Why did Larry Bird have trouble accelerating from a dead stop?

[72-10]

This troubled Bird's transition offense, for instance when he picked the passing lane and came up with a steal, he had trouble triggering the fast break if it weren't for his brilliant outlet passing, and it made him more of a set shooter on offense. He couldn't outrun his opponents down the court. The obligatory "How would this translate to today's game?"

[tpols]

Jokic is even slower and he dominates. An end prime Dirk with zero explosiveness beat a bunch of super athletes. Being quick with the mind (and skilled) is more important. That being said I don't think this fruity version of the game would go well with Larry Bird... he'd probably get tossed for saying something mean or jacking a dude up. This is Disney basketball today... G rated.

[72-10]

Bird didn't get a lot of his points in transition since he couldn't outrun the opponents of his day, so I guess it's partly a moot point in terms of stat production - he'd still get his points. But he wasn't among the most skilled with his footwork to play in the league. There's no doubt he could shoot over the defense from three and mid-range with his wide array of shots, but it makes one wonder how well he'd break a zone with his own scoring with any sort of lane penetration because the defenders would probably rotate as quickly as Bird moves his slow feet.

[8Ball]

He wouldn't be the one running down the court with the ball.

May have used him as the outlet passer.

[Kblaze8855]

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[Kblaze8855]

By which I mean....he wasn’t as unathletic as his reputation and he ran the floor plenty of times. But nobody runs faster than a pass can move.

[72-10]

That's a good point he'd still use his impeccable fakes and pivots to throw the defense off since they actually have to respect his jump shot. Then they don't have sufficient time to rotate even with the problems presented by a zone. Frankly, I think he still gets his points. But that's not the main point of the thread - why did he have trouble accelerating from a dead stop? Are there other forwards who have had substantial trouble accelerating from a dead stop?

[FultzNationRISE]

Uhh, because he’s not Lebron?

:hammerhead:

[Bronbron23]

This troubled Bird's transition offense, for instance when he picked the passing lane and came up with a steal, he had trouble triggering the fast break if it weren't for his brilliant outlet passing, and it made him more of a set shooter on offense. He couldn't outrun his opponents down the court. The obligatory "How would this translate to today's game?"

Luka doncic

[Kblaze8855]

That's a good point he'd still use his impeccable fakes and pivots to throw the defense off since they actually have to respect his jump shot. Then they don't have sufficient time to rotate even with the problems presented by a zone. Frankly, I think he still gets his points. But that's not the main point of the thread - why did he have trouble accelerating from a dead stop? Are there other forwards who have had substantial trouble accelerating from a dead stop?

Thats not even a serious question. It’s like asking why Andre Miller wasn’t as fast as Derrick Rose. What answer could you be looking for other than genetics or training?

[mr4speed]

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Thanks Kblaze for sharing. The top display shows Bird dunking against Houston in Houston (red floor) and is quite impressive. I never saw that dunk before. Part of Bird's success was wearing the defender down throughout the course of the game. After 3 quarters of chasing Bird around picks and all over the floor, his lack of foot speed became less apparent. Bird was so good moving off the ball, changing directions and using fakes, he had no trouble getting open. I loved watching DJ fire bullet passes right past the his defender, and because he could shoot with either hand close to the basket, defenders were not sure what Bird was going to do when he got the ball.

[tpols]

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Honestly for a a 6'9 guy those are very unimpressive dunks. :lol If Bird was like... 6'3, I don't think he'd even be able to dunk. Which is pathetic by NBA standards. I'm 6'4 and cant dunk. I used to be able to but with extra weight I cant jump at all anymore.

[trada7029]

Honestly for a a 6'9 guy those are very unimpressive dunks. :lol If Bird was like... 6'3, I don't think he'd even be able to dunk. Which is pathetic by NBA standards. I'm 6'4 and cant dunk. I used to be able to but with extra weight I cant jump at all anymore.

OP is underrating Bird's jumpshooting skill - there's never been a player his size that was an all-time jumpshooter.. maybe dirk, but bird's release was much quicker and repertoire greater. Bird could get any jumper he wanted, any TIME he wanted.. So give Klay 2 more inches and bigger hands/frame and maybe Klay could play like Bird.

OP isn't realizing that Bird was a big guy. Part of the reason he averaged 10 rebounds is because he was big and strong. That size allowed him to perform no-dribble, 2-handed dunks quite easily (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=X4xMtl3Fulg&t=0m09s)..

Btw, Bird doesn't use today's moves off a live dribble like luka or even gordon hayward... if he did, his dunk frequency would increase and the dunks look more familiar.

Finally, lots of guys are high fliers in high school but the faster speed and strength of the college game turns them into a floor player.

Ditto going from college to NBA

So Bird smashed over some NBA bigs pretty hard, which means he'd do even more against college guys and clown at the high school speed

[FultzNationRISE]

Honestly for a a 6'9 guy those are very unimpressive dunks. :lol If Bird was like... 6'3, I don't think he'd even be able to dunk. Which is pathetic by NBA standards. I'm 6'4 and cant dunk. I used to be able to but with extra weight I cant jump at all anymore.


:biggums:


Cmon bruh. That's weak even for an amateur. Get your hops up boi!

But I agree Bird was pretty stiff. Altho even the guys back then who were considered good athletes pale in comparison to what we see today.

Dr. J was a revolutionary in his time. By today's standards his dunks look pedestrian. Chase Budinger probably has a better highlight reel if we compare them objectively.

[Kblaze8855]

Honestly for a a 6'9 guy those are very unimpressive dunks. :lol If Bird was like... 6'3, I don't think he'd even be able to dunk. Which is pathetic by NBA standards. I'm 6'4 and cant dunk. I used to be able to but with extra weight I cant jump at all anymore.



You would be surprised how many people think he couldn’t dunk at all. He was doing 180s in traffic in his 30s. And Jeff Hornacek is the only player 6’4” or up I know has said he couldn’t dunk. I’m sure it’s rare. Next to nobody has seen Oscar Robertson dunk but he just chose not to. Didn’t see the point.