Wednesday, February 08, 2012
'Paul Pierce passes Larry Bird in Celtics scoring'
One of Boston's most underappreciated sports superstars surpasses one of Boston's undeniably greatest sports superstars. ... The Celtics' all-time highest scorer, John Havlicek, himself was and is underappreciated as a local superstar, in Hub Blog's humble opinion. Whenever you rattle off a list of the all-time greatest local athletes, it's usually Williams, Russell, Yaz, Orr, Bird and now Brady. But certain types of superstars, such as Hondo and Pierce, don't always make the list. I'm as guilty as others of leaving them off my lists (see 'She speaks for all of us' below). I really shouldn't. ... BTW: I've often thought Pierce's role on the Celts is similar to Havlicek's old role, so it's fitting they're now the top two Celts scorers.
Update -- Someone asked me to explain my Hondo-Pierce comparison. Basically, Hondo was a genuine swing man. Pierce is often mistaken as a genuine swing man. They both do a lot of things really well. Hondo was lucky to be part of an effective duo by the time he became the team's leader (i.e., with the arrival of Dave Cowens). Unfortunately, Pierce wasn't as lucky to be part of an effective duo for most of his career (unless you count Antoine Walker -- which I don't).
One of Boston's most underappreciated sports superstars surpasses one of Boston's undeniably greatest sports superstars. ... The Celtics' all-time highest scorer, John Havlicek, himself was and is underappreciated as a local superstar, in Hub Blog's humble opinion. Whenever you rattle off a list of the all-time greatest local athletes, it's usually Williams, Russell, Yaz, Orr, Bird and now Brady. But certain types of superstars, such as Hondo and Pierce, don't always make the list. I'm as guilty as others of leaving them off my lists (see 'She speaks for all of us' below). I really shouldn't. ... BTW: I've often thought Pierce's role on the Celts is similar to Havlicek's old role, so it's fitting they're now the top two Celts scorers.
Update -- Someone asked me to explain my Hondo-Pierce comparison. Basically, Hondo was a genuine swing man. Pierce is often mistaken as a genuine swing man. They both do a lot of things really well. Hondo was lucky to be part of an effective duo by the time he became the team's leader (i.e., with the arrival of Dave Cowens). Unfortunately, Pierce wasn't as lucky to be part of an effective duo for most of his career (unless you count Antoine Walker -- which I don't).
