The Hick From French Lick had a habit of getting into the heads of his opponents so much, the mere thought of what Hall of Fame Boston Celtics forward Larry Bird was going to do on the court next caused them to make costly mistakes that the Indiana native rarely failed to capitalize on.
Even his biggest rivals felt the heat when Larry Legend was their cover. And legendary Detroit Pistons point guard Isiah Thomas related as much in an interview with former Golden State Warriors forward Andre Iguodala and Celtics alum Evan Turner on their “Point Forward” podcast that touched on those encounters vs. his longtime nemesis.
“The type of fear he puts into you,” said Thomas, “that type of fear makes you do something stupid defensively.”
“Like you’re not supposed to double team, (there is) nowhere in the scouting report that says you have got to double team,” added the Pistons legend.
“But Bird caught the basketball, he’s standing there, and it’s like, ‘Hell, I got to double team.’ — and you break down.”
Listen to “Havlicek Stole the Pod” on:
Spotify: https://tiny.ee/CdKp
iTunes: https://tiny.ee/RK47
YouTube: https://tiny.ee/cOW3