Bill Laimbeer would be very good today

Sportsrmylife

EOG Master
mchale said he was great 30 yrs ago, but would do even better todays game.
He is 62 years old.

He would get exposed in today's game.

Plus he would be fined and banned after his style of play.

Maybe you can get his jersey before he is banned from the game.
 

John Kelly

Born Gambler
Staff member
Laimbeer's father was rich.

Bill Laimbeer was smart on the court but not off it.

He flunked out of Notre Dame after his freshman year before regaining eligibility at a technical college in Ohio.
 
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mrbowling300

EOG Dedicated
Laimbeer was one of the few in the NBA whose father made more than him! His father was president of Owens-Illinois, a glass company.

Detroit got him for a song and a dance from the Cavs in 1982.

He has had success in the WNBA as a coach, winning championships 3x's and coach of the year twice....I believe he has been blacklisted from being an NBA head coach due to his reputation back in his playing days.
 

John Kelly

Born Gambler
Staff member
Blacklisted?

A real possibility.

Similar rumors are attached to Rick Barry.

I always thought Laimbeer's interest in coaching a WNBA team was his entrée to an NBA job.
 

railbird

EOG Master
Bill Laimbeer and Phil Jackson won championships as both a player and a coach, Laimbeer was better at both than Phil
 

bomzee

EOG Dedicated
I was a Bill Laimbeer fan. He knew his role and stuck to it. He was a master at distracting his opponents and getting them off their game (as was Rodman) and could effectively shoot from long range.
 

bomzee

EOG Dedicated
On a side note all Piston fans can verify Laimbeer was called for a phantom foul on a missed Jabaar shot which robbed the Pistons of an NBA Championship .
 
The NBA has become a league where:

D is non existent

Hardly any action in the paint

Mostly up and down transition tempo

inordinate amount of 3’s

Other than that? Yeah, Laimbeer would fit right in:LOL:
 

mrbowling300

EOG Dedicated
Game 5 of the 1988 NBA finals, Detroit vs. LA, was the final game played at the Pontiac Silverdome prior to the opening of the Palace of Auburn Hills. I was at that game, upper deck, last row for $10! The Palace is in the process of being torn down to make way for an industrial park. It sits on one of the most valuable pieces of land in the county. Laimbeer did not foul Jabbar.....probably did cost us a championship, which ultimately would have been a three-peat for the Pistons..
 

kane

EOG master
A hall of fame center versus a tool bag. Shocker Lamebeer got screwed in that spot.

Similar to Jordan pushing off Byron Russell to get the open shot that won the series against Utah, of course there was zero chance any of the refs would have done the right thing and called Jordan for an offensive foul in that spot
 

bomzee

EOG Dedicated
I remember Larry Bird in a playoff game losing his composure and flinging the basketball at Laimbeer. Bird absolutely should have been but wasn't ejected.Upon reflection that was really very funny.
Too bad the refs didn't have the balls or the integrity to eject Bird.
 

kane

EOG master
I remember Larry Bird in a playoff game losing his composure and flinging the basketball at Laimbeer. Bird absolutely should have been but wasn't ejected.Upon reflection that was really very funny.
Too bad the refs didn't have the balls or the integrity to eject Bird.

Different era back then, guys could get away with pretty much anything, Laimbeer was the dirtiest player to ever play the game, he did things on the court that would have gotten him multiple game suspensions today. Kevin McHale close lined Kurt Rambis in a finals game, nothing happened other than Rambis going to the line to take his free throws, had McHale done the same thing today, he would have been given a flagrant two, fined a huge amount, and been suspended multiple games. Doesn't change the fact that the refs were gutless and protected Jordan by not calling the blatant push off
 

bomzee

EOG Dedicated
Similar to Jordan pushing off Byron Russell to get the open shot that won the series against Utah, of course there was zero chance any of the refs would have done the right thing and called Jordan for an offensive foul in that spot
IMO Not quite the same
with Jordan -Russell it was at best a non-call
with Laimbeer -Jabaar it was a Bullshit and horribly blown call.
 

John Kelly

Born Gambler
Staff member
Game 5 of the 1988 NBA finals, Detroit vs. LA, was the final game played at the Pontiac Silverdome prior to the opening of the Palace of Auburn Hills. I was at that game, upper deck, last row for $10! The Palace is in the process of being torn down to make way for an industrial park. It sits on one of the most valuable pieces of land in the county. Laimbeer did not foul Jabbar.....probably did cost us a championship, which ultimately would have been a three-peat for the Pistons..


The phantom foul took place in Game 6, not Game 5.
 

kane

EOG master
IMO Not quite the same
with Jordan -Russell it was at best a non-call
with Laimbeer -Jabaar it was a Bullshit and horribly blown call.

I'm not arguing the blown call on Laimbeer, it has nothing to do with the bad non call on Jordan, the refs fucked up in both instances
 

kane

EOG master
I remember the play like it was yesterday, one of the dirtiest plays you'll ever see on a basketball court. The next game was at the Garden, and everyone knew payback was coming, the Chief put a beatdown on Laimbeer that was expected, that's how the game was played
 

John Kelly

Born Gambler
Staff member
Kareem finished 8-for-8 from the free-throw line in Game 6 of the 1988 NBA Finals.

He was 12-for-20 from the line in the '88 NBA Finals coming into Game 6.

Kareem was a career 72% free-throw shooter.

He was 40 years old in 1988.
 
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mrbowling300

EOG Dedicated
The phantom foul took place in Game 6, not Game 5.
Yes, in LA.........I was just stating I was at the finals of game 5, which was the last game ever played at the Silverdome. Matthew Stafford, who is selling his house, has a basketball half court with flooring from the silverdome floor!
 

John Kelly

Born Gambler
Staff member
Yes, in LA.........I was just stating I was at the finals of game 5, which was the last game ever played at the Silverdome. Matthew Stafford, who is selling his house, has a basketball half court with flooring from the silverdome floor!

Got it.

Stay well, Keith.
 

kane

EOG master
CHIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEFFFFFFFFFFFFFF!!!!!!!!!!
 

John Kelly

Born Gambler
Staff member
Great response by both men.

Parrish standing tall after delivering the knockdown punch and Laimbeer brushing himself off once he rose from the floor.
 

kane

EOG master
Great response by both men.

Parrish standing tall after delivering the knockdown punch and Laimbeer brushing himself off once he rose from the floor.

I loved how Laimbeer was checking to see if he had all his teeth, and notice he did nothing to retaliate, he knew going into the game he was going to get it, credit to him for taking his beating like a man. I know the physicality of the game back then was over the top at times, but I loved the way the game was played back then
 

kane

EOG master
Different era back then, guys could get away with pretty much anything, Laimbeer was the dirtiest player to ever play the game, he did things on the court that would have gotten him multiple game suspensions today. Kevin McHale close lined Kurt Rambis in a finals game, nothing happened other than Rambis going to the line to take his free throws, had McHale done the same thing today, he would have been given a flagrant two, fined a huge amount, and been suspended multiple games. Doesn't change the fact that the refs were gutless and protected Jordan by not calling the blatant push off

Here's the clip of McHale's takedown of Rambis, as you watch this keep in mind it was a common foul back then, I love Tommy Heinsohn's comment at the end that it's part of the game

 

John Kelly

Born Gambler
Staff member
I'm torn on the topic, KANE.

Basketball is a beautiful combination of force and finesse.

Too much of either ruins the recipe.

But like you, I love tough-minded athletes.
 
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