The B.S. Report - Larry Bird

I have to have my favorite basketball player of all time mr. Larry Bird how are you good thank you I grew up in the Boston Garden so you had I did too I know so I think I don't I think I wrote one set out of the 25 greatest moments of my life I think you're involved in like seven of them seven or eight I'm not sure I think that bird steals the ball might be in the top five I'm gonna get a better life let's start with Super Bowl week everyone's talking about Peyton Manning where's he going all this stuff you know back in the day he there was I think like 89 or 90 you were upset with your contract there was a chance you might not stay with the south everybody in Boston was going freaking out that you might leave when you look at Manning might actually leave the Colts I mean how important it was it to you that you stayed in Boston all correct very important and I don't remember what year that was but red knew I wasn't going anywhere right begin to do they'll dance but no well it really wasn't that it was just that oh I they wanted to do something in the summer and they they didn't get it done and red was out of it I was dealing somebody else and what they were tell me is this one the truth yeah and it sort of sent me but I wouldn't go in anyway I would never left Boston less they treated me I like to see guys come in especially the elite players and stay in one place I think it's very important for the city because we don't have a lot of great ones come through here and painting by far as the greatest athlete ever come through this the city and if he's healthy you know he hopefully stay he stays and it finishes out his career but I don't know as a medical but he's been fantastic I mean he'll go down in history as one of the greatest quarterbacks and he's been great in the community he's guy's name on a hospital and it's just fantastic and I hope he's able to stay healthy and finish his career here well hey I'm looking at it from my vantage point like alright so I'm in Boston the early nineties you're bad on your back issues let's say the Celtics ended up with the number one take that year and it's Derrick Coleman everybody's like we should we should pick Coleman and then we'll trade bird like the Celtic fans never would have wanted that I feel like and do you feel like the Colts fans actually want may need to get traded like or seems like they wanted to stay right well you know after last year everything sort of blew up in I'd say really if it came down to it probably 80% would like to seem come back in there's always a few they'd like to see it move on and start all over but they get spoiled fans get spoiled and if things don't go well next year if he's not here then they turn and start one painting back that it's too late but if you have a lead athlete come through and especially in a small market you got to hold on to them players they don't though they're not born every day yeah so it's hit miss in Boston there's big thing about Danny Ainge was talking about yeah I might have to make a trade here I might have to get rid of Garnett Pierce Ray Allen all three of them and he mentioned out in the late 80s with the Celtics that red had told him he had a possible trade for you and a possible trade for McHale and they ultimately decided to keep all you guys and kind of ride it out and Ainge thinks that was a mistake if you were somehow the Celtics GM in the late 80s what would you thought I want to keep him we can't hit the one thing about red it was lowly and that's why I never wanted to leave there because I always knew he had my back yeah he cared for me he wanted me to do well obviously when we play at a high level I was with Danny and red and McHale the day we were talking about that the one thing that Danny threw in there was players names and I the whole time I was in Boston I never heard red mention any other players on other teams we have been talking about you know draft picks but I never heard him about well there I can trade you for this this and this he just never didn't it but I don't think you'll run the table though no but but he Danny did tell ready should trade us right now because we don't have much left in thing well the one trade that actually kind of made sense but I'm glad the suffix didn't do it was I know Dallas offered Perkins and shrimp for McHale because they making around it was the year you were hurt in 8089 you played like only six games you were recovering and they Dallas didn't make that offer and it's a pretty interesting trade like you think like the careers that Perkins and shrimp had they would have been the Celtics for you know the next decade my coach Sam so I know how good he was and I didn't have his career he was a gamer but you know what if you really look at it I read coach many great players he had great teams and there's just too much loyalty there yeah and you know the way he did things he felt he could rebuild it back in a short period of time but chemicals don't come around very often Cheeta and Robert Parish and but you know if you want to hold on for 15 years and play 2 minutes of games one thing but you know 1987 Kevin played through a broken foot ran has actually broken and he tried to play and he's still paying for it so we don't find him type of guys anymore very few of mouths they're probably but Kevin gave his heart and soul the Celtics and red knew that you know a lot of people don't remember that about the McHale broken foot what's interesting to me is he would do it again because his attitude was we were so close to here and it really came down to one or two plays and I never I never would have been able to live with myself knowing that I wasn't out there and yet he was never the psycho member that in the finals and I seen the x-rays there was a crack in there yeah and as a season was over it just grew it got bigger and my horn was stepping on it sure but Kevin was right you if you get a chance that for that last goal in a last couple games you need you've got to play if you can right you might never get there yet that was I think the one of the lost titles from that era running 82 I still feel like which team that never gets mentioned but tiny separated shoulder and the Sixers but that was actually the best Celtics team of the early of your early part of your career I felt yeah we had two seven-game series I was down three to one against Philly and came back both times yet and the last time they beat us itself came in Boston so I was there we we always had good teams and always seems like injuries got in our way which it does for a lot of teams but in 87 Irving always tells me that's it there best team well we had a lot of injuries that year I would like to play them heads up with Walton and the team we had in 86 because 86 was definitely our best team you know I had dinner with in this summer and he refuses to acknowledge all the injuries from that 87 team because he says how oh yeah our 87 team was better than your 86 team and I was like be you guys didn't show up for the 86 finals we were waiting for you and you guys decided to just battle out against you cities and that's not true but I still think that eighty 16 was the best of all those mid eighties teams he disagrees there's no question yeah I mean with Bill Walton coming in as your backup Scotty Wed man I mean we yeah Jerry six knew and we were loaded yeah if you remember Jerry shot like 55 percent from the field out here I mean he was he had open shots yeah exactly what we needed off the bench then Scotty played behind me and it was just a stacked team and the other thing with that team Wedman missed most of the playoffs which you know when people talk about who was the greatest team ever I say well they lost two games in the finals to the Rockets well first of all shouldn't lost Game three that was going lose by two in Houston but it was like just it was kind of a giveaway there is that's I feel like that was a giveaway again well that was inverting whistle woman yes you remember that one is it true that you can see if like if we had a game on right now from like some game in the 80s I thinking you would know what playing I'm not as good I don't watch it that much but I know 10 years ago you can start watching I can tell you what was going to happen but they did I play by play was going to happen I might miss one or two here and there but I catch up with it but I haven't done it for so long I don't know I don't know I I was with somebody other day and they headed I gain morning I was looking I said I barely remember that one overhead Pistons because usually the Pistons up get over here never pay no attention to him be at the 87 that was when a parish a sprained ankle and he Danny and I was the healthiest one over to you in the other one so like 43 minutes a game though that's all right and then forty-eight truth no Len Bias that year either which nobody ever factors in when they talk about that air yeah if Len Bias sticks around how much longer do you play and how much healthier are you oh well left in 88 what do you mean how about retired in 88 that sort of minute yeah how come because I started having ankle problems and they do have to detach my kill used to get these Spurs out I knew I was gonna miss the whole year if he was there I would have just shut it down right there really yeah and how old are you been like 32 you know I'm 32 I you know walked away from all that cash I walk away from it anyway yes sure well I thought 87 put the biggest toll on your body you know the one thing that people don't understand is if you look at our teams four years ago we went to the finals yet and playoff basketball is completely different I played two years of playoff basketball but our bodies don't have time to recover when we had injuries so when you go two and a half months and you start again you feel better but you're not recovered yet health-wise and that just kept adding on and on it and knowing Kobe is one of the toughest human beings ever seen because I know what he's been through and he's paid to have a lot more minutes than me yeah and he just finally figured out hey I'm gonna get hurt I'm just going to play through it and that's the mentality of a great player and your era was a little different because the travel was a little different you had these charters do you have charter in the mid eighties now no we had the last two years I was there start of the 90 and you had a decide you know like in the piston series in 87 we're up to nothing I say we like I was in the team we're up to never born boss was okay and we were because we hated that piston Center goes to Detroit Saturday Sunday back-to-back and then with and then you get in the fight with me a beer and game for all sudden it's 2-2 in like 24 hours but they don't do those back-to-back playoff games anymore things like that no it would pop late at night than in the afternoon the next day yeah I think it was a low-scoring game the second game like 80 to 78 or something yeah but you just keep playing I mean it's that good job I still think though if bias is fine and whatever is on that team you and Makayla now like McHale has a hurt foot now that guy Kevin take your time you can sure we got Len Bias like and you're not playing 43 minutes again May June and stuff like that maybe you play and talk yeah you know I played against Len Bias when he was a sophomore in college and he was incredible she read used to bring all I do back in college I was ten no register bring these guys into his camp all the top players around the country in to work his camp and I we play I come out there and we play yeah I work his camp a little bit mess around with him that night we played but he had Brad Daugherty and Lenny but they don't do that harm nobody can do that anymore but he got to see all these guys up close and but I dunno if if someone else took Len Bias number one he was taking Brad Daugherty I think that was Reds really number one guy he loved bias but he couldn't pass up on a skilled big man into it he was fantastis antenna he was another guy he would have kinda had short great with any team but he would have he would have done well with us I just remember watching all those guys that year and thinking mimo it's the best Celtic team of all time playing at that moment and then we have this pick and it was like Mehcad like Celtics beat the Rockets in the finals the drafts like 10 days away and we're adding the second pick and the drive and just seemed like all right we win like several straight titles I remember the night we they traded Henderson when the layup line they took him out a layup line we go back the hotel he's sitting in the bar we all go up around you know hey sorry honey you know that he thought I'll get a chance to play all the time well he's playing quite a bit for us yeah then when they had a bad year we get the second pick in the draft now I remember that when they started doing all the you know the draft and the raps at the envelope I read sitting there looking up no emotion and it got down to them and Cleveland I think yeah and I just I said they're going where Reds gonna get the number-one pick that's how much faith you had any guy yeah and I thought for sure I didn't know who he's gonna take as I never asked him but I really believed he would took Brad Daugherty I actually agree with you because it's just when you think about Daugherty Walton Parrish and McHale he would have took him a little bit embarrassing I mean just because of you know it was in 86 he just knows that build my you know time get a little bit older and bring another big man and it's very skilled so but Lenny was one heck of a player and red might have been thinking bring Lenny in here and I went to play Larry so many minutes to but yeah well that's the thing like when you think about the 80s and just look and on different variables like take worthy off the Lakers from day one do they they don't win five titles I'm pretty sure you know and I think that's that was the guy that would have extended everybody else's career woody what else when you think about what ifs from the 80s like when I give the lost title in 8287 the team kind of broke down as it went along is there another well I really felt that when we want our first championship I told our team I said we gotta win at least four or five these things or we didn't do our job yeah he's always thought that we left him on the table yeah and then some of us well you know you hate to blame injuries but like in 87 there was just so many guys hurt and I know Lakers had guys probably banged up too but if that was our best team I would like to play them healthy basically that game for the seven finals came down to the rebound gets screwed up out of balance which nobody remembers mm the rebound they knock it out of Bounce magic makes the skyhook which Mikayla blacks if his foot is not broken he just missed it well they bound and I hit a three put a simple thing in one or two than they missed a free throw yeah cream and they get out bounce and if Kevin's gonna get foul if he just grabs a rebound right and then you miss the final three which I was sitting midcourt you were like here when you shot it and the ball was and I had a dead and I thought it was in order and you missed like if it was always there and pop just missed and I look at you I was going in yeah I did I was surprised it didn't go in because I got an open lose two seconds on the clock and I made a move up and I went which we've used before with one or two seconds yeah and they lead me into the passat and a perfect pass and when I let it go I just thought well that's the name for the Laker bench too I got a shot off that I you know I would live with and you know a lot of people spot a good child missed I can live with that but that thing was should have went in and that probably would have I think the roof would have collapsed well you know it about it that would have been a riots like in 84 or we lose our first game at home again to Henderson steals a ballgame through they blow us out we're going what the heck yeah Game four we just got to start getting tougher yeah and the whole series changed that day we put a lot of pressure on and we always felt that if we play the Lakers we could always do something here tape deck 11 and you get them thinking about if you're going to get hit or or somebody saying something it takes them off for game because they'd like to get it out run and just keep pushing push get in there flow you got taken out of that flow your era it was so much more physical and stuff was just settled on the court and it was fine and now it's like if somebody stares at somebody too long it's attacked that's a double tech oh you touch me like even you had that thing with Danny Granger Kevin loved the other night that was you know pretty stupid it's like the refs have to review it for 10 minute dealing this stuff's just done well they need to put stopped a lot of it because in the eighties when I played they be like cheap shots if you go back and watch the Pistons playing against Chicago oh my gosh Scotty we're and pounded and a lot of it happened after the whistle you're going in and you get fouled a guy goes ahead and tries it that's a free foul I remember when I first commit league there's no layup rule yeah but guys were getting hurt and you know it takes a toll on your body they had to clean it up some but they've taken it too far especially with the phlegon profiles and stuff you got in a couple scraps back in the day you weren't a friend trying to uncle's around than anybody but I like throw them hey you beat up Alan Bristow I don't know what beat him up yeah you got a couple of good ones there was the good there's a preseason game which is a classic which you you against i Maroney every I was like Maxwell against Moses then red came out of the stands like those were the days why would they have us play in the semi Sixers in exhibition three times for for money price Alright for fighting okay send every time any time I heard Charles Barkley a couple of years ago so when he first come to league you'll enter playing these exhibition games and guys were loosey-goosey he thought that's how it was it's also we played the Celtics walking along through my stalker Michael say calm down he says a real game yeah and sure enough something happened yeah and that's just the way it was it's funny I went to a the Clippers Lakers preseason game this year and it reminded me a little bit of those six or Celtic games where it was like it was not a preseason game these guys were like they wanted to beat each other and I've been to three of those games so far there's really animosity it's kind of fun like I missed those days of I don't like the stuff with the guys talking before the games and all that's not violent I wish the old days were back you know is this your job and a lot of people depend on whether you win or lose you know we got this building with all these workers they got to feed your families yeah and you go out there mess around and you don't put up a full effort into it every night not only does your team suffer but everybody suffers from that right so if you're winning everybody's happier you left the bad but on the court for the most part but not with lambier I never really ever liked Laimbeer in any social situation no yeah and it's because he was a dirty player he had to do what he had to do I understand that but you take like Rickey Mahorn he'd hit you and all that but he hits you you know you know you're gonna get hit yeah he didn't try to maim you right bill try to hurt you right and you know he was one of them guys you should jump or he tries slide his foot underneath your ankle so you twist her ankle on that's why Parrish Hughes did it if he watched any of our old games Paris was always twisting his ankle against the Pistons so one time I showed a jumper in Laimbeer did to me and I stepped on his foot by stepped on a hide and twist my ankle Oh a quarter two later he was shooting that jumper I slid my nan there that's the last time he ever did it really but he was and I mean he had to play the way he had to play and we all understood that but if you carry it too far you carry over the line you got to protect yourself I was at the game when a big famous game we stole the ball in the in the second quarter and the crowd just had so much hatred for Laimbeer for that game I've never felt I've never been in any sort of a sporting event where the crowd hated a player that much and I still I'm convinced to this day that the crowd convinced parish to punch him in the second quarter no question cuz you know it's replayed it was like barely he did anything but just have him two plays before you right it was just a bad why had to happen you know there they were on him pretty hard but I never seen the opposing fans only get on anyone like I seen him get on Ralph Sampson that was the other asking me that was unbelievable and this poor kid they might as well just took him home because I think he ended up with two points and two rebounds and I think the game before their like 24 and 22 yeah they took him completely out of the game and that's one thing about fans I mean Boston fans I mean I can go in the paper you know sometimes we get there that it's expected and then crowding into it I can just go in the paper until Bob Bryan put in and I'm pissed off to fans and next time you go in there then yeah crazy and but you didn't have to that game I mean we were we were in the locker room and you know you could hear fans out there but but in 86 at Game six that lot from sound like they was in the locker room I can remember looking at Bill Walton Bill Walton say they want blood I see how they'll care who they get if we don't win this game they want our blood that's how it is here but that was a that was a wild game and just emotions were so high because we had our best team we had to win that game and he the crowd I think I was at that game was in the tunnel I think everybody was there like 4500 for that game we were just ready and when Samson walked out he walked by us you just see he was done just he was petrified and I should have been he was like boy he's gonna kill he's picking on Gerry safety come on you used to like that though you used to like when the crowd got out of you yeah you know it's funny how al works I used to get very nervous and sick little sick before each game but once I stepped on the parquet it was all over with now it's time to battle and when the fans were into it and or they would are we went into it they let us know and it do same thing if they screaming real loud to me mmm you know they don't like it early they paid your money to come in here you know they traveled I know people used to go down after work is something you can go the game not once a week every time we played for every game I was there so you felt indebted to them to the least go out there and try to do something special that night and when a basketball game that is my favorite regular season win from the 8016 which is my favorite team but Atlanta they talked trash throughout the morning half time I was in crowds yelling and all that stuff and then the team comes out in the second half just I had the tiger and it was a great game that's the first Casey Jones got on us three times really hard and that halftime talk he gave one the best ever heard about having pride you're wearing the jersey a lot of you guys being for a long time but obviously you don't know what it means to be a Celtic you knowing the whole thing and you never screen or never yelled and he goes you know we got it in us to come back win this game but we have to do it we got dictate the second half of how we want to play yeah and we got out there and we're going to beat them and then Game five in the playoffs that here against Atlanta 25 to nothing running in the third quarter yeah I was on blessed but that's the best basketball ever right well I mean it's not like they were turning it over right it's just that we were in passing lanes we were up on them they were taking shots with pressure on them we got every rebound and actually they were trying for three for that quarter well keep it running for time outs I think yeah that run was one of the greatest runs we ever had in Boston I think that was the greatest team ever but if it needed one thing what would you have added to it the wood type of player it's like a leaper off the bench or like a shifty point guard her well we got by with Jerry because he can knock down jumpers and yeah and you had to have it because with a double-team is a ball rotation I thought he was excellent for a team I don't know I really don't know if he was also an underrated defender I always thought he did a decent job against Isiah well I said I hated him cuz he was up on him you know every time he throw the ball he's right there yeah after you know 20 minutes he's in there you little tart and been around yeah and he was a tough kid you know so one thing about that team it was such a good passing team because even one you know I think with when you have a really good passer sometimes it's contagious and you take a guy like mchao I think if he goes to another team you know here's a little bit of a black hole I'm not sure he ever makes a pass on the on those midday and Celtics teams he's actually like finding guys and stuff like that and you can see this a little bit right now Ricky Rubio and Kevin Love yeah I don't know how many times you've seen that watch more time they have the passing gene you can see that right yeah well they've been having success because the other guys are starting to pick it up right they'll continue to get better if they start winning games there will be a tough beat because they'll have ball movement they'll have guys moving without the ball because Rick you'll find him and then Kevin can go inside now and he's a willing passer so it's contagious there's no question about when I got the Celtics earlier in my career it took us about a year taani always felt how I held on the ball a little bit too long at times but he's always surveying see what he did but we were a pretty good passing team and that's why we had Chris for guys willing to give up if you had an 18-foot shot you give it somebody had ten-foot shot that's just the way we played and then when Walton showed up I mean it was just for you guys it just seemed like you every game was like you're trying to do some weird things never China basketball court he you know he just missed two games that year yeah I can remember when Bill first came in he had dinner with with Robert and said look Rob around here take your job I'm just here trying to help you win a championship so he broke the ice so yeah Robert when we're right in the practice is like we never missed a beat and we had a good second unit to push us and you know we don't we never took hardly took a day off when we practice every day Casey used to do what he did with us in practice he'd leave then we scrimmage yeah you know because they wanted to play Bill and Jerry and him guys won of scrimmage because I was playing 43 minutes Scotty was our 40 38 Scottie wasn't getting a lot of time but he knew the competition was there for him to get better we had to practice did that make you sad that starting counting with when Jordans took over the week it became a League of clear out for this guy clear out for that guy that passing went away for the member we Lisa isolate on one side and four guys on the other side with you yeah but I thought that was bad basketball teams were using him but you know Michael came in it was different because he was a scorer at a scoring mentality and as he got better they start getting better players around him but you know it never really to me has been the same hopefully Rubio can bring some that back because he's a willing passer he's one of the best passers I ever seen I mean if you watch him he surveys everything and he's got that knack and get it to people within a shooting motion still reaching down grabbing off the floor over here he gets it to him in a shooting motion so I'd say if they continue to work and do the right things and win some games they're gonna be a tough out I love that you're watching I figured you might be watching yeah I watched uh you know I seen Ricky play 2016 yeah and I thought he's a ball ball in the layup line and at the end of the game well not in the game about eight ten minutes ago they put him in the game you look so young and a scout that was with me I go making this kid play they keep talking about how good he is he goes if he can bring the ball at the court against this guy's guarding the guy was 31 he's gonna be fine not only did he bring it up and make plays he took it he said he'll have problems in the defense but he stole the ball twice from the guy bringing it up he goes this kid's gonna be good mm so you don't take the ball from the I forget who the kid was why don't you think more guys play like that I mean I'm sure it's ego standpoint of it's more it's easier to score and you gave me I know a you you know I'm a firm believer it all starts back there yeah the colleges are in there it's about how many'd you get what kind of dunk did you have if you look at our game the mid-range games is almost gone yeah just like you know even Charles and they're always talking about dunking you know I mean Charles was a dunker but he wasn't be more of a passer you know some power player but everybody gets caught up in these dunks if somebody dumped on you you could having a three who's ahead yeah I never did get that right but I think it'll come back but we're really missing the overall game we're just seeing great athletes out there running and jumping at the same time it's been the best era I think ever for point guards I mean you look around the league and it's like there's seven or eight elite guys you have the young guys like Rubio and while people like that and even like somebody like Darren Collison who you know maybe in a season like this is in the middle of that pack but eight years ago would have been one of the best seven or eight guys in the league right then you look LeBron he can he can play point you know I mean he could he can start an offense and he can get them in the flow you know just so many guys from here on I hear there's no point guards in this graph you know the next year might not be so if you got one you better keep him right you what do you think about the attention that LeBrons received the last couple years in the scrutiny and people picking apart I think you should sit back and enjoy him yeah because I think he's one the greatest they were player game you know we all make mistakes you know I've did a lot of things I sort of regret whether he regrets or not I don't know but but he made some you know a couple decisions and the decision was a bad decision yeah but as far as playing basketball you've got to enjoy this guy if you're a basketball fan you got to sit back a while how do you do that are I always said boy I wish I had a speed yeah you know but some of the stuff that kid does out there he's by far and you know Colby was always my favorite yeah since I got out I don't think that by the way but but LeBron James is by far our best player in this league I like far I don't think there's really any one next to him I think he's there when you go down the list which if you could have picked any current player right now to play with for an entire season who would you pick from a fun teammate make the team better just all those things in well I probably Kobe because we like that he's well of course he wouldn't been shooting as much he does now his desire to win it's the dedication and offseason to get better and he just he just tough he's just a tough cat but if you want to have fun like I did with Bill Walton your place LeBron man they've been probably more fun to play with LeBron but if you want to win and win and win it's Kobe we knew nothing of Ron's not a winner it's just that right his mindset to go in every practice every game to get better I wrote a 700 page book about basketball and part it was really hard to figure out how to measure different guys you know measure the era's like how do you measure somebody from your ear versus LeBron James feel like that because the games faster now I mean it's the u.s. says your air is not a didn't play defense on every play like that you know it's a funny and it's hard it's very hard to compare but you never know like I never know how good LeBron is I remember when I came in to the league you know I played a small town I did very well and everybody always said you didn't play against anybody I went to Indian state the same thing so when I came in the league there was a lot of doubters yeah and you know with mime in town at the bug one and you know just good my basket better so I go out there and we're at Marshfield and had the Cowens and tiny and ml car was new and our team had Roby all these guys came dinner to see how good I was and I just sort of filled my way around and after three days I go wonder what these guys are gonna start playing hard you know so email we went out to eat one on AML car Tommy goes man you're gonna be really good in this league and I said really I said yeah but you guys ain't playing oh yeah we're playing he said they're talking about it I think you're gonna be pretty good so we got an exhibition season there by the oil exhibition not played pretty well when the game started I'm always waiting for these guys to shut me down deny me the ball what I found out was all you got to do is shoot a little bit higher and put yourself in a position where you come off a pick a little quicker you don't have to be 100 mile an hour all the time but it's gotta be a thinking man's game you got to think you know you go see what you know your plays you know how they react you watch the films you know if they go on our screen or over screen you know if you can fade off a pic or you come down and you go straight up then pop out so I always tried to put myself in position where I could succeed with basketball so if you you watch me very seldom do I catch ball three-point line I'd break down and try to get it 16 17 foot because if I going to run a pick-and-roll with Robert Parish and I knew they was going to step out he could slip that pick and all he had to do is take two two steps he's gonna dunk it so you had to think the game out and it's the same as now I mean you don't see a head-fake much anymore yeah I mean these guys want to jump over the rim and all that get them in there set them up and drop it off so yeah if you if you got to think a man's game I don't think it would be that that much tougher and it was back then but I sure would like to compete against Kobe and LeBron them guys because that's what it's all about plenty gets the best in your in your decade the game was changing as the decade was going along like you look at the guys that you were going against every night initially Kelly Tripp Yuka people people like that the kind of the six foot six small forward that you always kind of had advantage and then by the end of that decade I'll send out Rodman's in there and you know now you have these six eight athletes dan Joseph is yeah it's a little hard said the taller they are the easier you can come off a pick they might bill get up on you 290 ball which Robin did a lot Hooper get up into me my shot is probably going to be down that game but you had to be strong enough to just be physical with them you know you play physical basketball I used to take Cooper in the post a lot you know where when I run Rodman all four screens Kelly Tripucka you know you run him off double screens or you try to get you come off screen try and get in the lane because you shoot over him so just cordon who's Guardian and always dictated it always went what whatever the defense gave me I try to take advantage of that where are you amazed by how old people can play now like Steve Nash 39 like still running around scampering around coach why 16 Kobe 16 seasons he's still averaging 30 a game like minutes wild I mean I don't get it I mean a lot of it's like dieting conditioning all that stuff yeah it's different and a lot of core work we didn't have that mine was running on the roads playing on asphalt in the summer and you know that couldn't have been good for you but you know it basketball is basketball and if your body holds up you can pipe play longer I mean if I didn't have all the back and ankle issues you know I could have strung out a little bit and we could still been successful but when it breaks down you know when you have surgery on you're never the same and always understood that yeah that's not a good sign for Peyton Manning well I don't know why he's got wrong with him but hey I always say once they put that knife in you never the same last question give us a prediction for the Pacers this year you feeling good well I always I said before the year with my owner because I watch these guys all the time and all depends on what they do in the summer how much better they get we're always improved every year last year he sort of plateaued a little bit but this year he's taken another level at all depending on Paul George Darren Collison I have a better year we pick up George Hill and David West we're already better with him - I told him we win between 34 and 38 games and hopefully we win more but that's my prediction well in you be like a space you can make potentially add one piece right and you know we're not we're not we're a franchise well we don't spend eighty nine hundred million dollars you know we got to stay around we're at 50 million 51 million now and that's with Posey on em but it's still part of play and but we got to stay between I think around 65 million for a while now we got to develop our own players by draft well so it's not like some of these teams to go out and get some players they don't work out if we get a player don't work he's probably gonna play so that's a difference being a small market in a major market but it's been fun because when we go in and place Chicago we beat them I feel good about that because I know my team's coming they're getting a an air about them were you know I like yeah they're starting to do things like an Romero I remember when we used to that like the other night Danny got a little chippy yeah Danny's a tough tough kid and he's done a dirty player or anything like it but if you rattle his feathers he's gonna take up for himself and I like that that's why I like in a basketball player play hard you play aggressive but you don't take any stuff off anybody and you must feel like it's wide open to share right like in the strike season it is I know you you got a look at in these are some good team I mean Orlando's got a few problems right now Elena has always got a solid team but you got Chicago and you got Miami there they're good and for us to beat them we're going to play our best and you know and if they have injuries you know you never know what's going to happen but I like my team I like my players this is really the first year I've always liked a lot of my players you know sometimes you have little problems with certain ones yeah but I actually enjoy going down there in the locker room now I'm not in there a lot I don't get real close to my players because you know you have to trade them advant but I really enjoy they're good kids and they work these kids work and they want to get better so that's been a not a pleasant surprise but a great feeling to me to be a part of this so if you do add one person it would have to be somebody that fit in with what you've built right guys you can't bring certain guys and keeping knuckleheaded exactly Larry Bird good luck thanks money time appreciating rim subscribe you won't regret it actually maybe you want then your unsubscribe no biggie click subscribe you look hot today

Channel: Walter Barooshian

Views: 473,174

Keywords: Larry Bird, Bill Simmons, Boston Celtics, NBA, ESPN

Id: USd3YagNFXY

Length: 38min 1sec (2281 seconds)

Published: Fri Jun 03 2016

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Damn it.. for a brief second I thought this was new