larry bird or kevin garnett

[magius]

although bird and garnetts games arent all that similar, the things they seem to bring to a team are, even if they go about it in different ways. on the one hand you have incredible basketball iq in bird, on the other mega athleticism in kg. bird is the better shooter, kg is the better rebounder. bird is the better playmaker, kg's the better defender. if i were picking one of either today, disregarding age, i'd have to go with bird knowing what he's done in the past, the consumate winner. but on the other hand kg brings a little more big man post defense. i don't know, i guess if i magically forgot both larry and kgs past and based my pick on talent, upside, and physical ability alone, i'd have to go with kg.... but then again kevin johnson or john stockton? steve francis or steve nash? i don't know..... i'll cast my vote later.

[Fenix]

You know Bird Played with Parish, McHale, Walton, Dennis Johnson, Danny Ainge on the sime time? I'm not saying anything against Bird, but can you name one HOF caliber player who played with KG? Said that, I'm picking Garnett. He's just more of a typical franchise player. It's easier to put complementary players around him, because of his versality, man D and - most obviously - athleticism.

[Laxation]

wat are we picking them for?

best player out of the two?

[Null17]

I think I'll pick Larry and not because of the rings but because of the IQ. What he lacks in athleticism that KG has he makes up for shooting and he knows to efficiently use whatever talent he has. And the clutch shots that I've seen were unbelievable

[GloveGuy]

Bird in an instant. He was smarter, craftier; he was simply a better basketball player. Forget the team he had around him -- the guy was the heart and soul of that team and he would constantly win games for them. Lets rewind to Game 5 of 1987 Conference Finals versus the Pistons. Celts are down by one with seconds left. Isiah inbounds the ball but Bird steals it and passes to a cutting Dennis Johnson for a layup.

What the guy lacked in athelticism and speed, he made up for in gutsy play and competitiveness. He talked shit and backed up everything. He's tied with Michael Jordan as the smartest basketball player of all time.

This is an insult to Larry Bird. Picking KG only implies that either 1) you're challenged, or 2) you never saw Larry Bird play.

[Riot]

Larry Bird but come on GloveGuy, an insult to compare him to KG? Garnett will go down as a top 15 player of all time.

[Strike Freedom]

If Garnett can shoot 3's, overall he'll be better than Larry Bird.

[Its_asdf]

Larry Bird was never an athletic player, but he was a crafty guy who knew the game pretty well and was a well-rounded player. I'd say Bird.

[magius]

the heart and the mind say larry bird, but everything they say a true franchise player is is clearly more evident in garnett. i know bird is a better player, but i still don't know who i'd pick to build a franchise around from scratch. the thing that would tweak me if i had to is garnetts post presence which is pretty invaluable.

[Matt]

Isiah inbounds the ball but Bird steals it and passes to a cutting Dennis Johnson for a layup.

that was more of Thomas fault than Birds play....i mean, Thomas didn't have his head on on that play.

KG hands down.

[cyanide]

Man, if you've seen Bird play, the guy looks slow and he can hardly jump, but holy hell can he play! As Gloveguy mentioned, one of the smartest players ever; his basketball IQ is phenomenal. Larry Bird is a guy who can see the play develop before it even happens, and Wayne Gretzky's the only other guy that I know that has that ability. We can say Garnett's multi-dimensional in skills, but who's to say that Larry doesn't have that? Bird's probably one of the greatest passing forwards of all time, and he's one of the greatest shooters of all time.

[Colin]

KG gets my vote for one reason. Magius's post said "if i were picking one of either today." I think Garnett's game is more fitting to the way NBA basketball is played today. Not to take anything away from Bird, but I just think Garnett's game suits the style of the game and the other players in it today moreso than Bird's. This is of course complete guesswork being that neither played in the same timeframe, but I'll stand by it.

If this is simply who was/is more valuable to their team/a better player at the time then my vote switches to Bird.

[air gordon]

who cares if today's game fits KG. what exactly does that mean anyway?

in any era, i'm picking bird over garnett. bird's game was fundamentally strong. he would be the badass he was regardless of decade he played in.

[#12]

bird is better. this guy was the 2nd best clutch player of all time (behind jordan), plus he was always the smartest person on the court(smarter then jordan)

[cyanide]

KG gets my vote for one reason. Magius's post said "if i were picking one of either today."

Personally, I think that a handful of players from the 80's and early 90's would demolish player's in today's era due to basketball smarts and strong fundamentals.

[fgrep15]

^...and vice versa, I'd go with Bird myself.

[kinokong]

KG gets my vote for one reason. Magius's post said "if i were picking one of either today."

Personally, I think that a handful of players from the 80's and early 90's would demolish player's in today's era due to basketball smarts and strong fundamentals.

and a shitload of athletic players like stoudemire, howard, wade, james, bosh, anthony would demolish those players...

[GloveGuy]

You keep thinking that, just decent. The 80s was one of the hardest eras to play basketball in. By no means would it turn today's players into legends.

[Colin]

and a shitload of athletic players like stoudemire, howard, wade, james, bosh, anthony would demolish those players...

There's definitely some players from each era that would have the upper hand in the opposite one, but to say someone like Bosh or Carmelo would demolish players in the 80's when they don't demolish players right now is riduculous.

[Jugs]

I'll take Larry Bird because i loved his acting in Space Jam

[Andrew]

Like most, I'd pick Larry Bird. It's hard to go past a player with the combination of size and skills that KG possess, but given that I rank Larry as one of the top five players all-time, it's hard to pick against him. As mentioned he has the higher basketball IQ, he's the craftier player and he knew how to win. There have been great player on good teams that couldn't get the job done, then there's players like Bird who have had good teammates and known how to lead, when to defer, when to shoulder the load...how to win. And if we're talking size, Bird was still 6'9" and around 230 in his prime. He too could play smaller than his size would suggest.

[putodelagoa]

If we are choosing between Kevin McHale and Garnett, whe may have a good point for arguing, after all we are talking about two of the best all-time second-bananas.
But Bird and Garnett? Not even close... Bird could carry a team on his back and WIN the game for them. Garnett doesn't have the winning instinct or ball smarts Bird had. They would be a fabulous tandem, just like Bird and McHale were, but in my book, Garnett is a great complementary player on a contending team, not the go-to guy, and that sets Bird apart.

For all the folks that believe Carmelo Anthony or Bosh would set the world on fire in the 80's, just get yourselves some dust covered tapes at E-Bay, see some games and until then, keep the nonsense to yourselves. Fouls used to be harder, screens thicker and the first time Melo or Bosh would stare at guys like, say, Bill Laimbeer or Rick Mahorn after a dunk, would also be the last.

[Riot]

I'm going to disagree with you when you call Garnett a "second banana" and how he doesn't have a "killer instinct". I think that is 100% false. Just because he hasn't won doesn't mean he doesn't have a killer instinct. In fact, Garnett has been extremely clutch over his career (especially the past 3 years).

[The X]

Garnett was one healthy Sam Cassell away from the NBA Finals a couple of years back....although in this one I voted for Bird....I've seen the classic games, that is enough....basketball is more than athletics despite the fact that athletics are suited to the game....

and besides, I couldn't vote for Garnett, each year he seems to soccer punch the new token white guy....I'm surprised that Jaric hasn't taken a hit....it's still early though I guess....

[Riot]

Garnett has hit two people in his career, Michael Jordan punched out Steve Kerr. Is Michael Jordan bad?