I guess I'm showing my ignorance but when was Bird a head coach in the NBA? I'm serious, when was Bird a head coach in the NBA, was it with the Pacers? I'm embarassed that I don't know when. Please don't get me wrong , like I said I'm a huge Larry Bird fan. I would like to know why the Pistons got over the fall-out from the fight, and a few seasons later the Pacers are still in shock. I really don't think Jermaine can be blamed he has not had a very good supporting cast the last 2 seasons.
when was Bird a head coach in the NBA? Its right here. He coached the Pacers from 1998-2000. They lost the EC Finals in 98 and 99. They advanced to the NBA Finals in 2000 and lost to the Lakers. I would like to know why the Pistons got over the fall-out from the fight, and a few seasons later the Pacers are still in shock. The Pacers had finished the 2004 season with a 61-21 record. They lost the EC Finals 4 games to 2 in a closely contested series to the eventual NBA champion Pistons. The following season they opened up the season with a 6-2 record heading into the palace. This is a team that hadn't missed the playoffs since 97, all while rebuilding on the fly around O'Neal. This was a team that was prepared to make the next step. In the fallout from the brawl Artest was suspended for the remainder of the season (73 games) and postseason (13 games), Stephen Jackson for 30 games, Jermaine for 25 games (later reduced to 25), Anthony Johnson for 5, Reggie for 1. And the Pistons? Ben Wallace 6 games, Billups, Campbell, Coleman 1 game. With the Pacers short 2 of their leading scorers, and forced to rely on green players like James Jones, Fred Jones, Eddie Gill and Tremaine Fowlkes, the quick start they had enjoyed ground to a halt. The Pistons ran away with the Central Division while the Pacers clawed their way into the 6th seed of the playoffs. The teams met in the playoffs, and the Pistons won the series. Much of the personnel from the Pacers 05 squad still bare the stigma of the incident. Most notably Artest and Jackson. The coverage of the incident over the season adversely effected both players value, to the team and on the open market. As such, when the groundswell of bad sentiment rose against the players from the Pacers fans, the team was forced to deal Artest and Jackson for somewhat less than fair value. Which goes a long way to explaining why the Pacers, a small market team, are paying close to the cap maximum and yet possess the 5th worst record in their conference. 2005, the season of the Brawl, was the last time the Pacers finished with a record above .500 06 record 41-41 07 record 35-47 08 record 27-41
Well at least one of them is a class act. I liked the fact that KG didn't go back and forth with Taylor... He obviously had a good run with the T-wolves over the years and he now can play with a team that can win... Sounds like an owner was ticked for losing a great player that wanted a chance to win...
Thanks lilemo
Maybe there was a reason the Celtics did not want either player after they retired. And where are you geetting this from? Bird had the Pacers one step away from the NBA Finals, and came in as Eastern Conference runner-up twice as a head coach. He worked as a Special Assistant in the Celtics' front office from '92 - '97, and could have taken over for Chris Ford as Boston's Head Coach if he'd wanted the position. As for McHale, for all the stupid things he's done with the T'Wolves, he did hire Flip Saunders as the franchise's first Head Coach, and he drafted KG in the first place.
speaking KG what an amazing job he did on guarding nowinski...........absolutely amazing! the celetics have become the team to watch.....................just to enjoy seeing basic principals of the game at their best
ok,ok, I admit ignorance. I am not a professional basketball fan so I didn't know those stats. It's the NBA, I guess you could call that basketball. But I do know enough to know that KM also fired Flip Saunders and couldn't do anything with one of the best players of our time. Play-off appearences don't count, did they win the title,NO. So I guess his so called genius is a wash.
I never called McHale a genius, and while Bird never won the title as coach, I think your assesment of him... I am a very loyal Bird fan but it seems that he and Kevin should have stayed out of the management end of the business and rode their white horse into the sunset after they retired from playing the game. Maybe there was a reason the Celtics did not want either player after they retired. ...was a bit off the mark. That's all.
