Greatest SF Of All Time

[bagwell368]

In terms of peak ability, Bird himself has wondered if anyone has ever won in the fashion Bron just did. But because I'm the type to not put much stock in peer review ill go ahead and assume hes just being modest.

But really people, long term wise, we all know, all Bron has to do is sustain this level of play a few more years and Larrys in the rear view, Bird didn't last long at all and he didn't take care if his body.

Larry took care of himself fine by the standards of his day/state of medicine.

He was born with a condition where his spinal cord had much less room inside his spine to move then most - making him very susceptible to irritation and worse.

After he saw Magic and others getting into better shape he went into a heavy duty weight lifting program which irritated his spine basically on a permanent basis. He tried all sorts of cures and methods and lived through constant pain his last few years in the game.

[TheLegend]

Not really. In 2011 both Boozer and Noah were playing hurt and in 2012 we had a healthy team with them. Bulls would have swept Miami last year even Hollinger admitted it.

Bulls would have swept the Heat last year?

You got a lot to learn dude.

[bagwell368]

Put Larry Bird on those Cavs teams in his prime and he wouldn't have carried them like Lebron did...

Carried them to bad losses in the playoffs in 3 out of 5 years. Twice v Boston and once v Orlando. I mean kacked it.

Nobody that supports James wants to talk about the playoffs pre this year - that much is clear from reading these threads. For good reason.

[bagwell368]

Rick Barry, one dimensional?

Barry could do a lot of things, he probably meant that Barry was a selfish player that failed to do things that could have elevated his teams and teammates - but failed to do so.

Barry is distinctly ahead of the Wilkins class of players for instance, but he's no Bird.

[SLY WILLIAMS]

Put Larry Bird on those Cavs teams in his prime and he wouldn't have carried them like Lebron did...

Did Larry ever have a losing season? Did the Celtics have a good team the year before Larry? Did Larry carry a nothing Indiana State team? As a Knicks fan I hated Larry Bird but the people that actually watched him play in his prime know how good he was. Ask Jordan. Ask Magic. The guy could dominate a game without shooting and he was one of the clutchest shooters around. His passing was incredible and people sell him short as a defensive player.

[Ebbs]

Carried them to bad losses in the playoffs in 3 out of 5 years. Twice v Boston and once v Orlando. I mean kacked it.

Nobody that supports James wants to talk about the playoffs pre this year - that much is clear from reading these threads. For good reason.

That's BS and frankly not true. Your talking about series not playoffs as a whole. The whole Boston was greatly exaggerated but whatever it is what it is.

IMO LeBron taking that garbage *** Cleveland team to the finals holds almost as much weight as this year.

You talk about his bad series in the post season but you fail to recognize his good ones. There were some classic series vs. the Wizards back in the day. No one forgets what he did to the Pistons and last year he was fantastic against the Bulls.

Also Wades performance this post season was not very good. Bosh was hurt and missed time. The LeBron having a ton of talent to win argument is BS when like someone previously stated no one wins on their own.

[amos1er]

You actually think that Lebron's career is already better than Birds??? You do realize that most experts have bird at least top 7 of all time. So basically you are saying that Lebron is already a top 6 player of all time in your eyes.

See I told you guys that there were guys out there who actually believe this. And you say the Laker/Kobe fans are bad.

I don't need to give justification. My opinion is already validated by the majority. If you wan't to make a case otherwise...the burden of proof is on you.

[Ebbs]

I don't need to give justification. My opinion is already validated by the majority. If you wan't to make a case otherwise...the burden of proof is on you.

Congrats you can follow the crowd blindly.

You still can't call out the minority without some substance.

[naps]

Bulls would have swept Miami last year .

In your dreams?

[naps]

Congrats you can follow the crowd blindly.

You still can't call out the minority without some substance.

He'll probably pull up some YouTube clips as substance

[DanG]

Right now, it's Bird but probably in 2-4 years it's LeBron

[Hawkeye15]

Carried them to bad losses in the playoffs in 3 out of 5 years. Twice v Boston and once v Orlando. I mean kacked it.

Nobody that supports James wants to talk about the playoffs pre this year - that much is clear from reading these threads. For good reason.

I respect you quite a bit. But you are nuts if you don't think Bron/Bird isn't already a topic to consider, and extremely nuts if you don't think Bron passes him in a couple years.

LeBron, previous to this season, had great playoff numbers.

[amos1er]

Congrats you can follow the crowd blindly.

You still can't call out the minority without some substance.

I don't think you quite understand how this works. Since you are the one who disagrees with the majority opinion, it's you who is required to first come to the table with some sort of "substance". Again, let me reiterate, you are the one rejecting the general consensus. This thread is a poll after all and your opinion reflects the one that was voted to be the minority. the burden of proof therefore lies with you as I said in the previous post.

I am not "following the crowd blindly", I just happen to share their opinion.

Additionally, there have been numerous posts throughout this thread loaded with sufficient "substance" to merit the majority opinion. With that in mind, I really don't feel it's fair for you to burden me by asking me to personally rehash what was already said all over again when all you have to do is look through the thread yourself. Once you do, I can assure you will find more than enough of a compelling argument to justify why the majority of people originally voted in favor Bird over Lebron. If you still disagree, feel free to form your own conclusion that hopefully includes some vital information you feel was not brought to the table originally. The next logical step is then write a rebuttal. If you are then able to make a valid enough point in contradiction to the popular opinion through your rebuttal, I will then respond with the "substance" you are looking for.

I have a question for you? When the majority opinion elects a leader through the the democratic voting process our country was founded on, are they "following the crowd blindly too"? Do you consider anyone who votes in contrast to you to be following the crowd blindly? Isn't it possible that they simply agree with the opposing position? I could easily use your same logic back at you and say you are following the Lebron crowd blindly. I was simply pointing out the fact that the majority concurs with my opinion, not that I only agree because it's the majority.

[amos1er]

He was already on one.

Bird never had anyone as good as Wade and Bosh. Though his team was deeper, but not enough to account for having a top 5 and a top 15-20 player at his side.

[Raps08-09 Champ]

1. Bird
2. Lebron