Re:

[Douglas342@aol.com]

In a message dated 98-07-27 18:14:57 EDT, pdelevett@sjbj.com writes:

<< 
 In an online survey at the Providence Journal Web site (go to
www.projo.com./report/sports and follow the Celtics links), a whopping 44.4%
of fans said Larry Bird is the greatest Celtics player ever. Bill Russell,
remember him, was a way, way distant 2nd with just 19.7%. 
  >>
    Tough questions to answer.  It reminds of the Sports Illustrated piece a
few years back where the writers picked their all-time teams in each pro
sport.  The center spot on the all-time NBA team went to Russell (OK, the
others were Johsons and Jordan in the backcourt, Brid and ? in the front).
Why Russell?  Because the team already had scorers, and Russ's defense was
better than Kareem or Wilt.  So who would play on your all-time team is a
different question from, for example, who would you pick first in drafting
your all-time team, and very different from "best ever."
     After pulling out what hair I have left over Russell v Bird, I'd have to
go with Havlicek third and Cousy fourth and McHale fifth, IMHO.