Interesting dialogue in the 3 pt contest tonight between Barkley and Kenny Smith, Kenny says Pierce is in the top 5 Celtics of all time. Barkely says he is crazy. What do you guys say?

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

Don't think top 5, top 10 for sure.

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Fuck Edwards and Zobrist

I'm no NBA 'expert' but I'll start the list. I'm sure we'll get past five before Pierce:

1. Russell
2. Bird
3. McHale?
4.

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Bob Cousy

John Havlicek

Dave Cowens

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

i'd say no better than seventh.

bird
hondo
cousy
big chief
mchale
russell

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Reality is your friend, not your enemy. -- Seacrest

He isn't a top 5 Celtic and the Lakers is the best franchise in NBA history. They've only missed the playoffs 5 times in their entire history and they've gone to the Finals more than any team.

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It is pretty hard to argue with all the banners the Celtics have. No doubt the Lakers have an amazing franchise, but IMO the banners trump it.

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

If Pippen played for the Celtics, where would he rank?

They only have 2 fewer and they've been there 11 more times.

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He would rank higher than Paul. He would be top 5.

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Above Pierce.

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

Miss the playoffs only 5 times in 62 years is amazing

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I'm not sure Paul Pierce is that great. Until he got Ray Allen and Garnett on his team he did absolutely nothing in the playoffs. As Les Grobstein says, Kevin McHale basically handed the championship to the Celtics. I don't know that Paul Pierce is better than Garnett or Allen.

Oh and in the 3 point contest I believe he made the same amount of shots in the last round as Stephen Curry, but Pierce hit 5 money balls.

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To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Not true. He had a nice run with Walker.

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This is the playoff history with Walker:

2003 -- defeated Indiana, 4-2, first round
lost to New Jersey, 4-0, conference semifinals
2002 -- defeated Philadelphia, 3-2, first round
defeated Detroit, 4-1, conference semifinals
lost to New Jersey, 4-2, conference finals

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To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Run and Antoine Walker should never be used in the same sentance.

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He does run when it comes to paying his gambling debts.

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touche.

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pierce is not a top 5 celtic of all time. he is the top celtic of the last 20 years though, and he carried this team through a lot of gloomy years. take a look at some of the rosters he played on, and then tell me he did nothing in 01-02 to get that team to the conference finals. he DRAGGED that team with him. after pierce and walker, they had nothing. i feel happy for him that he has had the chance to taste playing on a winning team.

Larry Bird and the gang played in the last 20 years but I get your point and I agree.

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Larry and the gang were over the hill 20 years ago (1990). Wasn't the last Celtics title with Bird in 1986? The Len Bias death really killed them (no pun intended) and they had to ride those old guys way too hard their last few seasons.

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yeah, bird and mchale were at the end of the line once we hit the 90's. over the last 20 years, pierce is the best performer they have had. dont forget reggie lewis, though. he was very good and getting better when he passed away. he would have been a very good player probably throughout the 90's had he lived. not best in the league good, but consistent all-star good. his death really did the celtics in for awhile.

For whatever reasons, I always thought much more of Reggie Lewis during his brief career than I ever have of Paul Pierce. He seemed like more of a team leader than Pierce and was at times a real "light it up" scorer, where Pierce just seemed like a second tier gun at best. (Kind of like Gervin vs. Lloyd Free)

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There are only two examples of infinity: The universe and human stupidity and I'm not sure about the universe.

Agree with the majority of comments here. He's not a top 5 Celtic. I'd have him ranked in the 7-10 area. He's ahead of DJ I think.

And yeah, he was a playoff warrior. It cant be blamed on him for losing to those Nets teams, who were easily the class of a terrible East. And he got the best of LeBron in that awesome Game 7 a few years back.

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Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

i think id go:

bird
russell
cousy
havlicek
cowens
mchale...

...then maybe pierce. that is some high company, but his consistent production and quality play through some lean years puts him 7 on my list. i love DJ and the chief were great players, but those guys never had to carry the load full time. pierce has been the team leader almost from day one on this team, including right now, even with garnett and allen.

I wouldn't put Cowens above McHale, although I can see the argument. Either way, it's too hard to put PP above any of the people you mentioned. I'm not sure I'd have him above the Chief either. Maybe.

Good point about him being the leader. When everyone else looked scared in the 4th quarter of Game 7 2 years ago against the Cavs he basically single handedly took the series away from LeBron and defended his house. The old guys watching must have been proud, even though it's not the Garden anymore.

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Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

yeah, after bird and russell you can shift those guys around a bit, but i think the top 2 are cemented and the next 4 are cemented. 7-12 are more up-for-grabs: pierce, chief, DJ, sam jones, heinsohn, carr.

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I was all set to agree with you....but then....M.L. Carr? M.L. Carr? Really?

Shocking

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There are only two examples of infinity: The universe and human stupidity and I'm not sure about the universe.