Rodman: Bird couldn’t play in today’s NBA

djbayko

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Not even worth a thread. This guy thought he was going on a diplomatic mission to North Korea and lost most of his fortune to a con artist woman who he let into his life to control all of his finances. He was a basketball savant in some ways, but he's not very bright and is probably just holding a grudge over Bird.
 

nighthob

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He’s never forgiven Bird for that game where Larry pretended that Worm didn’t exist.
 

lars10

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bosockboy

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Honestly Bird would be even better now in this league, with the spacing and his passing ability.

Just unbelievable that beef from May 1987 is still going.
 

BigSoxFan

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Bird would be a 30/10/8 guy in today’s NBA without even breaking a sweat.
 

wade boggs chicken dinner

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Bird also would have lasted a few more years as he wouldn't have had to take the pounding from guys like Cooper and Rodman (etc.). All of the stuff they did to slow him down would be fouls now.

Can you imagine how many times Larry would go to the free throw line every game with all of his moves?
 

RG33

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Rodman should perhaps spend some time with his kids, and stop worrying about the 1980’s.
 

joe dokes

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He was a basketball savant in some ways, but he's not very bright and is probably just holding a grudge over Bird.
Close. He might have a grudge. But he more than likely needs money. He's probably asking to get paid to further air his opinions on whatever "sports" talk forum will host him to generate clicks, calls or whatever the coin of the realm is these days.
 

bosockboy

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Bird also would have lasted a few more years as he wouldn't have had to take the pounding from guys like Cooper and Rodman (etc.). All of the stuff they did to slow him down would be fouls now.

Can you imagine how many times Larry would go to the free throw line every game with all of his moves?
Imagine if he learned to flop ;)
 

SoxJox

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Rodman is totally correct. No way a 66 year old Larry is as good as he was in the 1980s
Or, as Toby Keith said,

I ain't as good as I once was
I got a few years on me now
But there was a time, back in my prime
When I could really lay it down
If you need some love tonight
Then I might have just enough
I ain't as good as I once was, but I'm as good once
As I ever was

View: https://youtu.be/ldQrapQ4d0Y
 

TripleOT

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Trying to guard Bird without being able to hand check him would be very difficult. He would live at the line the way marginal contact is called today. And the emphasis on shooting the three would see him taking like 10 threes a game, with sick driving lanes available to him as defenses are spread out by spaced offenses. He’d also be among the best zone busters in the league.
 

fairlee76

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Rodman should perhaps spend some time with his kids, and stop worrying about the 1980’s.
Maybe mental health treatment first then hanging with the kids?

And as the old saying goes, the beef/rivalry between Bird and Rodman (not directed towards you) is about as real as the beef/rivalry between a hammer and a nail. I did love a lot of what Rodman brought as a player but watching the trainwreck that is his public persona over the last few decades has been painful.
 

Kenny F'ing Powers

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Dumb hill for The Worm to die on. Of all the players from Rodmans era, Bird is the one that transitions the best to the modern NBA. In fact, he probably would have (somehow) performed better. As Clayton Crawley said:

A 6'9 sharp shooting forward with eyes in the back of his head, who averaged double digit rebounds in an era against Moses and Laimbeer? He'd gobble up boards as a power forward, he'd be an offensive mismatch against everybody as a small ball center, and his off ball skills and passing would pair perfectly with the flow of todays game.

Add in his competitive mania and three generations worth of medical advancements? We're talking about a player who would have stuck around so long they would have had to rename the league.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pxf4RzocHN8
 

BaseballJones

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He wasn't a good on ball guy even then. But good off ball. He'd be able to play big now though, which would have killed him against the 80s dinosaur bigs. Would be matchup dependent.
Actually he did fairly well against bigs in his day. McHale would guard the Worthy types and Bird would get their power forwards and occasionally, centers. He was semi decent against bigger, stronger opponents, but really struggled against quicker ones. He'd have a very hard time defensively in today's game, but his offense would be off the charts.

Clearly, on the whole, he'd still be a great player today.
 

wade boggs chicken dinner

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Actually he did fairly well against bigs in his day. McHale would guard the Worthy types and Bird would get their power forwards and occasionally, centers. He was semi decent against bigger, stronger opponents, but really struggled against quicker ones. He'd have a very hard time defensively in today's game, but his offense would be off the charts.

Clearly, on the whole, he'd still be a great player today.
He'd be a lot better than Michael Porter Jr. is on defense.
 

PedroKsBambino

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Rodman is a complete clown and a troll (the guy LITERALLY signed up to be a PR stooge for North Korea!!!!) so I do not want to feed the troll.

The Bird-Jokic comparision is to me a pretty interesting one. Positionally, they are pretty different as Bird was a 3/4 in his day and would be a stretch 4 today rather than a center. But the games and skills, there's so many ways they are similar---ballhandling, shooting at all three levels effectively, probably the two best frontcourt passers in NBA history, defensive capability oriented towards team/help rather than man, rebounding strength. Joker is a better rebounder and interior defender; Bird a better shooter; Jokic a better post player.

The 'era' comparison is so complicated---on balance, I'd guess Bird 'improves' in the era swap but it's all speculative. Bird would be virtually unguardable today, and the increased spacing would make his passing and shooting even more impactful. In today's game Bird would be there with Steph Curry as a shooter---relative to era he has a case as the best outside shooter there has ever been and that would only be increased in an era with more focus and comfort on the three. Defensively, he'd be a 4 and while still slow his anticipation would make him a better switch defender than his skills suggest. Jokic would be dealing with a lot more bulk from defenders than he does today, and with overall bigger lineups....this would likely harm his post game and rebounding a bit while providing opportunities for his mid-outside shooting and off the bounce game. Defensively he would be better in the 80s style because he would be able to park in the paint vs getting exposed a bit on switches as he does today. Net that all out how you want.

I do think Jokic is more like Bird than most of the centers he is compared to, and that (in terms of impact) they'd each be MVP-level players in either era....shooting and passing are impacted less than other things by era changes.
 

PedroKsBambino

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He'd be a lot better than Michael Porter Jr. is on defense.
Yeah, that's the thing---Bird would give up some layups when switched onto smaller guys for sure. And pick up a foul or two.

But he also would blow up various schemes because his anticipation was other-worldly---he was better than anyone playing today at that, and so he'd put a lot of pressure on the handoff and actions creating mess. Off-ball in the half court he was exceptional---at the level of a Draymond or Marcus Smart and that matters too (and is why he made some all defense teams).

So yeah---he'd get roasted sometimes on-ball but there's other ways he'd be a positive, unlike a lot of bad defenders today.
 

Jimbodandy

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Actually he did fairly well against bigs in his day. McHale would guard the Worthy types and Bird would get their power forwards and occasionally, centers. He was semi decent against bigger, stronger opponents, but really struggled against quicker ones. He'd have a very hard time defensively in today's game, but his offense would be off the charts.

Clearly, on the whole, he'd still be a great player today.
I remember well. Sure, Bird handled 4s well. What he couldn't do was drag Walton and Lanier up and down the court for 48 minutes. The league was filled with legit centers who needed to be stopped, so Larry-as-stretch-5 wasn't a viable strategy. Today--those beef centers that must be stopped is Joel Embiid about 60% of the time and that's it. Larry could be your big now most of the time.

He'd be a lot better than Michael Porter Jr. is on defense.
So is Chair.
 

TripleOT

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Dumb hill for The Worm to die on. Of all the players from Rodmans era, Bird is the one that transitions the best to the modern NBA. In fact, he probably would have (somehow) performed better. As Clayton Crawley said:




View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pxf4RzocHN8
I thought I heard every single legendary comment about Larry Bird. When I saw this comment on the YouTube video, I wanted to share it with everybody:

In 1974 Larry Bird was my P.E assistant when I was in the 8th grade and he was a senior at Springs Valley High School. At the beginning of each P.E. class we always ran 10 warmup laps around the gym. One day, a trampoline was set up on the basketball court and there was Larry Bird bouncing on it. As the whistle blew and we reluctantly lined up to run our laps, our teacher (who was also Larry's basketball coach) blew his whistle, and said "Larry is going to take 10 shots while jumping on the trampoline. If Larry makes any shots, each one made will delete a lap that you must run." Coach threw the ball to Larry and right there in front of me and the entire boys Jr. High P.E. class, Larry proceeded to hit 7 out of 10 shots while bouncing up and down on the trampoline, 35 feet away from the goal. Larry set an incredible example for me as a young boy in French Lick, Indiana that helped me through my entire adult career. If you are willing to work very hard and never give up, your dreams can and will come true. Thank you Larry.



Maybe Rodman could contemplate how Bird would do today in Slamball, if they added a three point line.
 

PedroKsBambino

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I thought I heard every single legendary comment about Larry Bird. When I saw this comment on the YouTube video, I wanted to share it with everybody:

In 1974 Larry Bird was my P.E assistant when I was in the 8th grade and he was a senior at Springs Valley High School. At the beginning of each P.E. class we always ran 10 warmup laps around the gym. One day, a trampoline was set up on the basketball court and there was Larry Bird bouncing on it. As the whistle blew and we reluctantly lined up to run our laps, our teacher (who was also Larry's basketball coach) blew his whistle, and said "Larry is going to take 10 shots while jumping on the trampoline. If Larry makes any shots, each one made will delete a lap that you must run." Coach threw the ball to Larry and right there in front of me and the entire boys Jr. High P.E. class, Larry proceeded to hit 7 out of 10 shots while bouncing up and down on the trampoline, 35 feet away from the goal. Larry set an incredible example for me as a young boy in French Lick, Indiana that helped me through my entire adult career. If you are willing to work very hard and never give up, your dreams can and will come true. Thank you Larry.



Maybe Rodman could contemplate how Bird would do today in Slamball, if they added a three point line.
Helpful input on the question upthread of whether Bird's range would be out to 30 feet in today's game---turns out it already was!
 

Kenny F'ing Powers

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If LB grew up with the 3P line, do we have any doubt that his range would have been out to 30 feet?
I wouldn't have any doubt at all. He would be an all-time great in any era.
The pioneer of the 50/40/90 club. He never really practiced three point shooting. He only started practicing for the 3 point contests a few days before the event.

He would have been otherworldly, but investing time in it would have meant investing less time elsewhere at practice. I'm not sure I'd want to envision any other version of Larry than the one that existed.
 

BigSoxFan

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The pioneer of the 50/40/90 club. He never really practiced three point shooting. He only started practicing for the 3 point contests a few days before the event.

He would have been otherworldly, but investing time in it would have meant investing less time elsewhere at practice. I'm not sure I'd want to envision any other version of Larry than the one that existed.
It’s amazing to me that even at 35 with a 75 year-old back, he was still shooting 40% from 3.
 

BigMike

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Yeah it is silly. Bird is somewhat of an amalgam of Jokic and Doncic. there is no doubt he would play, and would be a very productive player in todays NBA.

Would he have some defensive gaps , sure, but his off ball defense was very good, and would remain so today, sure he would get beaten badly by speed a few times a night
 

slamminsammya

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Birds passing is really unlike anyone else in today's game. He was the master of the one touch pass. He wasn't dominating the ball like Doncic or Jokic.