michaelf@ism780 (02/20/86)
I know all of you out there were waiting for further accolades on Larry Bird so here they are. The man is simply a genius when it comes to the game. He is the Mozart of hoops. Pure basketball can be desribed as physical chess. Moving your pieces in a way which best utilizes their strengths and attacking with the right one at the right time is what it's all about. Last night against Golden State, Bird had 36 points 12 rebounds and 11 assists. Now THAT, is a triple double. Not like Magic's triple doubles which usually have 15 or so assists but also only about 15 points. Last week Larry had a triple double and scored 48 points. That includes the buzzer-beater that won the game. After talking up Alvin Robertson last week, he gets a quadruple double. He had something like 22 points, 11 rebounds 10 assists and 10 steals. Last year Larry had a chance at a QuadDub but he pulled himself in the third quarter after the Celts had the game in the bag. At that point he had a TripDub with 9 steals. Ouch. You will always read about the Alex English and Adrian Dantley types scoring like madmen but they never have the boards and assists. I'm sure you all saw the Celtics knock off the Lakers at the Forum on Sunday. As one local sportswriter put it, Bill Walton has shattered the delicate balance between the Celtics and the Lakers. When Bill goes up for a rebound, it looks like everyone else is six feet tall. What a textbook player when it comes to boxing out and getting a good outlet pass off. He is why the Celtics will win it all this year. When McHale comes back, will K.C. put Parish, McHale and Walton in the forecourt and move Bird to guard alongside DJ? DJ will stay play point and Bird will be a 6' 10 shooting guard. I say it would be unstoppable. Comments? Philly went nuts last night scoring 153 points. Moses, the man who will never be called for an offensive foul, did most of the damage. The Lakers didn't look so hot beating the lowly Pacers 90-81. Byron Scott, the guy who they traded Norm Nixon for, is now relegated to the role of fourth guard after Magic, Michael Cooper and Mike `Point-a-Minute' McGee. Look for a couple of losses during this little road trip they just started. Ciao for now.