For Robert Parish, defense is the through line from his era of the Boston Celtics to today

When Hall of Fame Boston Celtics big man Robert Parish compared the Celtics of today to his "Original Big Three" era in Boston, Chief likely raised more than a few eyebrows given his squad won a trio of titles for Boston to the current core's singular championship. But it's not just the results that have caught Parish's eye for his former ball club, it is how they play that reminds him of his time suiting up with Larry Bird and Kevin McHale. "For me, it starts defensively," said the Louisiana native of the through lines from his era to this one in a recent interview with HoopsHype's Sam Yip.

"One of the reasons why the Celtics won the championship (in 2024) was because they played a disruptive, smuggling defense. And that reminds me of the Celtics team that I played on, because that was one of the strong suits that we had. " "Our defense was strong.

And collectively, we played that type of defense that made it very difficult for you to get your offense going," said Parish. "I always liked the philosophy that the 80s Celtics had and these current Celtics have," he continued. "They take the first punch.

They are the initiators, not the retaliators. They come out and establish the tone, the tempo, the look of the game" "They are the aggressors. I find when you are the aggressor, you get more favorable officiating from the officials.