“It Was Impossible Beat Larry Bird & the Celtics in TD Garden”: Joe Dumars Calls Boston Legend a ‘Savant’ Who Wouldn’t Allow One Mistake

Akash Murty | 14/01/2023
"It Was Impossible Beat Larry Bird & the Celtics in TD Garden": Joe Dumars Calls Boston Legend a 'Savant' Who Wouldn't Allow One Mistake

Larry Bird is considered one of the greatest basketball players of all time. During his remarkable 13-year NBA career, all with the Boston Celtics, he led them to 3 championships and became a three-time NBA MVP, 13-time NBA All-Star, and two-time Olympic gold medalist.

Larry Legend’s fierce competitive drive and clutch performances in big games were also quite famous in the 80s. Apart from Magic Johnson’s Lakers, Bird and the Detroit Pistons had a rivalry during his playing career with the Boston Celtics in the 1980s.

The two teams met in the playoffs several times, with the Celtics and Pistons each winning a few series. The rivalry was known for its physical play and intense competition. And a legendary Piston, 30 years after most of them retired from the sport, reminisced what exactly it meant to them when they faced Bird and Co. in TD Garden.

 Also read: Not Michael Jordan, not Larry Bird, not Even Magic Johnson, Isiah Thomas says his ‘Bad Boy Pistons’ drew 60,000 attendance to NBA stands

Joe Dumars remembers facing Larry Bird and the Celtics back in the 80s

In an appearance on the Dan Patrick Show, Joe Dumars, one of the best two-way guards in the NBA of the 80s and the 90s, talked about his 14-year career and his life since. And obviously, Larry Bird and the Celtics must have to come up when somebody from the ‘Bad Boy Pistons’ is on the hot seat.

Apart from all the typical nuances of playing in Boston like playing in an air-conditioned court in the winter while playing with the blowers in the summers, Dumars remembered how focused one needed to be when facing prime Bird and his Celtics.

“It was impossible to go there (TD Garden) and beat them (Celtics). You could not make a mistake!” Dumars said while crediting Larry with most of it, calling him a “savant”.

 Also read: “Larry Bird Was Just Slicin and Dicin Him!”: Magic Johnson Describes Watching The Celtics Legend Play For the First Time

How good was Larry Legend?

There are endless stories about how good Larry Bird was and how he always made sure to let you know that he was good, and you weren’t anywhere close.

The 6ft 9′ forward revolutionized the NBA with his tremendous shooting, making it impossible for anybody to guard him with the form he had when he went to the air.
Forwards letting it fly from the distance rather than always driving to the rim became normal because of Larry doing it on a nightly basis while torching the star-studded teams in the 80s.

 Also read: “Don’t Touch Larry Bird, the Logo!”: Former Director of Twitter Ryan Sarver Fires Shots at Elon Musk Over Logo

 

Post Edited By: Akash Murty
boston celtics Detroit Pistons joe dumars Larry Bird

About the author

Akash Murty

An Electrical and Electronics Engineer by degree, Akash Murty is an NBA Editor at The SportsRush. Previously a Software Engineer, Murty couldn’t keep himself away from sports, and his knack for writing and putting his opinion forward brought him to the TSR. A big Soccer enthusiast, his interest in basketball developed late, as he got access to a hoop for the first time at 17. Following this, he started watching basketball at the 2012 Olympics, which transitioned to NBA, and he became a fan of the game as he watched LeBron James dominate the league. Him being an avid learner of the game and ritually following the league for around a decade, he now writes articles ranging from throwbacks, and live game reports, to gossip. LA Lakers are his favourite basketball team, while Chelsea has his heart in football. He also likes travelling, reading fiction, and sometimes cooking.

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