Larry's legend

Scoping the NBA ... three bullet points at a time.

It may not be a national holiday, but Thursday is Larry Bird's 50th birthday. Hard to believe it has been 15 years since the Hick from French Lick hoisted his last NBA jump shot. It's also not so much of a coincidence that in those 15 Bird-less years, the Celtics have produced just four winning seasons and have finished with more than 45 wins only twice.

This season appears to be no different. The C's are 5-11 going into Wednesday's game against the Grizzlies and are fading fast. As Celtics fans wonder which of the eight players under 24 on the roster will break out and be a star (my vote: Gerald Green, the soon-to-be 2007 Slam Dunk champion), the time seems right to spread some holiday cheer to Boston and bring the fans back to a better time, YouTube style.

The only question is which Bird video to highlight. There is the famous steal of an Isiah Thomas inbounds pass during Game 5 of the 1987 Eastern Conference finals; the finger in the air before the last shot of the 1988 3-point shootout, which redefined trash talk as we know it; a montage set to the Geto Boys' Damn It Feels Good To Be A Gangster; and the incredible put-back from the corner after a missed shot that would make any coach proud.

Here are my three favorite Bird moments:

? The last hurrah: It was Game 5 of the 1991 playoffs and the Celtics and Pacers were locked at two games apiece with the deciding game at the Boston Garden. Things turned ugly in the second quarter when Bird's head smashed against the parquet floor as he dove for a loose ball. He quickly ran into the locker room and didn't return until the third quarter. Bird then spearheaded a 33-14 Celtics run, and though the Pacers made it close at the end, Bird's final sendoff to the Boston crowd defined everything the fans had come to love about their Legend.

? The Small Town montage: YouTube is home to several musical montages of Bird's finest moments, but nothing matches the excitement of Bird saying, "There's only one place I'd rather be: French Lick" and hearing the first chords of John Mellencamp's classic.

? The commercials: My favorite is this Miller Lite ad, which features the worst fake basketball sequences since Celtic Pride. The big punch line seems to be that Bird can dunk, although as the photo at the top of this column proves, Bird did have some ups. Another classic is the McDonald's spot where Bird and Michael Jordan shoot to see who'll get a Big Mac, though it should be noted that the person who green-lighted Jordan's getting his own line of clothing should take a serious look at the ensemble his Airness is wearing in this spot. Lastly, there's the 1984 Converse commercial with Bird and Magic Johnson, which also represents the first time the two legends got to know each other, or as Bird says, when he stopped being Magic and started being Ervin.

? Bob Hill and Earl Watson have engaged in one of the more vocal player-coach feuds of the season, which is especially funny because the two live two floors apart in the same downtown Seattle apartment building.

? Pistons veteran forward-center Dale Davis was acquitted of five misdemeanor charges stemming from an incident with Miami police in August. Davis and his mother and brother were staying at the South Beach Marriott, where an argument broke out after the hotel's front desk wouldn't give Davis a key to one of the rooms because the reservations were in his brother's name. The cops soon arrived and escorted him out. He continued to argue and was eventually subdued with a Taser. Davis insists his rights were violated and is contemplating filing a civil suit against the police.