No. I'm not emotionally invested in this debate. You are. There is a reason the players voted Russell the MVP 5 times and never lower than 4th but for his rookie season when he finished 7th despite playing a limited schedule because of the Melbourne Olympics. He had that big an impact on the team and the game. They were brutal defensively before he arrived, routinely finishing near the bottom in defensive rating. The year after he left, they gave up TEN more points a game than in his final season. While he was there, they were a defensive juggernaut that won with defense. Their offense was always pedestrian, but the defense was the class of the league. He played with a few guys that would be considered all time greats, including Cousy and Sherman (who had been their six and seven years prior to Russell arriving and had never won more than a playoff round and had usually not even done that) and Havlicek who joined the Celtics much later in Russell's tenure. Sam Jones would be borderline. The rest of those HOFers were marginal and are in the HOF because Russell dragged their asses in there because they won titles. WIthout the rings Russell led them to, there is no way on God's green earth guys like KC Jones and Heinsohn make the HOF. In addition, guys like Lovelette are included in that HOF list, and he was at the very end of his career and barely played as Russell's backup.thedangerouskitchen wrote:Boston before/after Russell: 3-4 HOFERSvcsgrizzfan wrote:Number 1 rated defense 12 out of 13 seasons. Number 2 the other season. That's the only FACT that matters. Before Russell, awful defense. After Russell, awful defense. What a coincidence!!!thedangerouskitchen wrote:
Pssst... old-man... put on your glasses (or get a stronger lens)... I just linked a thread with hard-core facts showing how HOF Centers performed against Russell's "all-time greatest ever-ever, bar-none, no one else is remotely close" Defense... and all but two scored as many OR MORE points against Russell as they did against the rest of the league's Centers.
Now go fetch my slippers little puppy.
Boston with Russell: 6-8 HOFERS
Only an idiot believes one -1- man can have such an impact on the game ESPECIALLY when faced with the hard-core facts that all the HOF Center talent of the era scored as much OR MORE against Russell as they did against the rest of the league.
Russell was a great Defender no question, but he wasn't a God the way you pretend him to be. He was blessed to be surrounded by SUPREME talent, two OR three times as many HOF teammates as the other teams during the era.
You're just re-living your Glory Days is all.
The only reason you give a shit is because you are so emotionally invested in Jordan, which is part of a pathetic personality disorder you have that you can't seem to recognize.
