I don't know what that means, but he had a great handle. Too undisciplined but a flash of Pete in his passing now and then...if you could keep passing to the right team. :thumb:
Ridiculous amount.
Bird once said he was offended when they put a white player on him. I suspect it's a way of racially inculcating the idea of excellence in playing the game. I think that's a foolishness and a waste of time. If someone said a black guy played hockey "white" what would the response be? Even though white hockey players have comprised an overwhelming majority of those who've played the position and played it about as well as a body can.
It's not that different from the NFL.
Out of what, 66 all-star games?
They didn't get excited about MJ?
Most people don't care about hockey.
Love Larry, but I rarely get my philosophical or scientific understandings from professional athletes. :nono:
I was just about to chime in with this...man, if they don't go on a serious run. The Cavs need to get Whiteside pronto.
If the Cavs pick up Whiteside and play more like those old Celtic teams of Bird they could challenge. Whiteside is already really, really good and he's improving. They could be a beast inside and look for another perimeter defender. This move will cost GS some of the difference making bench. It's imposing, but now they have to find that hard to manage big three balance.
I suppose it depends on how you see the talent. The Lakers had Jabbar and Magic, with terrific role players in support. I don't think they really had a big three. With Boston I think it was Bird then a half step down you had McHale and then a terrific set of role players, some of whom (as with the Lakers) could play like All-Stars. You could argue it's Durant and Curry, with Klay more of a McHale on his way to being a legitimate third great...but it's really difficult unless you have one of them willing to play the third wheel, the way Bosh did in Miami. The way Love did (if you consider him a great--I think he's a tweener, somewhere between the really talented role player and the legitimate big time player, at least in a market where attention is paid to him) in Cleveland.
I said it about the Chief. I ran Worthy's numbers. He reminds me of Horry. Could kill you in a game, but his numbers aren't spectacular when you really look at him. I respect his game the way I respected Cooper's defense. But you take Worthy off that team and he's not in the Hall. Just another very good player who had the right help and rose to the occasion a few times that were memorable.
You didn't include them for consideration. That said, Worthy was a really, really good player, but he wasn't a great one. He was a very, very good one who complimented great players, which Magic and Kareem were.
The Lakers had a talent for finding excellent complimentary pieces, like Robert Horry with the Kobe Lakers, but if Worthy isn't with the Lakers he's not a HOF. His numbers won't put him there without the championship glow and a few great performances on that stage. In a twelve year career he managed better than 20 pts in a season average four times, as you note, while seemingly confused about the role of a point guard, like Magic. I'll get to the numbers directly.
Magic's first two rings came without Worthy even on the team. Heck, Wilkes was arguably as talented as Worthy.
Magic avg: 19.5 pts shooting .533%, 7.2 rbs, 11.2 ast, and about 2 steals a game.
So Magic scored, on average, right at twenty for his career while being integral in another twenty two or so points a game as a facilitator while collecting more rbs, as a point guard, than Worthy.lain:
Kareem: 24.6 pts, shooting .559%, 11.2 rbs, 3.6 ast, and about 1 stl a game, nearly 3 blks a game.
Linchpin. Great numbers over a long career. Backbone of the franchise for a long, long time.
Worthy: 17.6 pts, shooting .532%, 5.1 rbs, 3 ast, 1 stl. Just not on equal footing with the big two.
Wilkes: 18.4 pts, shooting .516%, 5.4 rbs, 2.6 ast, 1.2 stl. in his seven years as a Laker.
He doesn't deserve to be put on the same level as Magic or Kareem. Neither does Worthy. He's a lot like Horry.
I think he just isn't comfortable in his role. He's had some great games against great defenses, but he wasn't in the position and didn't have the same sort of pressure. His talent is there, but I think his head is suspect. Not everyone is built for the role he ended up with...though I think if they got Whiteside it would actually help him.