Yeah, it's a little slow around here. But that just gives us a chance to get creative. And one thing that I know we always like debating is "All-Time" teams. So I'm going throw out my "All-Celtics" team.
PG: Bob Cousy - The "Houdini of the Hardwood" set the stage for all future point guards. He proved flashy can be effective. And he always made sure his teammate got the ball where they needed it.
SG: Paul Pierce - Playing a little out of position but this team needs a slasher. Pierce can take it to hole and finish with the best of them. And I've never seen a player take contact and put up a shot that has a legit shot at going in quite like Pierce.
SF: Larry Bird - What do I need to say about Bird? This is the go-to guy. He's the primary scorer. Pierce is clutch option #2.
PF: Kevin McHale - Every team needs a guy on the post that can create his own offense when all else fails. McHale had a bag of low-post tricks that put everyone to shame. If today's post players had half his moves, the NBA would be a much better place.
C: Bill Russell - He's "what do I need to say about him?" guy #2. Russ is our stopper. The human eraser. He will block shots, grab rebounds and do whatever needs to be done to win. He's the ultimate team player.
Bench:
JoJo White - He could play the point, or you throw him in there at the 2.
Dennis Johnson - He's in the lineup in late game defensive situations.
John Havlicek - Not bad having a guy who once average 29 ppg ('70-'71) as your primary scoring threat off the bench.
Sam Jones - From the '64-'65 season to the '66-'67 season, his playoff averages were 26.7 ppg, 4.9 rpg, and 2.9 apg.
Dave Cowens - Don't tell him he was undersized. He's got a career average of 13.6 rebounds per game. And that includes average-killing seasons of 9.6, 8.1, and 6.9 at the tail end of his career. In 1972-73, he averaged 20.5 ppg and 16.2 rpg.
Tom Heinsohn - One thing you notice when going through C's history... we never had a lot of quality size. But even at 6'7", Tommy could fill it up. At his peak, he was averaging just over 21 ppg and right around 10 rebounds. He's a forward that can really stretch the defense.
Robert Parish - The Chief was just the epitome of consistency. You could always count on something like 18 points, 10 rebounds and couple of blocks from him. He's also willing to knock the crap out of a Piston if need be.
Coach: Red Auerbach - Well, it's not like I was going to pick Jimmy Rodgers. Besides, on a team with 12 Hall of Famers, Red's the only guy who could manage all those egos.
So there it is... my All-Time Celtics team. There are plenty of great players who didn't make it. Who do you think should make it and who should come off? Let me know your team.
