Bob McAdoo played his final seven years in the league when there was a three-point shot. He made a total of 3/37 in that span. Is he really the best comparison for one of the top three-point marksmen of the last decade?
Yeah, still, yes he is, imo Not every team or player embraced the 3pt shot at first. Different era, coming from college backgrounds with no 3pt shot. The Lakers as a TEAM only shot 95 in each of McAdoo's first two years. In the first 4 yrs, Michael Cooper only shot a high of 21. That's actually what makes McAdoo the comparison. He was the first big man perimeter shooter of that quality. The Laker's just weren't shooting threes (they ran and passed it to Jabbar), and besides, McAdoo's career tailed off before the 3pt era anyhow. The one thing he didn't have was Dirk's longevity. But neither did Bird.
So switching out Dirk for B-Mac, the Mavs would have had the same amount of success? We're supposed to believe that? Sorry.
i loled. but that is 100% true. dude is skinny as a stick. i was at vegas for memorial day and saw KD walking out of encore hotel and dude is ridiculously skinny. hopefully he can gain some strength this offseason. also saw maynor, ibaka, and collison there.
It annoys me when people make this comparison. Bird was such a superior player to Dirk and a much more intense competitor than Dirk. Nobody in their right mind would ever think of Bird being as soft a player as Dirk has proven to be in his career. Bird is fists clenched ready to fight Dr. J and Dirk is flopper supreme.
Maybe I missed the reference, but the thread title is misleading. Nowhere did I see Bird make comparisons between his game and Nitwitski. I don't think there is a reasonable comparison to make.
It annoys me when people exaggerate the people before, and turn them into legends like Hercules or King freakin' Arthur. The way some posters here go on and on about Bird and MJ you'd think they'd score 300 pts a game if they played today. Its a different league nowadays, and while greats like Bird would have dominated in any era I'm pretty sure he would have had to adjust in today's league. All that toughness as you call it would be rendered useless because today's league is more about finesse and skill than grit and physicality, and Bird would have to rely more on his pure scoring and playmaking ability rather than his grit and intensity.
Whats the most common factor between Bird and Nowitzki? Great, tall, WHITE scorers. I don't think there is anything wrong with cheering a little extra for your own race. Not too many great white basketball players nowadays, so I think its pretty natural for Bird wanting Nowitzki to succeed. All the Asians wanted Yao to succeed.
[rquoter] Bird, though, acknowledged in a phone conversation Tuesday before Game 1 of the Finals that he does see "a lot of similarities." "He's had a great run (in the playoffs), but I've always been very impressed with him," Bird said. "His work ethic, his loyalty to his country. It's really an honor for me to have people compare us. "He rebounds. He plays at his own pace. He sort of controls the tempo on offense. It'd be nice to be 7 foot and when they run plays and switch (defenders) on him, it doesn't bother him at all. He can see over everybody. "He's got the step-backs. He gets to the rim. The difficulty of some of the shots that he makes ... one thing about him is that he's always got great balance. His shot looks like he's falling away, but he's got a lot of balance when the shot goes up. "I understand (the comparisons). I've always felt it's an honor when they compare anyone to me, because I haven't played ball for 20 years." [/rquoter]
Did you personally interview every Asian alive, from the jungles of Vietnam to the steppes of Mongolia?
Bird's psychological game was and is unmatched. Not Jordan, Magic or anybody in the history of the game had that. Bird would make you believe that you couldn't beat him. The so called break your back shot, bird would constantly take a 3 if he thought he could gain a psychological advantage if he made it. That said, Dirk's shot making is certainly bird like, but nobody had bird's head game.
How did I exaggerate Bird? So you're saying one of the legendary shooters of the game, a famously mentally tough gunslinger with a sky high basketball IQ, a guy who averaged 6 assists a game from the small forward spot would have to rely on his scoring, skill level, and playmaking ability in today's game? Okay.
So, switching out Bird for Dirk, the Celtics would have had the same amount of success? We're supposed to believe that? Sorry. Quit turning my point into something that it wasn't intended to mean. This isn't who is better or closest in the Best of charts. This is comparing style of play on HOF level success. McAdoo and Nowitzki have a closer style of play than Bird. We can compare Nowitzki's shooting to Bird ... that's about it. If you're going to insist I'm trying to say that McAdoo is ranked close to Nowitzki, then I'm done talking about it.
Nowitzki made the tie-breaking layup with 3.6 seconds left, and the Mavericks roared back from 15 points down in the fourth quarter to beat the Heat 95-93 on Thursday night and tie the NBA finals at one game apiece. Capping a furious rally by scoring Dallas' final nine points, Nowitzki made two late baskets left-handed -- despite a torn tendon on that non-shooting hand. He finished with 24 points. http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=310602014 Soft and unclutch my ass.
To be fair, prior to this postseason, that was the reputation he had (with good reason). Like LeBron, has really turned it on this season (particularly postseason, particularly in crunch time). Playing at a level I do not think that anybody has ever seen.
