why does larry bird have zero 40pt finals games?

[And1AllDay]

is it becos he was out scored by his own teammate in 3 of the 5 he made?

didnt this guy clap mikeys cheeks?

[ImKobe]

And what I don't understand is why he's ranked so high in people's all-time lists.. He never won B2B titles despite the stacked rosters he had.

[coastalmarker99]

And what I don't understand is why he's ranked so high in people's all-time lists.. He never won B2B titles despite the stacked rosters he had.


Showtime were a far more stacked team than the Celtics were


How Bird pulled off that goat upset in 1984 I will never know as the Lakers should have swept them that year as if not for Worthy turning over the ball late in game 2 and Magic missing clutch free throws in game 4 they would have swept the Celtics.

[000]

Because larry bird is worse than russell westbrook and khris middleton. Great thread OP:cheers:

[Pip' N Rodman]

And what I don't understand is why he's ranked so high in people's all-time lists.. He never won B2B titles despite the stacked rosters he had.

Because he never missed the playoffs in his prime, unlike Kobe in 2013

[Bronbron23]

is it becos he was out scored by his own teammate in 3 of the 5 he made?

didnt this guy clap mikeys cheeks?

Well if you knew anything about the game and bird and the celtics you'd know they played a true team game. One guy didn't monopolize the ball. Like this era. It's not as ideal for individual stats but it is ideal for winning which last time i checked is all that matters.

Damn dude how many meltdowns does this make for today? And it's only tbe afternoon:oldlol:

[ArbitraryWater]

And what I don't understand is why he's ranked so high in people's all-time lists.. He never won B2B titles despite the stacked rosters he had.

Kobe has 1 finals 40 pt game and he needed to statpad for it.

[And1AllDay]

And what I don't understand is why he's ranked so high in people's all-time lists.. He never won B2B titles despite the stacked rosters he had.

real gm has him barely 10th i think

accurate , bean is above him easily

[mr4speed]

real gm has him barely 10th i think

accurate , bean is above him easily
Bird is ranked higher than Kobe because he was a better basketball player = Bird made those around him better at every level. The "Thinking Basketball" analysis on you tube, had the Celtics with a win pace at 45 games without Bird and a 61 win pace with Bird. And the same in depth look at Bird claimed he was the 2nd best playmaker of the 80's only behind Magic. He was the biggest reason Boston went from a 29 win team to a 61 win team when he was a rookie. Look at what Bird did at Indiana State. Bird was all about winning and never looked at the stat sheet. Do you think Bird would have ever been jealous of being able to play with Shaq?? Lets look at these aspects of the game: If you think Kobe is a better scorer, it is only because he would put up more shots. Nine days after McHale set the Boston scoring record at 56, Bird pumped in 60 vs Atlanta, just because he could. Who is a better 3 point shooter? Bird. Who has the higher FG%? Bird. Who is a better FT shooter? Bird. I am not knocking Kobe, better dunker and attacking the rim and more acrobatic and a better defender, but Bird is a better rebounder and passer. Bird in game 5 of the 84 Finals turned that series around for Boston when he shot 15 of 20 for 34 points and pulled down 17 rebounds in 97 degree heat. Bird will improve your team and have more of an impact on the other players than Kobe. That is why he is ranked higher IMO.

[72-10]

that's a bit like asking why Larry Bird only player with consecutive 5 steals Finals games

[MrFonzworth]

that's a bit like asking why Larry Bird only player with consecutive 5 steals Finals games

Do you only post here immediately after suffering from a stroke?

[kawhileonard2]

Greatest SF in NBA History = Larry Bird.

[Lebron23]

Greatest SF in NBA History = Larry Bird.

Nope it's LeBron James

[coastalmarker99]

And what I don't understand is why he's ranked so high in people's all-time lists.. He never won B2B titles despite the stacked rosters he had.

Bird won 2 Finals against badly outmatched Houston teams (one had a 40-42 record in the regular season and the other had 2nd-year Hakeem trying to beat arguably the most stacked Celtics team of all time). Outside of that he faced the Lakers 3 times, losing twice and barely winning the other in 7 only because Magic choked badly near the end of every Celtic win.

[coastalmarker99]

Bird is ranked higher than Kobe because he was a better basketball player = Bird made those around him better at every level. The "Thinking Basketball" analysis on you tube, had the Celtics with a win pace at 45 games without Bird and a 61 win pace with Bird. And the same in depth look at Bird claimed he was the 2nd best playmaker of the 80's only behind Magic. He was the biggest reason Boston went from a 29 win team to a 61 win team when he was a rookie. Look at what Bird did at Indiana State. Bird was all about winning and never looked at the stat sheet. Do you think Bird would have ever been jealous of being able to play with Shaq?? Lets look at these aspects of the game: If you think Kobe is a better scorer, it is only because he would put up more shots. Nine days after McHale set the Boston scoring record at 56, Bird pumped in 60 vs Atlanta, just because he could. Who is a better 3 point shooter? Bird. Who has the higher FG%? Bird. Who is a better FT shooter? Bird. I am not knocking Kobe, better dunker and attacking the rim and more acrobatic and a better defender, but Bird is a better rebounder and passer. Bird in game 5 of the 84 Finals turned that series around for Boston when he shot 15 of 20 for 34 points and pulled down 17 rebounds in 97 degree heat. Bird will improve your team and have more of an impact on the other players than Kobe. That is why he is ranked higher IMO.




Why is it that Bird's defenders never can explain his underwhelming performances in the playoffs despite being playing on stacked teams for most of his career


Why didn't he take over games and at least go down fighting any of those seasons that the Celtics fell short in?


1980 ECF: Loses to the Sixers in 5 (not the stacked Sixers of later, we're talking a team where Dawkins was Dr. J's #2). Averages 22ppg on 44% shooting, including 5-19 for 12 points in the decisive Game 5.

1981 Finals: Averages 15ppg on 42% shooting, including a streak in the middle where he scored 8, 8, and 12 in three consecutive games. Celtics win anyway cause of the worst Western Conference perhaps ever (two 40-42 teams had faced in the WCF), but Bird loses Finals MVP to Cedric Maxwell.

1982 ECF: Averages 18ppg on 41% shooting and Boston loses to Philly in 7. Scores 20 on 7-18 shooting in losing Game 7 in a blowout.

1983 ECSF: Boston is swept by a Bucks team whose best players are Moncrief, Johnson, Bridgeman, Lanier and Winters. Bird averages 19ppg on 44% shooting on the losing end of the sweep.

1984 Finals: Boston won due to constant trips to the foul line and Magic choking, squeezing through despite Bird shooting just 6-18 for 20 points in the elimination game. But I guess 6-18 was just part of his strategy?

1985 Finals: Loses to the Lakers in 6. Averages just 24ppg on 45% shooting in the Finals (Worthy, his matchup, averaged 24ppg on 56% shooting). His teammate McHale actually led all scorers with 26ppg on 60% shooting in the losing effort. Celtics lost Game 5 with Larry scoring just 20 (4th on the team behind DJ, McHale, and Parish and with 8-17 shooting was the worst of the four) and then lost Game 6 and the series with Larry shooting just 12-29 (again outscored by McHale who had 32 on 11-18 shooting).

1987 Finals: Boston loses to LA in the Finals for the second time in three years. Bird goes 6-16 for 16 points in the deciding Game 6 loss. Dennis Johnson had 33 and McHale had 20 in that game. Worthy had 22 points on 10-16 shooting in only 36 minutes before fouling out. (Worthy averaged 21ppg on 52% shooting for the series.)

1988 ECF: Averages 20ppg on 35% shooting as the Celtics go down in 6 to the Pistons. Bird scores 16 on 4-17 shooting in losing Game 6, while Boston was getting lit up by 6'5" SF Adrian Dantley.


And I ain't even gonna get into 1989-1992, cause he was old and hurt, but he sucked in all of those seasons too.

That's the reality. The truth is that Bird went out a LOT against teams that weren't necessarily better than his, and he went out while playing like shyt in the decisive games. The truth is that Bird almost never took over in decisive games despite his manufactured "clutch" reputation. Why is this glossed over?

[Orange_Cassidy]

Nope it's LeBron James

Greatest SF in NBA History = Larry Bird.

[coastalmarker99]

Greatest SF in NBA History = Larry Bird.


My question for those propping up Larry Bird in this thread as the greatest SF ever is why he played so poorly most years.





You can't blame it on his teammates cause his teams were stacked. You can't say he was deferring cause he usually lost, and the games were far closer than they should have been even when he won. W



Why was Bird out there averaging well under 20ppg in one critical series after another, shooting 4-17 or 5-19 or 6-18 or 3-14 in one elimination game after another?

[And1AllDay]

My question for those propping up Larry Bird in this thread as the greatest SF ever is why he played so poorly most years.





You can't blame it on his teammates cause his teams were stacked. You can't say he was deferring cause he usually lost, and the games were far closer than they should have been even when he won. W



Why was Bird out there averaging well under 20ppg in one critical series after another, shooting 4-17 or 5-19 or 6-18 or 3-14 in one elimination game after another?



good questIon

he was just ok

wilt > bird

[tanibanana]

(1) Bird played when players are allowed to be physical, (2) slower pace during his era, (3) Bird shares the ball

[Orange_Cassidy]

My question for those propping up Larry Bird in this thread as the greatest SF ever is why he played so poorly most years.





You can't blame it on his teammates cause his teams were stacked. You can't say he was deferring cause he usually lost, and the games were far closer than they should have been even when he won. W



Why was Bird out there averaging well under 20ppg in one critical series after another, shooting 4-17 or 5-19 or 6-18 or 3-14 in one elimination game after another?

you could list every bird failure and it wouldn't even be 1/10th as long as a list dedicated to lebrons

bird has actual rings and all time great performances from a real era and he was at the top of the league for a good 3 to 4 years at a time when jordan/magic/kareem/Moses and other legends were playing.


he isn't a product of a shit era on a fake colluded team with fake seasons and fake muscles


and he could actually hit a free throw

[And1AllDay]

you could list every bird failure and it wouldn't even be 1/10th as long as a list dedicated to lebrons

bird has actual rings and all time great performances from a real era and he was at the top of the league for a good 3 to 4 years at a time when jordan/magic/kareem/Moses and other legends were playing.


he isn't a product of a shit era on a fake colluded team with fake seasons and fake muscles


and he could actually hit a free throw

bird has to pass wilt first

next

[Orange_Cassidy]

bird has to pass wilt first

next

if wilts ahead of bird then wilts ahead of lebron since the only way you can put wilt ahead of bird is if you use the argument that he holds every record, was the most dominant individual player etc... then hes ahead of everyone

[And1AllDay]

if wilts ahead of bird then wilts ahead of lebron since the only way you can put wilt ahead of bird is if you use the argument that he holds every record, was the most dominant individual player etc... then hes ahead of everyone

kenny..bird has a stacked career with only 2 fmvp
wilt had no help and still has 1

[72-10]

My question for those propping up Larry Bird in this thread as the greatest SF ever

Bird is the best at most aspects of being a SF, and he's better than LeBron at almost every aspect of being a 3, including passing

[coastalmarker99]

kenny..bird has a stacked career with only 2 fmvp
wilt had no help and still has 1

He would have 2 FMVP if you count 67 since he would have gotten it that year but the award didn't exist at the time.

[coastalmarker99]

you could list every bird failure and it wouldn't even be 1/10th as long as a list dedicated to lebrons

bird has actual rings and all time great performances from a real era and he was at the top of the league for a good 3 to 4 years at a time when jordan/magic/kareem/Moses and other legends were playing.


he isn't a product of a shit era on a fake colluded team with fake seasons and fake muscles


and he could actually hit a free throw

No one can deny that Bron balled the fukk out for every one of his rings. He won that shyt on the court. And often as not he balled out even the times he lost too. So Bron's performances are irrelevant to the conversation.



Trying to make it out that Bron's wins don't count because he wasn't playing 1-on-5 is just stupid, every single player who ever won a tough series against an equal-or-better opponent caught a break or had a teammate perform somewhere. The part that matters is that Bron played like a champ and then the chips fell as they did.

[Spurs m8]

God, who honestly gives a fvck

These sad bron stans need to get their own lives...

There's life outside of the NBA, you know?

Spend every day here starting boring threads

[Orange_Cassidy]

No one can deny that Bron balled the fukk out for every one of his rings. He won that shyt on the court. And often as not he balled out even the times he lost too. So Bron's performances are irrelevant to the conversation.



Trying to make it out that Bron's wins don't count because he wasn't playing 1-on-5 is just stupid, every single player who ever won a tough series against an equal-or-better opponent caught a break or had a teammate perform somewhere. The part that matters is that Bron played like a champ and then the chips fell as they did.

I deny it

lebron balled "the f*ck out" for his ring. but it never should have taken place to begin with. he manufactured his finals appearance by rigging a colluded team together

I like Durant but I don't count his rings with golden state either

if it doesn't happen naturally then I don't count the accomplishment. sorry


and lebron had some major failures in every other finals. don't get me started on them

[ELITEpower23]

He was a bigtime choker like Kobe.

Tons of high scoring, regular season highlights.

Then--disappears when the lights get brighter.

[Airupthere]

good questIon

he was just ok

wilt > bird

What a suckup, lol

[000]

He had as many as heat lebron

[MadDog]

Why would that matter? :confusedshrug: Bird had more skill with his off-hand than LeBron does in general. Bird's also got a winning record in the finals.

[coastalmarker99]

Why would that matter? :confusedshrug: Bird had more skill with his off-hand than LeBron does in general. Bird's also got a winning record in the finals.

He should have a losing record in the finals if not for Worthy dumb turnover at the end of game 2 of the 1984 finals that cost the Lakers winning both games in Boston which would have ensured that the series would have been basically over by that point.


God watching that turnover by Worthy all these years later still makes me sick.


We should have swept those green bastards in 84 if not for Worthy and Magic ****ing up in key moments in games 2 and 4.

[j3lademaster]

Do you only post here immediately after suffering from a stroke?

https://media.giphy.com/media/l3E6uhDAN3W7vylji/giphy.gif

[ELITEpower23]

Why would that matter? :confusedshrug: Bird had more skill with his off-hand than LeBron does in general. Bird's also got a winning record in the finals.

40 pt Finals Games
8 vs 0

Yikes

[mr4speed]

Why is it that Bird's defenders never can explain his underwhelming performances in the playoffs despite being playing on stacked teams for most of his career


Why didn't he take over games and at least go down fighting any of those seasons that the Celtics fell short in?


1980 ECF: Loses to the Sixers in 5 (not the stacked Sixers of later, we're talking a team where Dawkins was Dr. J's #2). Averages 22ppg on 44% shooting, including 5-19 for 12 points in the decisive Game 5.

1981 Finals: Averages 15ppg on 42% shooting, including a streak in the middle where he scored 8, 8, and 12 in three consecutive games. Celtics win anyway cause of the worst Western Conference perhaps ever (two 40-42 teams had faced in the WCF), but Bird loses Finals MVP to Cedric Maxwell.

1982 ECF: Averages 18ppg on 41% shooting and Boston loses to Philly in 7. Scores 20 on 7-18 shooting in losing Game 7 in a blowout.

1983 ECSF: Boston is swept by a Bucks team whose best players are Moncrief, Johnson, Bridgeman, Lanier and Winters. Bird averages 19ppg on 44% shooting on the losing end of the sweep.

1984 Finals: Boston won due to constant trips to the foul line and Magic choking, squeezing through despite Bird shooting just 6-18 for 20 points in the elimination game. But I guess 6-18 was just part of his strategy?

1985 Finals: Loses to the Lakers in 6. Averages just 24ppg on 45% shooting in the Finals (Worthy, his matchup, averaged 24ppg on 56% shooting). His teammate McHale actually led all scorers with 26ppg on 60% shooting in the losing effort. Celtics lost Game 5 with Larry scoring just 20 (4th on the team behind DJ, McHale, and Parish and with 8-17 shooting was the worst of the four) and then lost Game 6 and the series with Larry shooting just 12-29 (again outscored by McHale who had 32 on 11-18 shooting).

1987 Finals: Boston loses to LA in the Finals for the second time in three years. Bird goes 6-16 for 16 points in the deciding Game 6 loss. Dennis Johnson had 33 and McHale had 20 in that game. Worthy had 22 points on 10-16 shooting in only 36 minutes before fouling out. (Worthy averaged 21ppg on 52% shooting for the series.)

1988 ECF: Averages 20ppg on 35% shooting as the Celtics go down in 6 to the Pistons. Bird scores 16 on 4-17 shooting in losing Game 6, while Boston was getting lit up by 6'5" SF Adrian Dantley.


And I ain't even gonna get into 1989-1992, cause he was old and hurt, but he sucked in all of those seasons too.

That's the reality. The truth is that Bird went out a LOT against teams that weren't necessarily better than his, and he went out while playing like shyt in the decisive games. The truth is that Bird almost never took over in decisive games despite his manufactured "clutch" reputation. Why is this glossed over?

The explanation is he played poorly and did have bad games! And the East was the more difficult conference. And Bird was the focal point of the defense against every opponent drawing Bobby Jones, Robert Reid, Michael Cooper, Dennis Rodman as defenders. Here is my short take on your list:
1980 the Sixer's weren't stacked? They won 59 games and deserved to go to the Finals.
1981 Let's ignore Bird outplaying Dr J head to head in the WCF in a great 7 game series where Boston came back from being down 3 to 1 and Bird hitting the game winning basket at the end of game 7? Bird also deserved FMVP in 81 as he had far more assists and rebounds than Maxwell and Bird shunned the press at that time. Even coach Bill Fitch admitted Bird was the FMVP.
1982- Sixers won 58 games this year and outplayed Boston. Having a great game for any player is far more difficult than just deciding to have a great game.
1983-Bird had the flu and missed 1 game because he could not stop vomiting. I am not sure how it may have affected him in the other games but he was not 100% and that year the team was ready to implode because they had grown to hate Fitch - except Bird loved the guy?
1984 - Magic in game 7 was just as bad as Bird shooting 5 of 14 with 7 turnovers. Bird was great in games 4 and 5.
1985 - Kareem was unreal in the last 5 games ( after his terrible game 1) and was FMVP and why LA won. Bird let his team down and rumor was he was in a bar fight and had hurt his hand? That is all on Bird - he should have known better and played better.
1987 - Magic was FMVP, he played better than Bird and Boston was beat up. I always looked at the 3 Finals between LA and Boston as Bird, Kareem and Magic all had their series to shine in and they did. LA was just better.
1988 - Bird played poorly and Detroit was hungry- there was no way Boston was going to beat them.
As far as Bird "almost never took over" I disagree. Look at game 7 vs Knicks in 84. In game 4 of the 85 Finals vs LA, Bird had a monster 4th quarter to rally Boston to the win over LA in LA ( they were down 2 games to 1 here )- this was the game winner by DJ at the buzzer. In 86 game 6 vs Houston. What about game 7 vs Hawks = the shootout with Dominique, or the deciding game 5 vs the Pacers after hitting his head on the floor? We tend to forget players failures and do remember their success, Bird had plenty of iconic moments. I think his heel surgery on both heels and bad back cost him plenty of more success stories.

[86Celtics]

He should have a losing record in the finals if not for Worthy dumb turnover at the end of game 2 of the 1984 finals that cost the Lakers winning both games in Boston which would have ensured that the series would have been basically over by that point.


God watching that turnover by Worthy all these years later still makes me sick.


We should have swept those green bastards in 84 if not for Worthy and Magic ****ing up in key moments in games 2 and 4.

You should be thankful your Fakers spent almost a decade getting to the finals unchallenged while Bird and the Celtics had to go through war each year.
You should be thankful the Celtics were decimated by injuries in 87 otherwise they would have repeated.
You should be thankful for 1988, 2002, 2020 and all the other times that refs and luck gifted the titles to your Fakers.

Entitled pricks.

[Thenameless]

You should be thankful your Fakers spent almost a decade getting to the finals unchallenged while Bird and the Celtics had to go through war each year.
You should be thankful the Celtics were decimated by injuries in 87 otherwise they would have repeated.
You should be thankful for 1988, 2002, 2020 and all the other times that refs and luck gifted the titles to your Fakers.

Entitled pricks.

And you should be thankful that your Celtics had a super team in an era with few teams. The Lakers will reach 30 championships before any other NBA team will.