Light touch with huge strength. What strikes me -- when he's diving for the ball, he's figuring out where he's going to send it once he gets there. Most players get to the ball and hold it, call a timeout, something like that. But for Bird, it's just another chance to catch the other team off guard.
I'm idly curious how many of his behind-the-head or behind-the-back passes were just utter failures, but I don't want to be the guy from L.A. who rains on this parade. :) (I mean, I'm not exactly a Lakers fan, but I'll neglect to mention who I was rooting for back in '87 or whenever it was.)
It'd be cool if pro sports had more finesse like this. Talk about situation awareness...
Not so many. He typically had about a 2:1 assist/turnover ratio, which is not insanely good on the absolute scale -- point guards should be hitting around 3:1, more if they're great -- but which is quite good for the position he played. Forwards don't usually pass as much as he did.
Not to mention that one of those passes must be devastating on the opponent's team's morale. Well, or so I'd think. Maybe at the pro level that doesn't phase players.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2010-12-07 07:52 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-12-07 08:00 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-12-09 09:25 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-12-07 08:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-12-07 08:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-12-07 09:14 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-12-07 09:14 pm (UTC)I'm idly curious how many of his behind-the-head or behind-the-back passes were just utter failures, but I don't want to be the guy from L.A. who rains on this parade. :) (I mean, I'm not exactly a Lakers fan, but I'll neglect to mention who I was rooting for back in '87 or whenever it was.)
It'd be cool if pro sports had more finesse like this. Talk about situation awareness...
no subject
Date: 2010-12-07 09:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-12-07 09:52 pm (UTC)Not to mention that one of those passes must be devastating on the opponent's team's morale. Well, or so I'd think. Maybe at the pro level that doesn't phase players.