) Walton was easily good enough to be a starter in the league
4) Walton was statistically very good
5) Walton had "length", something Doc has specifically mentioned that this team needed the past year
I could go on and on.. the injury to BBD has minimal impact. An injury to Walton would have had a big impact.