Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here… highlighting the big story line. Because there’s nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.
Fair or not, LeBron James is constantly being compared to NBA legends from other eras.
And while James most commonly draws comparisons to Michael Jordan, the topic recently was Larry Bird.
Former Indiana Pacers great Reggie Miller appeared on “The Dan Patrick Show” on Friday and was asked about the Bird vs. James debate. And it’s safe to say Boston Celtics fans will enjoy his answer.
Here’s the video… and for once I agree with Reggie Miller.
There are some people who might think that’s crazy. And LeBron is most certainly a beast who can do all sorts of ridiculous things on the court… but if I’m starting my team with one of those guys, I’m picking Larry Bird too.
They rattled off Bird’s stats at 30 (which is what LeBron is now). But let’s just have some fun and do a quick comparison:
Basic Stats:
Bird: 28.1 ppg, 9.2 rpg, 7.6 apg, 1.8 spg, 0.9 bpg, 3.2 tov
LeBron: 25.3 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 7.4 apg, 1.6 spg, 0.7 bpg, 3.9 tov
Bird at 30 was better in every basic statistical category, even posting slightly higher steal and block averages. Bird played 40 minutes a game, though.. 4 more than LeBron. So let’s go to the advanced stats….
Bird: 26.4 PER, .612 TS%, 12.8 TRB%, 28.6 AST%, 27.5 USG%
LeBron: 25.9 PER, .577 TS%, 9.6 TRB%, 38.6 AST%, 32.3 USG%
This just makes Bird’s year at 30 so much more impressive. The usage percentage is what nails this debate for me. The Cavs ran 32% of their offense through LeBron while the Celtics ran 27.5% of theirs through Bird. While that speaks to the kind of teammates Larry had, it also means Bird did more with fewer touches than LeBron.
You can’t sleep on history, folks. Some of you young kids don’t know because you didn’t see it, but Bird was the baddest man on the court almost every night he was out there. The prime of his career compares to the primes of everyone out there.
And on top of it all… beyond all the numbers… beyond all the highlights… No one wanted to win more than Larry Bird. The man took losses personally. Bird over LeBron? It’s a no brainer.
Page 2: The Lakers stole your favorite Summer Leaguer
Undrafted forward Jonathan Holmes of Texas has reached agreement on a deal with the Los Angeles Lakers, a league source told RealGM.
Holmes’ deal with the Lakers includes a significant partial guarantee.
Holmes won over plenty of Celtics fans in summer league, where he averaged 10.0 points and 5.0 rebounds while knocking down 48.1 percent of his shots (46.4 percent from the arc). Even during the string of impressive performances, Holmes seemed likely to sign elsewhere. Boston already has a surplus of players on guaranteed deals, and the team’s deep frontcourt would not have provided much opportunity for the young forward.
Holmes was very impressive over the course of the summer league, but as has been noted many times, the Celtics just didn’t have the room for him despite the promise he’s shown. It’s not that Danny Ainge wouldn’t have loved to pull the “sign him to a non-guaranteed deal, waive him, and stash him in Maine” kind of thing. But we also have to consider the player going after opportunities that make more sense for him.
Signing a completely non-guaranteed deal in Boston would have completely guaranteed a year in the D-League. Signing a partially guaranteed deal in Los Angeles at least gives him a chance to make the roster if he’s impressive enough in training camp. For an un-drafted rookie, the potential for making at least some guaranteed money if he survives enough cuts is too much to give up.
Holmes could be a diamond in the rough kind of guy who ends up making strong contributions over the course of his career. He could also be destined to play his career overseas. As I’ve said many times, success in July rarely translates into success in October. But the kid seems to have the raw tools to be a coveted stretch-4. We’ll have to wait and see if the Celtics missed a golden opportunity with Holmes.
And Finally….
DeMarcus Cousins scored 91 points in a game last night…
✊ RT @_AbovetheRim_: Had fun tonight on the court with @boogiecousins who dropped 91 tonight ! pic.twitter.com/8CMGWbcPOO
— DeMarcus Cousins (@boogiecousins) August 9, 2015
91 points in any kind of game is insane. Meanwhile, Eric Bledsoe dropped 85 in the same game... so maybe they were playing against high schoolers or something.
