Having grown up in the waning era of the Celtics’ original big three Bird, McHale, Parish and only recently rekindling an interest in the JT/JB Celtics [(some call it a “new big 3”](https://hardwoodhoudini.com/2023/03/28/boston-celtics-new-big-three/)) I was wondering if some of you who have been more consistent Celtics fans over the years could help me with some player analogies to make sense of who players compare to in different eras. I also want to throw in the Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen era, which I completely missed. So I’ll throw out some comparisons, but I am fully expecting they are wrong – hopefully you can respond or refine them:
Larry Bird \~ Nikola Jokic (minus some size but with added shooting range)
Parish \~ Rob Williams (but with added scoring)
McHale \~ take out Jokic’s passing and he also weirdly matches up (because of his incredible efficiency on 25PPG +10 REB) – also McHale was better on defence
Jayson Tatum \~ Paul Pierce? (obv 3pt volume way higher in 2023)
Jalen Brown \~ Dominique Wilkins?
Derrick White \~ Dennis Johnson?
I’m at a loss for good comparisons that help me bridge these different eras, so let me know what you think?
by anhomily
2 Comments
I don’t think Bird or McHale have modern comps. McHale was a first team all-NBA defender and got you the most efficient 25 you could imagine. So like Jokic’s scoring with Mobley’s defensive game?
Bird was a forward version of Luka, but a much better defensive player (even in his later years). He was also a far better shooter.
Both guys would be looked at differently if they hadn’t overlapped each other’s primes. Both guys could have efficiently led the NBA in scoring every year if they didn’t have each other taking touches away from each other.
JT is more like Kobe Bryant that settles for 3s than mid range.
JB is more like TMac.
White and DJ were close comp.