Dirk > /< Larry Bird
- Thread starter Indndawg
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make your jaw drop......In their primes, Bird was hands down the better overall player.....Bird was a much better passer and played good D for a slow white guy that couldn't jump.........Take nothing away from Dirk, he's damn good, however, they don't call LJB "Larry Legend" for nothing.......Look at their career stats.....They are pretty darnclose but Bird had the "awe" factor......
Coach34 said:
I also think Bird was with a great team many years and I am not sure Jerry West wasn't better than Bird too. But it is like religion and politics, no way for everybody to agree.
Dirk shouldn't even be mentioned in the same breath as Larry Bird. Bird was the better passer, ball handler, and most importantly, defender. Dirk is one of the best offensive players, but he's a defensive liability most of the time and even gets subbed out for offense/defense late in games. Sure, Bird was hurt late in his career, but in their primes, this isn't even a debatable argument.
I'm not diminishing Dirk's accomplishments at all. He is a great player and was at his best on the biggest stage of all. But let's not get crazy. There is a short list of five or six guys who were the absolute best to ever play the game, and Bird is at that level.</p>
I'm not diminishing Dirk's accomplishments at all. He is a great player and was at his best on the biggest stage of all. But let's not get crazy. There is a short list of five or six guys who were the absolute best to ever play the game, and Bird is at that level.</p>
standards.......Even with that being the case, his career numbers are still muchbetter........PPG (Bird 24.3 / Dirk 23.0)And that's with the4 subpar years you mentioned at the end of his career.......No way Dirk comes close to averaging that for his career..........Same with rebounding (Bird - 10 rpg / Dirk 8.4 rp)......Assists (Bird 6.3 / Dirk 2.7)..........Steals (Bird 1.73 / Dirk 1.0).......Passing is not even close, a BIG edge to Bird.........Same defensively, it's not even close.........Bird was a much better defender and would mix it up and scrap with the best of them (ask Dr. J, Bill Laimbeer or KAJ)....
Oh yeah, Dirk's better (rolls eyes).........
Oh yeah, one more stat.........Championships (Bird 3 / Dirk 1)..........Dirk won't catch him here either........
Dirk= very good
Bird = Great
Oh yeah, Dirk's better (rolls eyes).........
Oh yeah, one more stat.........Championships (Bird 3 / Dirk 1)..........Dirk won't catch him here either........
Dirk= very good
Bird = Great
1) Looks like the Hawks didn't play a lot of defense. But anybody who watched the NBA back in those days knows they actually called fouls for things like hand-checks and bumping the shooter so the game was much cleaner and to me, fun to watch.
2) How much softer the rims are now. In that video, you hit any part of the rim and it was probably not going in. Now you'll see a lot of shots rattle around and go in
2) How much softer the rims are now. In that video, you hit any part of the rim and it was probably not going in. Now you'll see a lot of shots rattle around and go in
If Larry Bird were in the NBA today, many of those 20 plus foot jumpers would have been back a few feet behind the 3 point arc. Neither team had shooters set behind the arc like most teams do today.
Who had the better career or who was as their apex a better player.
Dirk has been more durable than Bird and has easily been more durable. Bird when healthy clearlyoutclassed Dirk's best seasons. Not sure that can be debated, I guess it could, but Im not sure how for anyone that watched him play from 81 to 86 while still healthy.
Dirk is getting a lot of credit for the Mavs win, and rightfully so, but lets remember that this is the same guy that repeatedly bounced from the playoffs, at times disappeared in big moments and at times is a terrible defender, even during his prime.
Dirk has been in the league 13 seasons, and after his first two, he has been an All Star caliber player. Its important to note that Larry also averaged 6.3 assists for his career versus Dirk's 2.7, Bird has twice as many steals, and despite Dirk being a 7 footer, Bird's blocks per game .8 is just off Dirk's 1.0 per game. You can't ignore the All NBA defensive teams (three times) that Bird made as well.
Dirk had a great run this year, and has had an amazing run. The question you have to ask your self, if you were playing for your soul, and you could have one of these guys for one game, and they would be at their absolute peak, who do you take? Do you even have to think about it? I know I don't.
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Dirk has been more durable than Bird and has easily been more durable. Bird when healthy clearlyoutclassed Dirk's best seasons. Not sure that can be debated, I guess it could, but Im not sure how for anyone that watched him play from 81 to 86 while still healthy.
Dirk is getting a lot of credit for the Mavs win, and rightfully so, but lets remember that this is the same guy that repeatedly bounced from the playoffs, at times disappeared in big moments and at times is a terrible defender, even during his prime.
Dirk has been in the league 13 seasons, and after his first two, he has been an All Star caliber player. Its important to note that Larry also averaged 6.3 assists for his career versus Dirk's 2.7, Bird has twice as many steals, and despite Dirk being a 7 footer, Bird's blocks per game .8 is just off Dirk's 1.0 per game. You can't ignore the All NBA defensive teams (three times) that Bird made as well.
Dirk had a great run this year, and has had an amazing run. The question you have to ask your self, if you were playing for your soul, and you could have one of these guys for one game, and they would be at their absolute peak, who do you take? Do you even have to think about it? I know I don't.
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Optimus Prime 4 said:
Even as a Laker fan, I would take Bird in his prime any day of the week. The thing with Bird is if you needed 20 rebounds he could get it. If you needed 14 assists then he could do it. If you needed 40 points, no problem. Dirk is an incredible scorer but he is not really asked to do everything like Bird was.
Lets also not forget that if Bird did not have to compete with one of the greatest teams of all time (the Showtime Lakers), Bird would probably have 5 titles instead of 3.
Bird used to make me cringe with his ability to do "whatever" he wanted or his team needed....<div>
</div><div>Dirk's great... and may get better... but I'll take my chances with the Hick from French Lick.</div>
</div><div>Dirk's great... and may get better... but I'll take my chances with the Hick from French Lick.</div>
lovin' it. Sometimes it's easy to forget how great Bird's all-around game was on the offensive end.
Agreed.Frances Drebin said:
Not to mention that Bird completely turned a terrible Celtics (29-53) team around in his first year in the league by posting the leagues best regualr season record and going to the East finals.
When discussing durability, some of you are only focusing on Bird's final years. Even with his final years averaged in, he still played 38.4 minutes/game to the younger Dirk's 36.5 minutes/game. Let's see how Dirk's body does once he gets to the age Larry was in those final years.
What about MVP trophies, playoff MVPs, championships, NBA first team awards, NBA defensive team awards, rookie of the year, etc?
It's not even close at this point.
He's not that smart. Now, that will be his out when he finally realizes how profoundly stupid a statement it was, but he should've realized that the moment Dawgbreeze agreed with him.