Replace Robert Parish with Jack Sikma on the 80s Celtics

[Ol Roy]

Do the Celtics win more or less championships? All other players remain the same.

My initial brainstorming:

-The Celtics lose some interior defensive presence, Chief was a better shot blocker and taller...but Sikma was still a very good defender.
-Parish was great at leaking out and running the floor in transition. Sikma was pretty mobile, he might need to add more of this to his game. Still, this was the Chief's specialty.
-Sikma opens up the floor with his excellent shooting, pulling opposing centers away from the basket. McHale gets better looks in the paint, Bird's drives are easier, etc.
-The passing synergy between Bird and Sikma would be great. We saw the Bird and Walton synergy, and while I'm not sure Sikma was at Walton's level, there are some similarities.
-Not sure the team culture changes significantly.

I probably need to look closer at specific playoff matchups to have a more definitive opinion on this outcome.

Thoughts?

EDIT: In terms of the poll, "No" should be interpreted as "Fewer." Just noticed that it could be confusing.

[penbeast0]

Pretty similar on the floor. Adding another white guy to the Celtics who were already racially polarizing might make one dynamic worse. I had zero black friends who ever rooted for the Bird Celtics in the NBA finals; every single one was a Laker fan. My white friends were split just about 50/50.

[eminence]

I'm a big Sikma guy, not so high on Parish. Makes them the clear team of the decade imo from being the 1B to Showtime.

Assuming he also arrives in '81 I've got them as the favorites generally from '81-'88 ('83 Sixers in particular above them). Obviously they don't get 8, ~5 would be my guess.

[migya]

Good comparison and a nice idea. Both were very good but Parish's defense was a little better and he could shoot well also himself. Maybe Sikma's better passing would be a bigger plus than anything lost and he could shoot from further out also. Those Celts were real good anyway but if they won another title they'd be seen like the Lakers and if they'd been even better in 86, probably as the best team ever.

[kcktiny]

Do the Celtics win more or less championships?

Less.

Parish's 1st four seasons with Boston was 1980-81 to 1983-84. During that time the Celtics had the best winning percentage in the regular season (average W-L of 61-21) and won two titles. Parish played the 2nd most minutes on the team, scored the 2nd most points, was 1st in offensive rebounds, 2nd in defensive rebounds, first in blocks, and Boston was the 4th best defensive team in the league, due in large part to Parish's defense.

I'd say outside of Bird he was the key reason they played so well.

Sikma opens up the floor with his excellent shooting

Those first 4 years Parish he was a much better shooter than Sikma, 54.6% on 2s vs. 47.6% on 2s (just the league average C these 4 seasons shot 51.2% on 2s). Among the 36 Cs in the league that played 4000+ minutes those 4 seasons, Parish ranked 8th highest in 2pt FG%, Sikma 7th lowest. That's a huge difference in favor of Parish.

The passing synergy between Bird and Sikma would be great

The passing synergy between Bird and Parish was great. Those 4 seasons Parish had - by far - the most FGM on Boston outside of Bird, and thus I'd be willing to bet most of Bird's assists went to Parish as opposed to another Celtics player.

[Ol Roy]

Sikma opens up the floor with his excellent shooting

Those first 4 years Parish he was a much better shooter than Sikma, 54.6% on 2s vs. 47.6% on 2s (just the league average C these 4 seasons shot 51.2% on 2s). Among the 36 Cs in the league that played 4000+ minutes those 4 seasons, Parish ranked 8th highest in 2pt FG%, Sikma 7th lowest. That's a huge difference in favor of Parish.

The passing synergy between Bird and Sikma would be great

The passing synergy between Bird and Parish was great. Those 4 seasons Parish had - by far - the most FGM on Boston outside of Bird, and thus I'd be willing to bet most of Bird's assists went to Parish as opposed to another Celtics player.

Thanks for responding, I wanted to clarify a couple of my points.

By shooting, I mean "outside shooting" as it was commonly referred to at the time. Unfortunately, we don't have shot charts from the time. While Parish had a decent midrange shot from what I've seen, I think it's safe to say most of his shots came near the rim. So that brings up the question of what would be more valuable: Parish's finishing or Sikma's outside shooting. I kind of wonder if Bird and Sikma would have increased their 3P focus earlier as a result of competitive practices.

Parish was a great "receiver" for Bird, but by synergy I was thinking more about the back-and-forth type passing action that we saw between Bird and Walton.

In terms of offense, I see Sikma as Bird-ish. While I'm actually pretty confident that Sikma would be a better fit if they were playing today, there's a good chance you are right that Parish may have been better fit at the time. I'm still mostly undecided.

[SportsGuru08]

I'd say they probably win one more championship with Sikma in Parish's place. He provides more floor spacing while giving up nothing on the defensive end.

Parish, much like Klay Thompson, is someone whose reputation is based largely on association rather than his own merit. That's not to say Parish wasn't good, but nothing about his game screams Top 75 player of all time.

[Warspite]

Do the Celtics win more or less championships?

Less.

Parish's 1st four seasons with Boston was 1980-81 to 1983-84. During that time the Celtics had the best winning percentage in the regular season (average W-L of 61-21) and won two titles. Parish played the 2nd most minutes on the team, scored the 2nd most points, was 1st in offensive rebounds, 2nd in defensive rebounds, first in blocks, and Boston was the 4th best defensive team in the league, due in large part to Parish's defense.

I'd say outside of Bird he was the key reason they played so well.

Sikma opens up the floor with his excellent shooting

Those first 4 years Parish he was a much better shooter than Sikma, 54.6% on 2s vs. 47.6% on 2s (just the league average C these 4 seasons shot 51.2% on 2s). Among the 36 Cs in the league that played 4000+ minutes those 4 seasons, Parish ranked 8th highest in 2pt FG%, Sikma 7th lowest. That's a huge difference in favor of Parish.

The passing synergy between Bird and Sikma would be great

The passing synergy between Bird and Parish was great. Those 4 seasons Parish had - by far - the most FGM on Boston outside of Bird, and thus I'd be willing to bet most of Bird's assists went to Parish as opposed to another Celtics player.

Why do you believe that Sikma would not have had the same increase in FG% playing with Bird?

When I look at them pre trade I see
.507 vs .476FG
Sikma has double the win shares and VORP

I am impressed by Parish on the boards since I consider Sikma an elite rebounder but Sikma on defense is a step or 2 above Parish. Head to head Sikma had more blocks, rebounds, assists, played more mins and had a better FG%.