Tommy said IT is a top 5 alltime celtic competitor up there with russell, bird, cousy, havlicek. No Pierce, KG, Cowens, Mchale, Parish?
It's tommy. Remember when tommy compared steisma's shot blocking to Russell?
To be fair, he's not saying IT is better than those guys, he's just comparing their competitiveness. I'd reckon if IT was 6" taller he'd be a legit all-time great player. The mind is there, but he's tiny.
And he never said Stiemsma was an equivalent defender or player to Russell. He just said the shot-blocking ability was reminiscent, which is at least partially true. Unfortunately Stiemsma lacks all the other elements that made Russell the best defender ever. But Steamer does have great timing and length regarding blocks.
Same with the Bradley/MJ steals comparison.