In last week's Challenge the reigning NBA Finals MVP Paul Pierce knocked off local college and Celtics legend Reggie Lewis with 70% of the vote to move up from #32 to #27 on the RBSF Ladder. This week's battle features a showdown between two Chiefs: #18 Johnny Bucyk attempting to fend off the challenge of #24 Robert Parish. A look at this week's candidates.....
BUCYK: The Chief played for the B's for 21 seasons (1957-78). Captain of 2 Stanley Cup Champions (1970 & 72). 6x All Star selection. 2x Lady Byng Award winner (1971 & 74). 1st Team All-NHL in 1971. 2nd Team All-NHL in 1968. Top 10 in...goals 5x, assists 5x, points 6x, power play goals 6x, game winning goals 7x, shooting percentage 8x. League leader in shooting percentage 3x. In 1,436 games he scored 545 goals and 794 assists for 1,339 points. Playoff totals of 40-60-100 in 109 games. Among franchise leaders in Goals (1st), Games (2nd), Assists (2nd), Points (2nd), Game-Winning Goals (2nd), Power Play Goals (3rd) and Shooting % (5th). Elected to Hockey Hall of Fame in 1981. His #9 is retired by the Bruins.
PARISH: The Chief played for the C's for 14 seasons (1980-94). Member of 3 NBA Champions (1981, 84 & 86). 9x All Star selection. Top 10 in field goal percentage 6x. Top 10 in...field goal percentage 6x, offensive rebounds 8x, defensive rebounds 7x, rebounds 7x, rebounds per game 8x. Top 5 in blocks per game twice. In 1,106 games he averaged 16.5 points, 10.0 rebounds and 1.54 blocks while shooting .552 from the field and .730 from the line. Playoff totals of 16.0-9.9-1.74-.508 in 168 games. Among franchise leaders in Blocks (1st), Games (2nd), Rebounds (2nd), Minutes (3rd), Field Goals (3rd), Field Goal % (3rd), Steals (3rd), Points (3rd), Rebounds Per Game (4th), Field Goal Attempts (5th), Free Throws and Free Throw Attempts (6th). Elected to Basketball Hall of Fame in 2003. His #00 is retired by the Celtics.
VERDICT: The fact that Bucyk played 7 more seasons than a man who played the 2nd most games in Celtics history needs to be respected and can't be ignored. Their resumes are equally impressive and both were #2 or #3 men on some great teams. I also feel more comfortable with Bucyk sitting above the men 19-23 on the Ladder than Parish. Barely.
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11 comments:
Nice challenge. I have an admittedly basketball bias (& more specifically a Chief one, #00), but 21 seasons - this dude sounds like a real bad-ass (not to mention the 2 Cups). This one is a tough one. Also Parrish's stats sound much more impressive than I expected once you laid them out there.
Look forward to seeing how this one plays out....
I agree with Luke this is a great challenge. Both equally great players from great Boston teams, that played along time. Statwise they have similar ranking their respective teams history.
I have feeling the Chief is gonna win..No really, i have a feeling that Parrish is gonna win this one. Only because there seems to be a heavy Celtics(basketball) bias(as stated by Luke) among our members.
I am voting for Bucyk becasue when i was a little kid i met him. I didnt even really know who he was. My dad told me and introduced me to him like they were freinds or something. He signed an autograph and talked to me for a few minutes and didnt seem bothered by it like alot of guys do.
Bucyk was the B's all-time leading scorer forever and is still the all-time leading goal scorer. 2 rings, including Captain of the last B's Championship. To me only the truly elite can beat that, and Parish falls just a whisker short of that.
Sort of ironic that the man who has played more games in NBA history than anyone else, and 2nd most in Celtics history, is having longevity used against him here (of course only his time in Boston is being factored here).
I have just looked through a bunch of all time lists, and am again in awe of both guys. It really is shocking to see Parrish's numbers, because it puts in perspective how good the 80's Celtics, and just 80's basketball was in general. Many think McHale was better or equal to Parrish, and when looking at the all time stats Parrish is: 9th in blocks, 7th in rebounds, and 17th in points. Obviously "the more games in NBA history" as DK stated plays into this quite well, but boy... talk about a guy who is quite often undercredited.
not so much by RBSF, but around the country/League, surely.
Another point on Bucyk, he was 6' tall (& 215 pounds), which was the largest of his day at left wing. This is one of those reasons why I find it so hard to compare players of different generations...
I mean, Bob Lanier was an amazing Center at 6' 9", can u imagine what position they'd try and put him at if he had come out in the 2008 NBA Draft??
Also, Bucyk played over a 29 season span (though just one game in his first one) - this is an unheard of amount of time to play in such a violent/physically demanding sport.
I didn't think evolution was supposed to work that fast.
By the looks of it DK an i have voted for Bucyk and Luke i assume voted for Parrish (based on B-ball bias). It would be nice to see peoples reasons for votes.
I actually voted for Bucyk, despite my LOVE for Parrish. He's one of my very favorite Celtics of all time.
Without reading the stats I immediately thought Bucyk easily. I have to admit I am in a little bit of shock at how good Parrish's stats are.
There is just something about Bucyk that makes me think of him as Mr. Boston Bruins, but I don't feel the same way about Parrish and the Celtics. So, I am going to have to give the nod to #9.
Some interesting things from Wiki:
Bucyk was considered to be huge for a left wing at 6 feet (now a 6 foot left wing is average at best).
He retired as the #4 scorer all-time in the NHL and #1 among left wings.
He is #45 on the top 100 NHL list compiles by The Hockey News 10 years ago. Same year Parrish was ranked top 50 all-time in NBA.
I think Parrish's difficulties with FedEx and stairs are another deciding factor in voting for Bucyk.
welcome back WJ.
I'm not going to lie I find it slightly annoying (and GMAC alluded to this as well) that there are 4 people who gave opinions on here, all voting for Bucyk, and yet Parish is leading 15-12 with just a few hours left. While I'm well aware not everyone likes to post/blog and some just read and vote (which is also encouraged) I do wish SOMEBODY in the Parish camp would have stepped up with an argument for him so I could feel a little better if he wins.
Sometimes I feel like the the weekly challenges are just an anti-DK vote because I've supporting the losing contender in about 80% of them so far!
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