By DAVID FUHRIMAN
John Stockton wasn't the only basketball legend to return to the Delta Center floor Monday night.
The Indiana Pacers' rookie head coach Larry Bird, though no stranger to pro basketball, made his Delta Center coaching debut on Monday, his 41st birthday. Bird received a warm welcome back from the Jazz crowd when he was introduced along with his team. After a 2-5 start to the season, the Bird-led Pacers went on a red-hot tear, winning nine of their next 10 before falling to the Jazz 83-67.
'Larry Legend,' as he is sometimes called, is used to winning. The French Lick, Indiana native won Rookie of the Year honors in 1980, and led the Boston Celtics to three world championships in his 13 seasons there. The 12-time All-Star -- along with Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan -- has often been credited with transforming the NBA into a highly-marketable league, which paved the way for league expansion in the late 80's and into the 90's.
Many players-turned-coaches have had troubles dealing with staying on the bench -- Johnson lasted only 18 games coaching the Lakers. But Bird feels that, although he's not sure whether he's going to be a great coach, he has the desire and the tools to be successful.
Despite being widely recognized as one of the greatest NBA players of all time, he continues to be one of the least flamboyant people on the hardwood. While most NBA coaches roam the sidelines, screaming out plays to their guards and pestering the referees each time they pass, Bird takes a different approach. He sits on the bench, at times yelling out defensive and offensive sets to guard Mark Jackson with his subtle Indiana accent.
At time-outs, he stands up and walks around with his hands in his pockets, almost as if he didn't belong there. He then saunters over to his chair, sits down, and calmly discusses strategy with his players. When his star player Reggie Miller was ejected and began sharing more words with the referees while the rabid Jazz crowd cheered his dismissal, Bird calmly walked over and, with one hand still in his pocket, escorted Miller out of hearing range from the referees.
Even after the game, Bird was a man of little words. When asked for his thoughts about the game, Bird said simply, 'Well, we played hard and got beat. Any more questions?' Enough said.
Third-year Pacer guard Fred Hoiberg finds the coaching styles of previous Pacer head coach and current Philadelphia 76ers head coach Larry Brown and Bird both different but effective.
'Larry Brown and Larry Bird are opposites in terms of coaching style,' Hoiberg said. 'Larry Brown yells a lot, whereas Larry Bird kind of keeps his emotions to himself. You learn a lot just being around him. He's got everybody's confidence up, and he just lets us play ball, which I think is a good quality to have in a coach.'
Despite the many last-second, game-winning shots Bird made against so many different teams, he remains a crowd favorite everywhere he goes. Veteran players who played against Bird are happy to have him back, but they're glad he won't be suiting up. 'He's been gone for a while now,' Jazz guard Jeff Hornacek said with a grin. 'But it really is better seeing him on the bench rather than out there playing.'