Larry Bird’s favorite Celtic’s teammate | Syracusefan.com

Larry Bird’s favorite Celtic’s teammate

Cheriehoop

Cheriehoop

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The Celtics of that era were so bad. Go look at a roster from that era and it's amazing Sherm did as well as he did with that supporting cast.

Dino Radja was like their best player. I guess Reggie Lewis and Len Bias tragedies crippled the post Bird era, but man, talent deprived for sure.

Also, not related but sort of.

Never understood why Wallace never got more of a chance in Toronto.

He averaged like 14/5/2/1/1 there in 1997-1998.

Then they basically didn't play him again the next year and traded him back to the Knicks who never appreciated his potential.

His PER 36 stats were 19 points and 8 boards. Just crazy he never seemed to get a run.

They were a bad team. Yet they moved on from him without giving him any serious run beyond that season.
 
Last edited:
orangenauburn said:
Also, not related but sort of.

Never understood why Wallace never got more of a chance in Toronto.

He averaged like 14/5/2/1/1 there in 1997-1998.

Then they basically didn't play him again the next year and traded him back to the Knicks who never appreciated his potential.

His PER 36 stats were 19 points and 8 boards. Just crazy he never seemed to get a run.

They were a bad team. Yet they moved on from him without giving him any serious run beyond that season.
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I don't remember how the timing lined up, but I think McGrady may have made them reduce his role. He was a bit of a tweener. Had he been a bit bigger, he'd have been a dynamic PF but he was a bit slower than a lot of small forwards. I think he would fair better in this era.
 
sufandu said:
I don't remember how the timing lined up, but I think McGrady may have made them reduce his role. He was a bit of a tweener. Had he been a bit bigger, he'd have been a dynamic PF but he was a bit slower than a lot of small forwards. I think he would fair better in this era.
Expand...
Vince Carter and McGrady. Raptors smartly protected those investments with Oakley. That’s a tough spot to play in with that roster and your main asset is offense not defense.
 
orangenauburn said:
The Celtics of that era were so bad. Go look at a roster from that era and it's amazing Sherm did as well as he did with that supporting cast.

Dino Radja was like their best player. I guess Reggie Lewis and Len Bias tragedies crippled the post Bird era, but man, talent deprived for sure.

Also, not related but sort of.

Never understood why Wallace never got more of a chance in Toronto.

He averaged like 14/5/2/1/1 there in 1997-1998.

Then they basically didn't play him again the next year and traded him back to the Knicks who never appreciated his potential.

His PER 36 stats were 19 points and 8 boards. Just crazy he never seemed to get a run.

They were a bad team. Yet they moved on from him without giving him any serious run beyond that season.
Expand...
Dino was a rookie that year.
 
Red Auerbach and Bird were both are on record that the loss of Len Bias set the course of the franchise back years. And just as they were rebuilding from that loss, with Reggie Lewis as the centerpiece, he died. The franchise was basically non-existent from there until the Garnett-era in the late 2000’s.

Driving Bird out of the picture was one of the worst things they could have done. They had former legends playing key front office and coaching roles at other franchises, which must not have sat well with Boston fans while their Celts languished as a mere shell of their glory-year selves.
 
First of all, although I'm not a Syracuse fan I check this site often because I enjoy it and appreciate the banter. Unfortunately you're no longer in the Big East but that's a subject for a different day. Regarding Sherman Douglas, I'm sure some of you will remember Chris Ford who played with the Celtics won an NBA championship and made the first three pointer in the NBA and later became the head coach. I lived with Chris for three years at Villanova and we stayed close after graduation. I know the following will sound pretentious, but one day during the NBA season he called and asked for my opinion of Douglas. I told him that, while he may not be the easiest guy to coach, every time I see him on the court he plays his butt off. About a week later Douglas was a Celtic. So Sherman doesn't know this, but I take some pride in knowing I had at least some amount of credit for his NBA career
 
orangenauburn said:
The Celtics of that era were so bad. Go look at a roster from that era and it's amazing Sherm did as well as he did with that supporting cast.

Dino Radja was like their best player. I guess Reggie Lewis and Len Bias tragedies crippled the post Bird era, but man, talent deprived for sure.

Also, not related but sort of.

Never understood why Wallace never got more of a chance in Toronto.

He averaged like 14/5/2/1/1 there in 1997-1998.

Then they basically didn't play him again the next year and traded him back to the Knicks who never appreciated his potential.

His PER 36 stats were 19 points and 8 boards. Just crazy he never seemed to get a run.

They were a bad team. Yet they moved on from him without giving him any serious run beyond that season.
Expand...
If Wallace was 20 yrs younger they would have let him play while tanking. The Jerami Grant / Philly method of NBA longevity.
 
kirbivore said:
If Wallace was 20 yrs younger they would have let him play while tanking. The Jerami Grant / Philly method of NBA longevity.
Expand...

Even the Knicks wouldn’t let an elementary school kid on the court during an actual game. :p
 
Cheriehoop said:
My favorite point guard too.
www.yahoo.com

"I knew my days with the Celtics were over” - Larry Bird admits his love for Boston ended when the team traded his favorite teammate

Boston Celtics legend Larry Bird opens up about how the trade of Sherman Douglas and front-office dysfunction led to his emotional departure from the franchise.
www.yahoo.com www.yahoo.com
Expand...
Paul Gaston’s ownership of the Cs was a dark time. Larry was right to leave the franchise. If he hadn’t then that jackazz Pitino would have fired him anyway.

FWIW, I was an intern for a Boston TV news channel when Reggie Lewis died. I was at the hospital that night covering it. It was just as horrible as you might expect.
 
larry bird and dick vitale both appreciated his greatness. set the NCAA all-time assist record. nuff said.
 
Novaguy said:
I told him that, while he may not be the easiest guy to coach, every time I see him on the court he plays his butt off. About a week later Douglas was a Celtic. So Sherman doesn't know this, but I take some pride in knowing I had at least some amount of credit for his NBA career
Expand...
Anyone know where the "not the easiest to coach" comment comes from?
 
kuethstheman said:
Anyone know where the "not the easiest to coach" comment comes from?
Expand...
I agree - never heard that one before about Sherman. Heard he busted himself in every practice and was super competitive - all good things. The only thing I ever heard was his impatience sitting his freshman year behind Pearl so he was thinking of transferring if he didn’t start sophomore year. Pearl left for the NBA, Sherm started and his stats sure tell the rest of the story.
 
tbonezone said:
larry bird and dick vitale both appreciated his greatness. set the NCAA all-time assist record. nuff said.
Expand...
Pearl might’ve been the most exciting and dynamic, but Sherman Douglas was the best pure point we had.

In that era, (80s, early 90s) amazingly, Syracuse could boast the all-time NCAA assist leader, Sherm, the all-time NCAA rebounding leader, DC, the all-time NFL rushing leader Jim Brown, the all-time NFL receiving leader Art Monk, and all-time NFL scoring leader, Gary Anderson.
 
DomeHolmes said:
Pearl might’ve been the most exciting and dynamic, but Sherman Douglas was the best pure point we had.

In that era, (80s, early 90s) amazingly, Syracuse could boast the all-time NCAA assist leader, Sherm, the all-time NCAA rebounding leader, DC, the all-time NFL rushing leader Jim Brown, the all-time NFL receiving leader Art Monk, and all-time NFL scoring leader, Gary Anderson.
Expand...
I would contest that Billy Edelin, had he been able to control his personal life, would have contested for number one with Douglas as a pure point guard.
 
Novaguy said:
First of all, although I'm not a Syracuse fan I check this site often because I enjoy it and appreciate the banter. Unfortunately you're no longer in the Big East but that's a subject for a different day. Regarding Sherman Douglas, I'm sure some of you will remember Chris Ford who played with the Celtics won an NBA championship and made the first three pointer in the NBA and later became the head coach. I lived with Chris for three years at Villanova and we stayed close after graduation. I know the following will sound pretentious, but one day during the NBA season he called and asked for my opinion of Douglas. I told him that, while he may not be the easiest guy to coach, every time I see him on the court he plays his butt off. About a week later Douglas was a Celtic. So Sherman doesn't know this, but I take some pride in knowing I had at least some amount of credit for his NBA career
Expand...
Did you coach Douglas somewhere along the line? Just curious as to why Ford would call you regarding Sherm and if the coaching comment came from personal experience. Oh, and congrats on the Wildcat Pope.
 
Vshukla said:
I feel like Sherman's pro career is under rated. He played a dozen years and had some really good seasons. I'm glad to see him get some recognition from Bird. Praise from Larry Legend carries a lot of weight.
Expand...
I just read Sherm's Wikepedia page. At the bottom it says he played against MJ 30 times and lost all 30. That's impressive!
 

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