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One of the greatest front lines of alltime was the Boston Celtics of the 1980's. Larry Bird, Kevin Mchale and Robert Parish. They won three titles together during what i consider to be the toughest era in basketball history. They are now members of the hall of fame. You might not of liked them if they beat your team, but you had to respect them. I believe that the front line is by far the most important aspect of a championship team. On my soon to be page big deal i show how virtually every champion in NBA history had some form of a great front line. Some front lines over history have been somewhat overlooked or ignored because of flashy wing players. But make no mistake the backbone of those championships were the big men whether they got the credit or not. So on this page I am using the great Celtic teams of the 80's and comparing them to other teams that got less credit. The results amazed me.
80/81 CELTIC BIGS VS 08/09 LAKER BIGS
PLAY FGM FGA % FTM FTA % RB AST STL BLK PTS
Bird 719 1503 .478 283 328 .863 10.9 5.5 2.0 .8 21.2
Parish 635 1166 .545 282 397 .710 9.5 1.8 1.0 2.6 18.9
mchale 355 666 .533 108 159 .679 4.4 2.7 .3 1.8 10.0
totals 1709 3335 .512 673 884 .761 24.8 10.0 3.3 5.2 50.1
Gasol 592 1045 .567 343 439 .781 9.6 3.5 .6 1.0 18.9
Odom 346 703 .492 160 257 .623 8.0 1.4 .4 1.8 14.3
Bynum 281 502 .560 152 215 .707 8.2 2.6 1.0 1.3 11.3
totals 1219 2250 .542 655 911 .719 25.8 7.5 2.0 4.1 44.5
As you can see these are very comparable numbers. Only significant difference is the Celtics shot about 50% more. But they only outscored the lakers by 5.6. If the lakers had shot the same amount they would of easily outscored the Celtics. These two teams were great to prepare because they were the 1st championship for both lineups with Bynum and Mchale in early stages of career with better days ahead. But as you can see the Laker lineup holds its own against one of the greatest front courts ever. This highly effective play from the Laker bigs was the key to their championship although credit was given in other directions. It was this high level of play that made it possible for others to be less effective yet get the credit for being flashier and dramatic.
83/84 CELTIC BIGS VS 09/10 LAKER BIGS
PLAY FGM FGA % FTM FTA % RB AST STL BLK PTS
Bird 758 1542 ,492 374 421 .888 10.1 6.6 1.8 .9 24.2
Parish 623 1140 .546 274 368 .745 10.7 1.7 .7 1.5 19.0
Mchale 587 1055 .556 336 439 .765 7.4 1.3 .3 1.5 18.4
totals 1968 3737 .527 984 1228 .801 28.2 9.6 2.8 3.9 61.6
Gasol 452 844 .536 286 362 .790 11.3 3.4 .6 1.7 18.3
Bynum 392 688 .570 193 261 .739 8.3 1.0 .5 1.4 15.0
Odom 342 739 .463 140 202 .693 9.2 3.3 .9 ,7 10.8
totals 1186 2271 .522 619 825 .750 28.8 7.7 2.0 3.8 44.1
Again very similiar. The only significant difference again is the number of shots taken. The reason is the Laker bigs were 2, 3 and 4th option while the Celtics were 1,2 and 3rd option. In my opinion the Laker trio should of been option 1,2 and 3 also, but that wasn't the case. So basically the Lakers bigs pretty much matched the legendary Celtics trio. Could you imagine the luxury of being the Lakers star wingman with pretty much the backing of three legends. They did the performance just didn't receive the credit.