Parish says Pierce is best offensive player celtics ever had

[GreenFaith1819]

I apologize ahead of time for reviving this thread, but after thinking about it some more - I still believe that Bird is the best offensive player that The Celtics have had, BUT:

IMO Pierce is overall a better defender than Larry. I think that this is negligible, at best, but I still think that Pierce gets the nod Defense-Wise over Larry.

My point is that Defense leads to Offense, right? Thus bringing us back to the argument of whether Larry was the Celtics best offensive player.

Can the argument be presented that due to Pierces' slightly better defense he in effect created more opportunities for his teammates?

Just a thought......

[Roy H.]

Can the argument be presented that due to Pierces' slightly better defense he in effect created more opportunities for his teammates?

Just a thought......

First, I'd say that for the majority of his Celtics career, Pierce was a worse defender than Larry.  Larry was named to three all-Defense teams, and honor that Pierce has never received.  In these latter years, though, when Pierce has committed himself to defense, his D has been better than Larry's.  Overall, though, I can see somebody arguing that they were about even.

Regardless, though, I don't think Pierce's D created that many more opportunities for teammates than Larry's D did.  Most importantly, I don't think Pierce's D creates more opportunities than Larry's passing does.  Even if somebody wants to argue that they're about equal scorers (which I would disagree with), nobody can really argue with a straight face that Pierce is better when you look at both scoring and passing.

Lastly, I think that D is probably irrelevant to which player is the best offensive player.  While I understand the point, that would be like arguing that Dennis Rodman was a great offensive player, because he created so many more offensive possessions for his teammates through defense and rebounding. 

[BballTim]

I apologize ahead of time for reviving this thread, but after thinking about it some more - I still believe that Bird is the best offensive player that The Celtics have had, BUT:

IMO Pierce is overall a better defender than Larry. I think that this is negligible, at best, but I still think that Pierce gets the nod Defense-Wise over Larry.

My point is that Defense leads to Offense, right? Thus bringing us back to the argument of whether Larry was the Celtics best offensive player.

Can the argument be presented that due to Pierces' slightly better defense he in effect created more opportunities for his teammates?

Just a thought......

  Bird was second team all-defense 3 times. If you're saying Pierce was a better defender I'd assume you're talking about the late-career, post-injury Bird.

[GreenFaith1819]

I apologize ahead of time for reviving this thread, but after thinking about it some more - I still believe that Bird is the best offensive player that The Celtics have had, BUT:

IMO Pierce is overall a better defender than Larry. I think that this is negligible, at best, but I still think that Pierce gets the nod Defense-Wise over Larry.

My point is that Defense leads to Offense, right? Thus bringing us back to the argument of whether Larry was the Celtics best offensive player.

Can the argument be presented that due to Pierces' slightly better defense he in effect created more opportunities for his teammates?

Just a thought......

  Bird was second team all-defense 3 times. If you're saying Pierce was a better defender I'd assume you're talking about the late-career, post-injury Bird.

Good Point, Bball. I thought that Bird made an all-defense team, I was just unaware of how many times he made it.

Well, I suppose that puts my argument to rest.

Bird it is.

[GreenFaith1819]

Can the argument be presented that due to Pierces' slightly better defense he in effect created more opportunities for his teammates?

Just a thought......

First, I'd say that for the majority of his Celtics career, Pierce was a worse defender than Larry.  Larry was named to three all-Defense teams, and honor that Pierce has never received.  In these latter years, though, when Pierce has committed himself to defense, his D has been better than Larry's.  Overall, though, I can see somebody arguing that they were about even.

Regardless, though, I don't think Pierce's D created that many more opportunities for teammates than Larry's D did.  Most importantly, I don't think Pierce's D creates more opportunities than Larry's passing does.  Even if somebody wants to argue that they're about equal scorers (which I would disagree with), nobody can really argue with a straight face that Pierce is better when you look at both scoring and passing.

Lastly, I think that D is probably irrelevant to which player is the best offensive player.  While I understand the point, that would be like arguing that Dennis Rodman was a great offensive player, because he created so many more offensive possessions for his teammates through defense and rebounding. 

Good Point, Roy - missed your post here.

[Andy Jick]

I also would add that Larry was a "smarter" defender.  The rules were a little more restrictive when Larry played due to the illegal defense - you could not play at certain parts of the floor (of which Pierce was also under during a part of his career as well).

But Larry was like a free safety on the court and, though he lacked a tremendous amount of foot speed, he always found himself at the right place on the floor, and his great defense (when healthy) often turned into easy offense.  Larry was a much better outlet passer than Pierce and could get guys easy baskets following turnovers. 

Larry always looked to pass it out of his defensive steals...Pierce always looks to dribble it.

[slamtheking]

I think Parish may be still upset over Bird's praise of DJ being the smartest player he's played with for him to make that statement.

I watched both of them throughout their careers and Bird was by far the better offensive player.  Range from all over the court.  incredibly skilled with his left hand.  far superior passer.  Pierce is more of a driver than Bird and as a result gets to the line more often but Bird could beat not only his own man but the entire opposing defense with so many different options.