US – Friday, July 30

Allen: 1986 vs. 2008 — who’s better?

With the Celtics cruising towards the best record in the NBA, thoughts of the glory days are filling the heads of longtime C’s fans. Hopes are running high this year’s edition, which should break the record for the biggest improvement in total wins, can also bring banner No. 17 to Boston after a more than two decade wait. For all that time, fans have had to hang onto their memories of the 1985-86 Celtics, which some feel was not just the best team in franchise history, but also the best team in NBA history. This team has awakened the memories and imaginations of Celtics fans, who are thrilled at the return to glory. This team could even eclipse the win total of the 1985-’86 team when all is said and done.

With those comparisons being made, I thought it would be interesting to look at each squad head-to-head, and try and see just how these teams would match up. My first thought was to run this scenario through www.whatifsports.com, but their program doesn’t include teams that are playing in the current season. So it’s up to me so put together the matchups and determine which is the better team.

Center
Kendrick Perkins vs. Robert Parish
Perkins would try to get physical with the Chief, but Parish is clearly the superior player here. Parish has the height advantage on Perkins, and would beat him up and down the floor consistently. Rainbow jumpers would be raining down on Perkins, who could only hope to bump Parish out of position for his shots. On the boards, Perkins would again need to use his bulk to try and neutralize the height disadvantage.
Edge — ‘86ers

Power Forward
Kevin Garnett vs. Kevin McHale
This could be the most intriguing matchup — two of the game’s all-time best at this position going head-to-head. They actually play a pretty similar game as well, both with strong post-up games and the mid-range jumpers to go with it. Garnett gets the edge in athleticism, but remember — in his prime, McHale was athletic enough that the Celtics could put him on the opponent’s small forward, leaving Larry Bird to cover the slower and bigger power forwards. Both are outstanding shot blockers, and cover up for their teammates’ mistakes. These guys would go all-out at each other, and it’s really hard to see either having an edge on the other.
Edge — Push

Small Forward
Paul Pierce vs. Larry Bird
Two of the all time leading scorers in Celtics history would be going against each other here, and would also give each other a battle. Bird would likely to use his size on Pierce, backing him down into the paint and shooting the trademark fallaways. Pierce would try to attack Bird off the dribble, who would be relying on McHale and Parish behind him to cover up any times that Pierce got by him. Both would have their hands full with the other, but we’ve got to give the overall edge to Bird.
Edge — ‘86ers

Shooting Guard
Ray Allen vs. Danny Ainge
In this game, 2008 Celtics fans would hate Danny Ainge. (as did all opponents of the 80s Celtics.) Ainge would do his best stick with Allen, fighting through screens and doing his share of flops, but the silky smooth Allen would have the clear edge. Allen would be able to get his shot off on Ainge, and would be able to stick with Danny on the other end as well. There’s a strong likelihood that coach K.C. Jones would’ve switched Ainge to cover Rajon Rondo and put Dennis Johnson on Allen.
Edge — ‘08ers

Point Guard
Rajon Rondo vs. Dennis Johnson
Who knows what this matchup would look like in a few years, but for right now, DJ has the edge. While Rondo clearly has the advantage in terms of speed, (and in fact, DJ and Ainge might’ve switched assignments in this game as noted above) DJ would back him down into the post on nearly every trip up the court. Rondo would harass the older guards of the 1986 squad, and they, in turn, would use their size on him. DJ’s experience and guile give him the edge over Rondo in this matchup.
Edge — ‘86ers

Benches
The 1986 Celtics basically had a three-man bench: Bill Walton, Scott Wedman and Jerry Sichting. Others such as Rick Carlisle, Sam Vincent and Greg Kite did see spot action, but for the most part, it was an eight-man rotation for the 1986 team. The 2008 team goes 10, sometimes 11 deep, but the quality of the top three players is obviously a bit below the 1986 squad. But for overall depth from 6 through 12, you have to give the edge to the 2008 edition. The players on that bench are more versatile, athletic and varied than the 1986 edition.
Edge — ‘08ers.

Conclusion
This would indeed be a tremendous matchup, up and down the roster. The 1986 squad has the advantage of having played together for much of that decade, while the current version of the Celtics is, for the most part, playing their first year together. The current Celtics are more athletic, and probably play a tighter brand of overall defense than did the 1986 squad. In the end though, I still have to give the edge to the 1986 squad, but the current team really has nothing to be ashamed of — they have to be considered the favorites to win the NBA championship and put together their own legacy that teams of the future will be comparing themselves with.

Bruce Allen is the creator of Boston Sports Media Watch, which has recently been recognized by SI.com as one of the best non-corporate sports web site's on the Internet.