breaking down the Boston Celtics All Time NBA 2k18 All Time roster
NBA 2K has released the All time rosters for all NBA teams on facebook, and it is no surprise that the Boston Celtics have arguably the most stacked lineup there. Funny enough, they even have hall of famers that did not make the list.
There is little argument from the starting five. Bob Cousy is an easy choice at point guard, John Havlicek has his position permanently set in stone, Paul Pierce has done more than enough for this roster, Larry Bird does not even need to be discussed, and the same could be said for Bill Russell.
The one argument you might make would have to do with position for Havlicek. He played the majority of his career at small forward, but having that time at shooting guard really did simplify things.
Deciding between Pierce and Havlicek at the SF position would have been difficult, and there is absolutely no way Ray Allen should be a starter before them, because he would be taking that shooting guard spot if it became available.
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There is, however, another interesting argument for the bigs. It is possible to move Bird over to the small forward position, because if another big spot is opened up, there is some ridiculous options behind him.
The Lakers may be the only other team in the NBA that could have bigs as talented as Kevin McHale, Robert Parish, Tommy Heinsohn and Kevin Garnett on their All Time bench. In terms of pure talent, Garnett certainly has a great case.
There is no debating that Pierce is far more important to the Celtics franchise than Garnett, but many would argue that he would have to be a part of that starting five. Garnett was not quite as impactful as Pierce was when he was with Boston, but that is because he willingly took a step back on the offensive end, and it feels pretty bad using that sacrifice against him.
If that change were made the lineup would feature, Cousy, Havlicek, Bird, Garnett and Russell. The lineup they have up there is tremendous, but this lineup sacrifices little on the offensive end, while pairing up a defensive duo in Garnett and Russell that would absolutely stomp anybody that tried to get in the paint.
Beyond the position with Havlicek after the debate between Pierce and Garnett, there are some suspicious omissions from this list. Of course, the 1960s dynasty makes it close to impossible to include all hall of famers on this list, because pretty much that whole roster made the hall of fame.
That being said, missing names like Bill Sharman, and Frank Ramsey is quite staggering. Maybe it is recency bias, but is Rajon Rondo going to be in the hall of fame? Even Antoine Walker could have been sacrificed for one of the cornerstones of the greatest dynasty ever.
Another interesting debate that would only apply to the Celtics is who the player coach would be. Russell was an actual player coach, and Heinsohn, who won rookie of the year over Russell, won championships coaching the Celtics in the 1970s.
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It would be tough to take that title from Russell, considering he is the greatest leader this game has ever seen. That being said, given that Russell is starting, and Heinsohn is on the bench, it would make more sense to have him coaching on the sidelines.
On top of that, Heinsohn should probably also get consideration for the starting lineup. The problem is that you would have to eliminate one of the all time franchise scoring leaders, and true pioneers and legends of this game.
Heinsohn has done more than enough to earn that starting spot, but the history that is ahead of him feels quite justified.
Hey, if we wanted to we could even send Heinsohn up to the booth. Yes that’s right, the Celtics have a hall of player who is also a hall of fame coach who is also a hall of fame broadcaster. You could putty Tommy anywhere you wanted, and he would absolutely kill it.
Next: Boston Celtics Better Off Now or for the Future?
NBA 2k ratings have been getting all kinds of attention this off season, and these all time lists are a nice reminder of the ridiculous history of the Boston Celtics.