Yes. The PGA Tour Big 3 was an iconic moment for the NBA. It set in motion the superteam phenomenon in the league that we're seeing now. LeBron said when he first began to talk to Wade about teaming up, they'd frequently and enviously discuss what Pierce brought to Boston in teaming up with KG and Ray.
They were also really good. I think had KG been healthy in '09 then that '09 team would have been even better, but no use crying over 6 year old spilled milk.
That's a great point. That '08 team doesn't get enough credit in my opinion for being the real revitalizer behind the "Big 3" concept. Every good team may technically have their own, but that 2008 team was the first to have 3 real already established stars from 3 different cities and teams come together. Now the comparison Lebron makes doesn't quite fit because Ainge did it through trades and Riley was able to do it through free agency...but the overall thought was still there.
I also agree about your '09 statement. Some people laugh at the quote, but it's actually one of the quotes I completely agree with Doc about when he talked about the championship team starting 5, that technically up through when Perk was traded, a completely healthy Rondo/Allen/Pierce/Garnett/Perkins lineup never lost a playoff series together.
Something the '08 team had that the first year of Lebron/Wade/Bosh didn't have was that they completely lived up to the hype right out of the shoot all the way to a title. Lebron/Wade/Bosh got out to that 19-18 start before finally gelling and still didn't win a title. I think that shows you just how perfectly constructed that '08 team was.
I could talk all day about the '08 and '09 teams. LeBron had to adapt playing next to another dominant scorer in Wade. You see now that LeBron has had to learn how to take 20-30, even 35 shots again on this Cavs team. Bosh was blamed for Miami's early struggles like Love has been for Cleveland's but the primary issue was LBJ's adaptation period. LBJ's basketball chameleon ability is incredible, but no one can change from an MJ style to a Magic style in the blink of an eye.
The Celtics were immediately seamless. Pierce was the high-usage scorer who also had poor man's LeBron vision. Ray was the super efficient off guard sniper. KG was the unselfish efficient post big who could pass like few other 7 footers. That '08 team was great, which is why it was incredibly disheartening to see KG go down right as the ultimate 4th piece began to emerge (Rondo). When Rondo used to play with elite energy (don't believe he does nowadays), his facilitating, slashing, mid range shooting and off ball cutting abilities fit fantastically with our other stars.
It would be so cool if to play as the '09 Celtics on 2k. In my opinion it could have been one of the best teams ever.
Topic: Serious Question about NBA 2k (Read 2041 times)