Who makes YOUR all-time Celtic starting 5?

[flyofchange]

Im sure this type of subject has been talked about alot but its been a while for me so ill just do it.

Name your all time Celtic starting five and bench, 12 man roster.

Starting 5

PG Cousy
SG Havlicek
SF Bird
PF KG
C  Russel

Bench

Rondo
Archibald
Pierce
White
Mchale
Cowens
Parish

Id pin that to whatever the faker fans think thier all-time starting 5 should look like 

[Roy H.]

Starting 5

PG Cousy
SG Havlicek
SF Bird
PF McHale
C  Russell

Bench

Rondo
Reggie
Pierce
Sam Jones
KG
Cowens
Parish

Lots of good ones left off.  JoJo, Sharman, Macauley, Tiny, DJ, Ray, Tommy, etc.  Reggie isn't as talented as some of those guys, but I would love his versatility off the bench.

[Bombastic Jones]

My squad is identical to RoyHs but I would start KG and have McHale off the bench.  I love the idea of Reggie off the bench too.  Losing Reg is still the saddest day of my Celtic fan life. 

[hardlyyardley]

McHale>KG

Tommy belongs on the bench before Reggie

[syfy9]

Dennis Johnson
Sam Jones
Larry Bird
Robert Parish  
Bill Russell

Rajon Rondo
John Havlicek
Paul Pierce
Kevin McHale
KG

Bob Cousy
Tommy Heinsohn

Me gusta Parish over KG because I'd have a more physical post player. Granted the defense won't be as suffocating, but it won't be a huge drop off.

[Professor of Rondology]

Starters:
Rondo, Havlicek, Bird, KG, Russell
Bench:
Cousy, DJ, Pierce, Sam Jones, Mchale, Cowens, Parish

I'm not sure I like my original starters, so here's V2.0:

Starters: Cousy, Hondo, Bird, KG, Russell
6th men: Rondo, Mchale
Bench: DJ, Sam Jones, Cowens, Parish, Pierce

Rondo as a 6th man would be absurd- he would immediately take complete control of the game.  Oh and Mchale comes in with him to replace KG (or Russell) and give us an additional boost of offense.

Hardest omissions: JoJo, Tommy, Reggie and Max were all very hard to leave out

[Eja117]

PG Rondo
SG Pierce
SF Bird
PF McHale
C  Russell

[Redz]

Cousy
Hondo
Russell
Bird

 Could go many directions on the. 5th starter but those 4 really should be on every list.

[Fred Roberts]

1. Rondo (Cousy backup)
2. Pierce (Reggie backup)
3. Bird (Havlicek backup)
4. KG (McHale backup)
5. Russ (Parish backup)

Rest of the bench: Cowens (all around beast), Satch (defensive wing specialist), Ray (3 pt specialist), Tommy (locker room glue), DJ (the man)

[Who]

First Team

PG - Cousy
SG - Pierce
SF - Bird
PF - Garnett
C  - Russell

Second Team

PG - Rondo
SG - Sam Jones
SF - Havlicek
PF - McHale
C  - Cowens

Third Team

PG - Dennis Johnson
OG - Jo Jo White
SF - hmm ... can't think of a good option here. I am going to go with Antoine Walker.
PF - Paul Silas
C  - Parish

[flyofchange]

1. Rondo (Cousy backup)
2. Pierce (Reggie backup)
3. Bird (Havlicek backup)
4. KG (McHale backup)
5. Russ (Parish backup)

Rest of the bench: Cowens (all around beast), Satch (defensive wing specialist), Ray (3 pt specialist), Tommy (locker room glue), DJ (the man)

Your the first person to put Ray in your top 12 

[Professor of Rondology]

Cousy
Hondo
Russell
Bird

 Could go many directions on the. 5th starter but those 4 really should be on every list.

I'm not sure I entirely agree with that- if Red taught us anything it's that the best 5 players don't have to start.  I don't want to drudge up the classic inter-generational-competition debate but replacing Cous and Russell in the starting lineup with Rondo and KG would make the team a ton quicker and more athletic out of the gates.  I'm not sure that makes the team any better, I'm just playing the Devil's Advocate.

[Jon]

Starting 5:

Cousy
Havlicek
Bird
Cowens
Russell

I go with Cowens over McHale and KG because he's the only one of those three to win an MVP as a Celtic.  Though I would grant that one could make a case for Garnett or McHale, particularly if the team was actually to play real games in some alternate universe (McHale's post game might actually fit better next to the relatively offensively limited Russell).  

From there I'd go

DJ
Sam Jones
Pierce
KG
McHale
Parish
White

I was very tempted to add Rondo, Ray, and Reggie, particularly because this team could use another SF.  However, Rondo has really only been truly outstanding for 3-4 years, Ray was only here for 5 years and was always third fiddle, and fair or not, Reggie only played 6 years as a Celtic (and was only good for 5 of them).  Given his limited time and lack of a title, I really can't put him on it.  In Rondo's case, I fully expect to put him there in the near future and I think he has a shot to rival Cousy, just not yet.  

With the list above, everyone has at least one title (most more).  I think everyone has Pierce, KG, and McHale.  Everyone really should have Sam Jones, since he really was probably the most underrated Celtic superstar of all time.  With the three bubble picks of White, DJ, and Parish I went with them due to their sustained greatness and multiple titles.  It also doesn't hurt DJ's case that Larry Bird called DJ the greatest player he ever played with.  

[slamtheking]

Starting 5

PG Cousy
SG Havlicek
SF Bird
PF McHale
C  Russell

Bench

Rondo
Reggie
Pierce
Sam Jones
KG
Cowens
Parish

Lots of good ones left off.  JoJo, Sharman, Macauley, Tiny, DJ, Ray, Tommy, etc.  Reggie isn't as talented as some of those guys, but I would love his versatility off the bench.

Hard to top this.  KG vs Mchale in the starting lineup is about the only thing I could see debated.

would have loved to seen this combination of players on the floor.  Reggie and Hondo on the break with either Cousy or Rondo with Bird trailing as the 4th man on the break would be absolutely amazing to see.

[Jon]

I still say there's a strong case to be made for Cowens starting at the 4.  He was only 6-9, but a bruiser, making him essentially a modern 4.  On top of that, of McHale, KG, and Cowens, Cowens was the only one to win an MVP as a Celtic. 

I'd take 2001 KG over him, but he wasn't a Celtic then.  And you could argue what McHale would've been had Larry Bird never been a Celtic.  But you do know that for at least one year, Dave Cowens was the best player on the best team in basketball.