What would Larry Bird Average in todays game?

[You Cant Ban Me]

im guessing 20/6/4

how about you?

[ShawkFactory]

27/10/9

He could score more but he'd get it out to the 3 point shooters a lot

[ekosky]

He would be like a Mike Dunleavy.

[You Cant Ban Me]

He would be like a Mike Dunleavy.
http://gifrific.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Kevin-Garnett-Reaction-at-2013-Dunk-Contest.gif

[plowking]

24-27ppg/9-12rpg/6-8apg

All on 50% ish shooting.

[Young X]

27/9/6 - 50/40/90

[Smoke117]

25-30ppg, 8-9rpg, 6-7apg. No matter what era...Larry is going to shoot a lot. He was never shy about getting his shot up. (averaging 20 or more shots four times) He'd get to the ft line now more too with these soft rules. Yeah the pace isn't as high, but he also wouldn't be playing with players close to as talented as those Celtics players were, so he'd be needed to shoot just as much even with less shots going up overall for the team.

[OldSchoolBBall]

Depending on his age and the team's needs, I'd say 24-28 pts/9.0-10.5 reb/6.5-8.0 ast/50+%FG/60+% TS. Best player in the game clearly.

[kuniva_dAMiGhTy]

Depending on his age and the team's needs, I'd say 24-28 pts/9.0-10.5 reb/6.5-8.0 ast/50+%FG/60+% TS. Best player in the game clearly.

Damn. A white guy that would be the best player in the league.

OP crying himself to sleep in his Mom's basement...

[inclinerator]

24 8 8
probably more in the playoffs

[Prime_Shaq]

24-27ppg/9-12rpg/6-8apg

All on 50% ish shooting.
More or less this

[HighFlyer23]

He would clear the 30 ppg mark for sure

On greater than 50% shooting

[Inferno]

im guessing 20/6/4


http://oi60.tinypic.com/et6y2v.jpg

[Collie]

I don't think he'd be scoring 30 ppg regularly unless he was on a bad team. but he did have the capability for it. He averaged 29.9 ppg once on a stacked team and over 28 ppg multiple times.

I think he'd regularly average around 25/11/6 on 50/40/90 with regularity.

[LAZERUSS]

I don't think he'd be scoring 30 ppg regularly unless he was on a bad team. but he did have the capability for it. He averaged 29.9 ppg once on a stacked team and over 28 ppg multiple times.

I think he'd regularly average around 25/11/6 on 50/40/90 with regularity.

This.

And a peak Bird would likely be closer to 30-11-6.

[r0drig0lac]

He would be like a Mike Dunleavy.
http://media.giphy.com/media/2XskdWz9y363OIIeLPq/giphy.gif

[LAZERUSS]

He would be like a Mike Dunleavy.

Bird was better than this "Dunleavy"...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7T_Wg5ilo8&spfreload=10

[Cali Syndicate]

im guessing 20/6/4

how about you?

Bird is a cheaper version of david lee? Lay off the crack, dummy.

[Carbine]

LOL he wouldn't be clearly the best player in the league.

Stop the LeBron hate. I don't even **** with the guy but Bird wouldn't clearly be better than him.

[ralph_i_el]

He would be like a Mike Dunleavy.
:facepalm even if you disregard all of the passing and IQ that Bird brought, the dude did crazy shit off the dribble. Dunleavy is a good shooter and a decent passer, but he's a shadow of Bird. Jamal Craword is to Kobe what Dunleavy is to Bird.

A shooter like Bird would be at home in today's league. Give him a good drive and kick PG and he's shooting 5-7 3's a game scoring at minimum 25ppg

[SHAQisGOAT]

Prime Bird?

Something like 27/10/7/2/1 when rounding up, on 50/40/90, in the regular-season.

More or less the same as he averaged back then.

On a really shitty team in which is has to do more, ball in his hands more... More points, less assists.

Clearly the best player in the league, right now.


What would've been "different" for him in order to "get" his usual stats, nowadays :confusedshrug:

[Angel Face]

Best player in the league. Would average the same as he was averaging in his prime. Probably a little bit more points. 50 / 40 / 90 shooting.

[raprap]

26/7/6

He wont rebound the ball like the 80's that's for sure.

[iamgine]

Prime-peak Larry on a good team I'd say would be a 27-9-8 player with 2 steals, 1 block and 3 TO per game and good percentages if playing 40 minutes per game. Would be #1 fantasy player.

If only averaging 36 minutes then I'd say he'd be 24-8-7 player.

[SHAQisGOAT]

26/7/6

He wont rebound the ball like the 80's that's for sure.

:rolleyes:

Explain why?

:coleman:

1st of all, with all the small-ball going around and whatnot, Bird would probably be playing PF more (at least on defense) and just eating up dudes on the boards.
Also, he most likely wouldn't play alongside a PF of McHale's caliber to "force" him to play SF more, in his prime.

2nd, he most likely wouldn't be playing alongside rebounders as good as Parish+McHale (Kevin in the starting5 since '85-'86).

Plus, and a big plus, league is softer right now with the quality of big-men being worse, especially those tough and great rebounding bigs...

Bird was fighting for boards vs dudes like Rodman, Dr J, Barkley, Buck Williams, Wilkins, Roundfield, Nance, X-Man, Kersey, Marques Johnson, Oakley...

And I'm just mentioning his matchups there ^, won't even talk about centers in the paint.
For instance, Bird was almost rebounding as much as prime Moses in the '81 Finals.

Bird was simply a great rebounder, and if you consider him mostly a SF, he's clearly one of the very best rebounding SF's ever, most likely top3.
Not to mention that the man was always hustling all out.

Is it about pace? Not again, gimme a ****ing break... Less than 10% difference is as minimal as it gets...

Shawn Marion is smaller than Larry, not as good of an overall rebounder... Averages 8.7 for his CAREER, in LESS than 35 MPG, with a LOWER TRB% than Bird's.

There was a video showing that Larry averaged pretty much the same when playing at today's pace... Can't seem to find it anymore but it won't be hard to put the numbers together, shit not even hard to tell tbh.

In 1992, Larry as a COMPLETE SHELL out there, 35 years old, playing with career-ending injuries, after surgeries, little mobility left... Still averaged 9.6 RPG in less than 37 minutes, with the Celtics' average pace at 95.8.
:rolleyes:

Yea, 7 rebounds per game, sure :rolleyes: Gtfoh
Even if you said less, at most would've been slightly less; suggesting that difference is just ridiculous.


Oh, and Bird would shoot more 3's nowadays (growing up with the line too), and most likely would've had the rock in his hands more.
--> So yea, he would be averaging more or less the same he did back then in his prime, while being the #1 player in the league right now.

[Rocketswin2013]

24 8 8
probably more in the playoffs
:oldlol:

[Lebronxrings]

A poor man's less athletic Durant with better ball iq.

22/7/6 on 44/39/90

[SHAQisGOAT]

Let me just try and dead this whole conversation...


Bird has a great argument for greatest OVERALL shooter of all-time, doing it from everywhere in any way.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjcGLGM3emE

In this league? You could argue he would've had the best post-game out of anybody.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBnwSeMiVaU

Dude had terrific footwork and crazy soft-touch around the rim with both hands. Finished very well inside too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5k593G5dCU


He's simply one of the greatest scorers ever.
And you wanna know some of the players guarding him throughout his career?

Bobby Jones
Rodman
Michael Cooper
Pippen
Rodney McCray
Nance
Dan Roundfield
Paul Pressey
Dr J
Cliff Robinson
Jordan
Buck Williams
Ho Grant
Drexler
Worthy
Kersey
Moncrief
Xavier McDaniel
Woolridge
Barkley
Kenny Walker

^Some great defensive players (plenty of GOAT's), some great athletes (some of the best ever), or a combination of both... ALL types of players there.
Look some of those dudes up if you don't know.

And that's with tougher rules, less star treatment and better, taller and tougher bigs packing the paint.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msEmcemLR7M
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksp82aw-jqg

Larry CERTAINLY wouldn't have had it tougher in today's league, so...


Plus, he was a nice overall athlete before serious injuries, very underrated nowadays.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NX8ipponmSc


Back then they played at a pace no higher than 10% from right now, which is as minimal as it gets, not considerable at all especially for a superstar...
League's average DRtg is about the same, eFG% too.

Bird was averaging around his usual numbers when playing at today's pace.

Even in 1992, as a complete shell, under circumstances must wouldn't go through, severely injured, after going through surgeries, most mobility gone... Bird still put up 20/10/7/1/1 on .547 TS%, playing under 37 MPG with the Celtics' average pace at 95.8.

And he did his thing while playing mostly off-ball, with little USG% compared to most other superstars.


You wanna talk about clutch play? Bird's a top3 GOAT clutch-performer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3lAuohZvnE


He's the GOAT non-guard passer.
Dude was being called the best all-around player in the league by most, with many saying only Magic was a better passer in the league.
He even impressed the hell out of Magic from the start with his passing, both "changing" the NBA with it.
Could pull all types of incredible passes, keeping it flashy still very effective.
Unreal feel for the game, unreal basketball IQ, could see the play way before it developed, major hand-eye coordination, kodac memory.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9o66NdFDHEQ


Physical af, great rebounder who did it vs the best bigs, and hustled like few superstars have ever done, putting his body on the line each possession.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDk9y0Vul5A


He played some of the best team defense you'll ever see, while being pretty good m2m in the post, and more than holding his own on the perimeter 1on1 before serious injuries.
Capable of averaging 2 steals and 1 block per game.
He was clutch af on defense too.

Larry led the league 4x times in DWS, 7x top5. He was once 2nd in DRtg, top10 6x.
Other forwards doing that throughout league's history are KG, Pippen, Duncan, Rodman, Bobby Jones, Hayes and VERY FEW else if any at all.
^Coincidences :rolleyes:

Bird should've made more all-defensive teams, tbh... Nowadays with this whole superstar hype, and people drooling over advanced stats, he definitely would've.

From 1980 to 1986 he was the leader in combined DWS, while I believe no other forward in NBA history can make that same claim, over a 6-year period.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpEAZMT5t_U


At his very best he had 5 combined years of putting up 27/10/7/2/1 on 51.2/40.0/89.9 in the regular-season, before his body gave up on him. Only slightly less productive in terms of stats for the Playoffs.
:bowdown:

Winning 3 straight MVP's, going to 4 straight Finals while winning 2 rings and 2 FMVP's (even injured for one post-season there).
Being called GOAT by many, at that point.

^While playing in the most stacked conference, in the most stacked league...
Facing GOAT-level competition in terms of teams, superstars at the top, and even SF's.


Celtics were a franchise falling apart before he got there, with the 2nd worst record in the league... Then with him, same core roster and a new coach they improve to the best record and make the ECF.

By his sophomore year Larry was leading them to the title, with Cowens gone and only Parish being the main addition, who was already 27 and not viewed as all that.

Bird was the center-piece of a dynasty, building from the ground up, stayed through thick and thin.
They were shitty before him, infinitely better with him, considerably worse with him out, still much better when he returned as a shell, and fell into mediocrity again for many years after he retired.


LB was a tremendous leader who knew when to step aside and then when to step up. He could gel with any player, any type of basketball, while still maintaining his most impact and winning big.
Still receives crazy praise from his contemporaries and much more.
He was one of the most competitive players ever, talked the most shit and backed it up, never backing down...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NIKK_OFvFY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUmz44FurLc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Rg1sFMxnbM


---> So, you can say (only) SLIGHTLY worse or SLIGHTLY better numbers, but RIGHT NOW he would've been best player in the league.

No reason as to why he couldn't put up his usual prime numbers (give or take a few ofc), with his usual prime impact... Terrific, at that.

Reply to this thread with some low, bullshit-ass averages though :rolleyes: :facepalm

[Collie]

Bird was an elite rebounder. During the 81 Finals, he struggled with his shot, but averaged 15 rpg. To put it in perspective, he's about as good a defensive rebounder as David Robinson, with the main difference being their offensive rebounds, probably because Bird played perimeter a lot more.

No doubt he'd still be at least a 9 rpg player today, likely even more.

[plowking]

LOL he wouldn't be clearly the best player in the league.

Stop the LeBron hate. I don't even **** with the guy but Bird wouldn't clearly be better than him.

Well he would going off what we saw last season.

The season prior Bron was probably a superior player dating back to 09, but in today's league, he'd be the best.

[Gileraracer]

Larry would still be a beast. 29/9/8 easily

[305Baller]

Better than prime Love, Bron (?) numbers:

28/9/8

[Dragonyeuw]

He has 3 crucial elite skills that transcend any era:

shooting: This speaks for itself. Bird is one of the GOAT shooters, and in this era with the way the game is called on the perimeter, he would feast on the majority of defenders just as he did in the 80's.

below the rim rebounding: Bird was getting 10 rebounds a night playing against some bruising power forwards and centers. He had that knack for positioning, timing, understanding the ball bounce off the rim, that made him an elite rebounder regardless of any size or athletic advantage he may have given up.

passing: One of the GOAT non-PG passers. In the 80's Magic was known for his flashy passing but Bird in his own way was about as effective a passer, especially in a half-court setting. Bird would be as heralded for his passing in this era as Lebron is.

Throw on top one of the GOAT IQs, competitive toughness, and Bird would be as lethal in this era as he was in his own. Depending on team makeup, a minimum of 26/11/7 on 50/40/90 averages.

[Pushxx]

Less blocks, more rebounds (see Kevin Love), more points (3-PT line evolution and soft fouls). Perennial MVP.

[Rose'sACL]

2012 lebron stats with way worse defense comparatively.
i am assuming this is prime bird were are talking about.

[kshutts1]

I don't see his numbers changing much.

But how can people say he would "clearly" be the best player in the league? I won't dispute that he might be the best, but it would not be clear. Keep in mind that just because a current player may be better than Bird for one season, that does not mean that said player is higher all time.

It's not a crime to suggest that 2015/2016 iterations of Lebron, Durant, Davis, Bird could all be basically interchangeable as an individual if Bird were planted in to this league.

[sdot_thadon]

I'm thinking something along the lines of
26-28 ppg
8-10 rpg (if he takes advantage of the 3 point line more he'll be farther away from the basket)
6-8 apg
48-52 fg% (dependent on how much he adopts the 3)
37-42 3pt%
90 ft%

My only concern would be his defense and if his athleticism would be a problem in this era at all. That could skew his numbers a bit.

[OldSchoolBBall]

lol @ dude who suggested that Bird would average FEWER rebounds today than back then. Bird was grabbing 9-10+ boards while playing alongside McHale and Parish, and while playing in a man's league filled with quality big men and rugged physicality. He would DOMINATE on the glass today at the 3-4 spot.

And also lol @ anyone suggesting that 2015 Lebron is close to prime Bird. No. 2-3 years ago, sure.

[Dragonyeuw]

My only concern would be his defense and if his athleticism would be a problem in this era at all. That could skew his numbers a bit.

Why would it? It wasn't a problem in his era and he was going against Dr.J, Barkley, Nique, King, Worthy, English, Pippen, etc. The guys who would pose defensive problems for him in this era ( Lebron, Durant, Melo) would pose problems for anyone in any era in terms of stopping their scoring. His strengths in terms of team defense would transfer to this era, mainly because the guy was always 2-3 plays ahead of everyone else. I swear guys like Magic and Bird saw the game through Matrix-style code, they were always mentally ahead of everyone else.

[sdot_thadon]

Why would it? It wasn't a problem in his era and he was going against Dr.J, Barkley, Nique, King, Worthy, English, Pippen, etc. The guys who would pose defensive problems for him in this era ( Lebron, Durant, Melo) would pose problems for anyone in any era in terms of stopping their scoring. His strengths in terms of team defense would transfer to this era, mainly because the guy was always 2-3 plays ahead of everyone else. I swear guys like Magic and Bird saw the game through Matrix-style code, they were always mentally ahead of everyone else.
I feel like the overall athleticism at the 3 is greater in this era and it'd be tougher to stay in front of his man, considering he'd have less tools at his disposal with handchecking ruled out. Again not that he'd be a turnstile, just wonder if he'd have issues.

Remember all this is assuming he'd be a 3 still, if they turn him into a stretch 4 then all that goes out the door and he's fine because he'd be amongst the most athletic pf in today's league.


lol @ dude who suggested that Bird would average FEWER rebounds today than back then.Bird was grabbing 9-10+ boards while playing alongside McHale and Parish, and while playing in a man's league filled with quality big men and rugged physicality. He would DOMINATE on the glass today at the 3-4 spot.

And also lol @ anyone suggesting that 2015 Lebron is close to prime Bird. No. 2-3 years ago, sure.

Lol at not considering at all that he may play the game a bit differently in this era. I made sure to note that it had to do with how much he'd adopt the 3 into his game, basically whether he'd be stretch 4 or the same bird from the 80s.

[NBAplayoffs2001]

Not sure about stats but I would guess his FG% and 3pg% would be at least 50 and 40 respectively. He used to get guarded in the era of the 80s-90s when it was "rough" and touch fouls weren't called. Watch any old school game from the late 1980s and you will see fouls then that would be called as technicals today.

[Dragonyeuw]

I feel like the overall athleticism at the 3 is greater in this era and it'd be tougher to stay in front of his man, considering he'd have less tools at his disposal with handchecking ruled out. Again not that he'd be a turnstile, just wonder if he'd have issues.

Remember all this is assuming he'd be a 3 still, if they turn him into a stretch 4 then all that goes out the door and he's fine because he'd be amongst the most athletic pf in today's league.




It's likely he would split time at 3 and 4, more or less what he did in his day. And frankly, asides from Lebron and Durant due to his length, I don't see any 'good' SFs who have athleticism any greater than who he had to deal with in his day. The change in rules is going to impact anyone who played 20 years ago to some degree, adjustments would have to be made. Pippen couldn't play the same defense nowadays he did in the 90's, just because of the handchecking.

I always use Kevin Love as a barometer in terms of numbers. If he can put up 26 and 14 on a hapless Wolves team( and Bird is several tiers above as a player), I don't see why Bird couldn't duplicate his 80's numbers. He was more athletic than Love in his younger years, but everyone seems to only recall when he was older and slowed due to injury. Funny thing is, even with his mobility diminished he was still a top level player. In 92, lets call it the Dream team era, he put up 20/10/7 on 46/40/88. At that time he was 35 and could barely move.

[raprap]

:rolleyes:

Explain why?

:coleman:

1st of all, with all the small-ball going around and whatnot, Bird would probably be playing PF more (at least on defense) and just eating up dudes on the boards.
Also, he most likely wouldn't play alongside a PF of McHale's caliber to "force" him to play SF more, in his prime.

2nd, he most likely wouldn't be playing alongside rebounders as good as Parish+McHale (Kevin in the starting5 since '85-'86).

Plus, and a big plus, league is softer right now with the quality of big-men being worse, especially those tough and great rebounding bigs...

Bird was fighting for boards vs dudes like Rodman, Dr J, Barkley, Buck Williams, Wilkins, Roundfield, Nance, X-Man, Kersey, Marques Johnson, Oakley...

And I'm just mentioning his matchups there ^, won't even talk about centers in the paint.
For instance, Bird was almost rebounding as much as prime Moses in the '81 Finals.

Bird was simply a great rebounder, and if you consider him mostly a SF, he's clearly one of the very best rebounding SF's ever, most likely top3.
Not to mention that the man was always hustling all out.

Is it about pace? Not again, gimme a ****ing break... Less than 10% difference is as minimal as it gets...

Shawn Marion is smaller than Larry, not as good of an overall rebounder... Averages 8.7 for his CAREER, in LESS than 35 MPG, with a LOWER TRB% than Bird's.

There was a video showing that Larry averaged pretty much the same when playing at today's pace... Can't seem to find it anymore but it won't be hard to put the numbers together, shit not even hard to tell tbh.

In 1992, Larry as a COMPLETE SHELL out there, 35 years old, playing with career-ending injuries, after surgeries, little mobility left... Still averaged 9.6 RPG in less than 37 minutes, with the Celtics' average pace at 95.8.
:rolleyes:

Yea, 7 rebounds per game, sure :rolleyes: Gtfoh
Even if you said less, at most would've been slightly less; suggesting that difference is just ridiculous.


Oh, and Bird would shoot more 3's nowadays (growing up with the line too), and most likely would've had the rock in his hands more.
--> So yea, he would be averaging more or less the same he did back then in his prime, while being the #1 player in the league right now.

7 rebounds per game for a 60 year old man is great bro. No need to catch feelings :oldlol:

[andgar923]

What would've been "different" for him in order to "get" his usual stats, nowadays :confusedshrug:[/B]

Bird had to fight to even get the ball, had to fight through screens defensively, had to deal with tons of hand checking, clogged lanes, more defensive help coming to trap him.

The game wasn't as open back then and 3pt shots were frowned upon.

Imagine him on a league that encourages the 3pt shot, has weaker inside presence, open lanes, and less physicality?

Players tried their hardest to stop him by being physical and trapping him whenever possible, yet he still managed to kill them. It would be a walk in the park for him now.

Not sure what his stats would be today, but he'd have an easier time that's for sure... .much much easier time.

[Collie]

IMO Larry had one of the GOAT peaks in history. His rankings have really been hurt by his longevity, but peak-wise, he could hang with anybody in NBA history. His one big weakness was his defense, but he did good against PF's, so even that would be minimized today where he would most likely be a PF (which he actually played early on with great success).

[Trollsmasher]

23/7/7 with 4.5 TOs

his scoring would go down as he could not finish and would get his shit blocked more often than not (even if he actually managed to get to the rim, which is very hard to do for such unathletic players in today's Advanced Defense Era)

he would probably be asked to shoot more threes, but I am not sure how well he would adapt - there is no reason think he would shoot well on 5 threes a game just because he shot 40% on one three per game

his rebounding would go down since he is too unathletic (don't say Kevin Love, dude is one of the strongest players in the league)

his assist would remain the same but his TOs would go up as he was too flashy and today's defenses would have none of that shit

and he would of course be net negative on defense

[Gileraracer]

23/7/7 with 4.5 TOs

his scoring would go down as he could not finish and would get his shit blocked more often than not

he would probably be asked to shoot more threes, but I am not sure how well he would adapt - there is no reason think he would shoot well on 5 threes a game just because he shot 40% on one three per game

his rebounding would go down since he is too unathletic (don't say Kevin Love, dude is one of the strongest players in the league)

his assist would remain the same but his TOs would go up as he was too flashy and today's defenses would have none of that shit

and he would of course be net negative on defense

:biggums:

Olynyk almost made him known as "the one-armed Kevin" by hooking in unintentionally while running past him.

[Trollsmasher]

:biggums:

Olynyk almost made him known as "the one-armed Kevin" by hooking in unintentionally while running past him.
unintentionally?:biggums:

dude grabbed his arm with both of his arms and dragged him down with a full mass of his body behind it

also had a good angle to ripping the shoulder

[Gileraracer]

unintentionally?:biggums:

dude grabbed his arm with both of his arms and dragged him down with a full mass of his body behind it

Ok that was a joke, but Kevin better be thankful that this strange russian-sounding guy didn't rip it off.

[r0drig0lac]

hybrid Love / Dirk on steroids, best player in the league for sure 28/9/7

[ralph_i_el]

23/7/7 with 4.5 TOs

his scoring would go down as he could not finish and would get his shit blocked more often than not (even if he actually managed to get to the rim, which is very hard to do for such unathletic players in today's Advanced Defense Era)

he would probably be asked to shoot more threes, but I am not sure how well he would adapt - there is no reason think he would shoot well on 5 threes a game just because he shot 40% on one three per game

his rebounding would go down since he is too unathletic (don't say Kevin Love, dude is one of the strongest players in the league)

his assist would remain the same but his TOs would go up as he was too flashy and today's defenses would have none of that shit

and he would of course be net negative on defense

bruh plenty of unathletic guys are good finishers.
Plus, he'd be playing the 4 where he'd have a quickness advantage. Bird is probably better suited to today's era than he was in his own. Replace Griffin with Bird on last years Clippers and how much ass do they kick? All of the asses....simultaneously.

[Lebronxrings]

23/7/7 with 4.5 TOs

his scoring would go down as he could not finish and would get his shit blocked more often than not (even if he actually managed to get to the rim, which is very hard to do for such unathletic players in today's Advanced Defense Era)

he would probably be asked to shoot more threes, but I am not sure how well he would adapt - there is no reason think he would shoot well on 5 threes a game just because he shot 40% on one three per game

his rebounding would go down since he is too unathletic (don't say Kevin Love, dude is one of the strongest players in the league)

his assist would remain the same but his TOs would go up as he was too flashy and today's defenses would have none of that shit

and he would of course be net negative on defense
yea this was my way of thinking also. His great shooting will no doubt make him a top 15-10 player in todays game but his lack of athleticism really hurts him in todays game where athletes are actually tall and worldclass. I think of him as an nonathletic durant with a more well rounded game and high iq.

[Thorpesaurous]

This has come up a ton lately. He'd be fantastic. Annually in the MVP hunt. Definitively the best player? Arguably. But he and Lebron are transcendent type guys, so that's sort of moot to me. He and Bron, with KD when he's healthy, and the years guys like Curry pop up, that'd be your annual MVP list.

I could envision the scoring dropping a bit, as the defense at the rim being a little tougher with more guys flooding the strong side of the floor. But the shooting would be elite. He'd play PF, and without the hand checking, and against PFs, he'd be getting by defenders regularly. I do think the assists would go up, because if you flood him defensively, he and Lebron would be the best non-PG passers in the league.

The rebounding interests me. He's a career 10 board a game guy. But he also wasn't playing as far from the hoop as he would be offensively today. I could see it dropping some, but it may be balanced by playing more at PF on the defense. His post game would be hurt some by the way the post is defended now, but his passing would let you run an offense through it.

And defensively, where he isn't nearly as bad as advertised, I think he'd see a bump in productivity because no one in the league would take as much advantage of the zone allowances. He's not going to defend the rim, but Draymond Green just got DPoY attention and he's not as athletic as Bird, and at least 3 inches shorter, and he did it with a high iq and playing angles.

[3ball]

he would probably be asked to shoot more threes, but I am not sure how well he would adapt



Bird would adapt by simply standing around - literally - standing around would get Bird 4-6 more three-point looks per game because now Bird would get drive-and-kick 3-pointers, which he never got in his day... This would increase his 3-point attempts from his career high of 3 per game, to the 7-8 range that Curry and Klay are at..

You should understand that it hurt Bird's game immensely that his TEAMMATES didn't shoot 3-pointers - overall, teams only attempted 2 three-pointers per game in the mid-80's.

Without the proper 3-point personnel, drive-and-kick wasn't efficient and wasn't used much.

But in today's game, Bird would get literally 4-6 more three-point looks per game, most of them without him doing ANYTHING other than standing behind the 3-point line while some PG sets up a drive-and-kick 3-pointer for him.

So without doing ANYTHING other than standing around, Bird's game explodes in today's game.. That's the power of spacing..





his scoring would go down


Of course, the power of spacing is seen on the post too... With today's spacing, players have more time and room to operate on the post when they catch the ball, so teams must consider preventing post players from catching it - to do this, teams must compromise their defense by leaving someone open to double the post before the ball gets there.. So Bird's post presence makes his team better by causing many defensive rotations that are easily exploited - and the times he gets the ball on the post, he'd have more time and room to operate than ever before.. Of course, in Bird's day - the lack of spacing and resulting closer proximity of help defense gave defenses better capacity to handle a post player who has the ball, so teams didn't need to compromise their defense by preventing a post player from catching the ball.

The same way spacing forces defenses to compromise itself when defending a would-be post player, the power of spacing creates the need to flood, which ALSO forces defenses to compromise themselves - weakside spacing reduces the number of strongside defenders, so defenses must chose: allow the penetrator to face less strongside defenders by NOT flooding, or flood and leave someone open on the weakside?.. Otoh, defenses in previous eras didn't have to worry about flooding - without weakside spacing, defenders were already on the strongside.. The lack of spacing meant defenses didn't need to compromise the defense by flooding - this similar to teams not needing to compromise the defense by doubling a post player early, since the lack of spacing allows for quicker help defense.

[SHAQisGOAT]

Bird had to fight to even get the ball, had to fight through screens defensively, had to deal with tons of hand checking, clogged lanes, more defensive help coming to trap him.

The game wasn't as open back then and 3pt shots were frowned upon.

Imagine him on a league that encourages the 3pt shot, has weaker inside presence, open lanes, and less physicality?

Players tried their hardest to stop him by being physical and trapping him whenever possible, yet he still managed to kill them. It would be a walk in the park for him now.

Not sure what his stats would be today, but he'd have an easier time that's for sure... .much much easier time.

You could definitely argue for that, yea.

[Mass Debator]

Dirk numbers but with more assists.

[SHAQisGOAT]

7 rebounds per game for a 60 year old man is great bro. No need to catch feelings :oldlol:

Well, you got me there http://www.thecoli.com/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/manny.png

[FKAri]

A hybrid of Gordon Hayward and Chandler Parsons

[Kvnzhangyay]

I would seriously think less points and more assists; I think he would definitely play differently, just as how Lebron would be a different player in the 80's style-wise

[SaltyMeatballs]

http://media.giphy.com/media/2XskdWz9y363OIIeLPq/giphy.gif
Bird's double chin is the size of his forehead :lol

[SaltyMeatballs]

A hybrid of Gordon Hayward and Chandler Parsons
So you're saying those two guys could've averaged something like 25/9/7 and win 3 straight MVPs in the 80s?

[FKAri]

So you're saying those two guys could've averaged something like 25/9/7 and win 3 straight MVPs in the 80s?

Probably something beastly no doubt. sheeeit, me and you coulda had a rivalry in the 80's NBA. I'm assuming you play ball though. Otherwise, you'd probably stay on the bench.

[KevinNYC]

23/7/7 with 4.5 TOs

his scoring would go down as he could not finish and would get his shit blocked more often than not (even if he actually managed to get to the rim, which is very hard to do for such unathletic players in today's Advanced Defense Era)

he would probably be asked to shoot more threes, but I am not sure how well he would adapt - there is no reason think he would shoot well on 5 threes a game just because he shot 40% on one three per game

his rebounding would go down since he is too unathletic (don't say Kevin Love, dude is one of the strongest players in the league)

his assist would remain the same but his TOs would go up as he was too flashy and today's defenses would have none of that shit

and he would of course be net negative on defense
I have no idea why you think his shot would get blocked more often. Virtually ever guy who guarded him could outleap him. Bird couldn't finish? Bird was pretty deadly around the basket. He needed very, very little space to get his shot off.

One of my favorite quotes about Bird is from James Worthy. Worthy said he preferred to guard Michael Jordan because it was more exhausting guarding Bird because the mental challenge was so tough