20 Second Timeout

Reflections on Bill Walton's Legacy

The global basketball community is mourning the passing of Bill Walton, who died this morning at the age of 71 after a long battle with cancer. Despite being plagued by injuries, Walton is one of the most accomplished and decorated players in basketball history. He led UCLA to undefeated national championship seasons in 1972 and 1973 before losing to David Thompson's North Carolina State squad in the 1974 national semifinals. Walton was honored as the Naismith College Player of the Year in all three of his varsity seasons (1972-74), and he was the Most Outstanding Player in the NCAA Tournament in 1973 and 1974. In UCLA's 87-66 championship game win versus Memphis State in 1973, Walton scored 44 points on 21-22 field goal shooting while also grabbing a game-high 13 rebounds. That is perhaps the greatest single game performance in college basketball history, and Walton is on the short list of the greatest college basketball players ever, along with Bill Russell and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (known as Lew Alcindor during his college career). Walton admired UCLA Coach John Wooden, and often quoted Wooden's sayings, such as "Failing to prepare is preparing to fail" (which originated with Ben Franklin), and "Never mistake activity with achievement."

Walton played just 468 regular season games during an NBA career spanning 1975-88, but he earned the 1977 NBA Finals MVP, the 1978 regular season MVP, and the 1986 Sixth Man Award. Walton's 1977 Portland Trail Blazers are the youngest championship team in NBA history, and the Trail Blazers started 50-10 the next season before Walton suffered a serious foot injury; with a healthy Walton, that squad could have been contending for NBA titles into the 1980s. After retiring as a player in 1988, Walton had a long career as a basketball commentator on TV, overcoming a stuttering problem to become an Emmy Award winner and one of the sport's most beloved characters.

Walton always focused on team success more than individual honors, so the twin highlights of his NBA career were the championships he won in 1977 as a dominant player and in 1986 as a sixth man for a powerful Boston team featuring fellow Hall of Famers Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Robert Parish, and Dennis Johnson. In between those two peaks, Walton spent nearly a decade in basketball wilderness but he refused to give up his belief that he could reach the mountaintop again.

Portland trailed Julius Erving's Philadelphia 76ers 2-0 in the 1977 NBA Finals before reeling off four straight wins. In the decisive sixth game, Walton and Erving had a showdown for the ages: Erving poured in 40 points on 17-29 field goal shooting while dishing for eight assists and grabbing six rebounds, but Walton led the Trail Blazers to a 109-107 win with 20 points, 23 rebounds, seven assists, and eight blocked shots. Walton averaged 18.5 ppg, 19.0 rpg, 5.2 apg, and 3.7 bpg during the 1977 NBA Finals. 

Walton and Erving are both members of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 1993. They participated in a memorable Legends Roundtable with Bill Russell and Bob Lanier in 2011. I met all four of those legends, and I interviewed Erving and Lanier. Russell is the greatest winner in North American team sports history, while Erving, Lanier, and Walton were at the height of their powers when I first learned to love basketball as a child. It is sobering that Erving is the only one of those four who is still living. 

Erving posted a heartfelt tribute to his friend and on-court rival:

After the 1977 championship season, Walton played in just two more playoff games with Portland before leaving the team acrimoniously in 1979 as a result of how the franchise handled his injuries. David Halberstam memorably told the story of Portland's championship season and the sad aftermath in his classic book The Breaks of the Game. 

Walton averaged 11.9 ppg and 9.0 rpg in part-time duty with the Clippers from 1979-85, first in his hometown San Diego, and then in Los Angeles after the team moved. Walton enjoyed the healthiest season of his career in 1985-86 as the first player off of the bench for one of the greatest NBA teams ever, the 67-15 Boston Celtics that cruised to the championship with a 15-3 playoff run. He averaged 7.6 ppg, 6.8 rpg, and 1.3 bpg while shooting .562 from the field in 80 games. That was Walton's last hurrah, as injuries limited him to 10 regular season games in 1986-87, and spot duty in 12 playoff games as the Celtics lost to the L.A. Lakers in the 1987 NBA Finals. Walton missed the entire 1987-88 season due to injuries before officially announcing his retirement. 

Walton was an elite rebounder, passer, and defensive player. He was an efficient scorer who had a .521 career field goal percentage. Walton was selected to both the NBA's 50 Greatest Players List and the NBA's 75th Anniversary Team.

As tributes pour in for Walton from teammates, opponents, and fans, it is evident that he will be remembered not only for his basketball greatness, but for the impact he had on the many lives that he touched.

Labels: Bill Russell, Bill Walton, Boston Celtics, Dennis Johnson, John Wooden, Julius Erving, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kevin McHale, Larry Bird, Portland Trail Blazers, Robert Parish, UCLA

posted by David Friedman @ 11:50 PM

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Robert Parish Declares that Larry Bird "Earned" What He Received From Julius Erving in the Infamous Bird-Erving Fight

The NBA's biggest rivalry in the early to mid 1980s was Julius Erving versus Larry Bird:

Erving's Philadelphia 76ers played Bird's Celtics six times in each regular season and faced off in four Eastern Conference Finals between 1980 and 1985. Erving and Bird frequently guarded each other, while Magic and Bird played different positions and only guarded each other on defensive switches.

The Erving-Bird rivalry captured the public's imagination. In 1983, Electronic Arts produced Julius Erving-Larry Bird One-on-One, the forerunner of NBA Live and all the other sports video games; it would have been unimaginable to choose any other matchup at that time. Erving and Bird actively participated in the creation of the game and as a result the final product incorporated real life aspects of each player’s style.

The two Hall of Fame superstars generally played cleanly against each other, but an infamous exception happened during a November 9, 1984 game. The soon to be 28 year old Bird--in the prime of his career and in the midst of the second of three straight MVP seasons--outscored the 34 year old Erving--in his 14th season, and less than three years away from retirement--42-6. When Erving ascended to the top of pro basketball in the early to mid 1970s, he never demeaned his opponents or showed them up in words or deeds, but during this early season encounter Bird reveled in his dominance over Erving, and--despite Bird's later denials--he engaged in trash talk that at least one of his Hall of Fame teammates found to be distasteful. 

In a recent "Icons Club" podcast, Jackie MacMullan interviewed Robert Parish, who described his recollections of what Bird said to Erving prior to the Bird-Erving fight: "Larry started saying he was done, he was washed up, that he was a better player, that there was only one man who can guard me and that was God. He laid it on real thick. I'm surprised that the Doctor restrained himself for as long as he had, because I knew I would have thrown a punch and he wasn't even directing it at me." Parish felt so strongly that Bird was out of line that Parish--a martial arts practitioner who did not shy away from on court confrontations--did not intervene on Bird's behalf during the fight: "Larry earned that ass-whupping, Jackie. He earned it from his words. He earned it, no question about, and that is one of the reasons why I did not do anything about it, even though Moses (Malone) was holding Larry back. Because some things, Jackie, you just do not say to another person, (even) in the heat of the moment, and I felt like Larry crossed the line. Being that Moses did not throw a punch, that is why I did not intervene."

Bird engaged in several physical altercations--on and off the court--during his NBA career, but Erving had never been in a fight during his pro basketball career prior to November 9, 1984, and he was never in a fight after the Bird fight.

Think about what that fight says about Bird, Erving, Parish, and the tremendous respect that even players from an archrival team felt for Erving. Erving's on court accomplishments, his off court accomplishments as an endorsement pioneer and successful businessman, and the level of respect that he earned are not now recognized to the extent that they should be. 

MacMullan described Erving as "a redoubtable mentor for a litany of players past and present." Bill Walton declared, "The way that you can tell that Dr. J is the single most beloved, respected, and admired player is that when we go to the Hall of Fame every year, Dr. J gets the most presentations--by far," something that I have previously discussed. 

MacMullan noted that there is no Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, or modern NBA without the foundation that Erving laid (though Erving, in his modest manner, would be quick to say that whatever he did was made possible because of the great players who came before him, including his all-time five of Elgin Baylor, Wilt Chamberlain, Oscar Robertson, Bill Russell, and Jerry West, with Connie Hawkins as the sixth man). MacMullan said that multiple generations of NBA legends--from Magic Johnson to Charles Barkley to Jason Kidd to Shaquille O'Neal to Allen Iverson to Kobe Bryant to Dwyane Wade--received direct mentoring from Erving, while countless others were influenced, inspired, and motivated by Erving. 

When Erving is questioned about his all-time five, he states that the five players who inspired him as a youngster will always be his all-time five, regardless of the all-time fives selected by other people. The way that Erving feels about his heroes is the same way that I feel about him, and about his permanent place in pro basketball's Pantheon.

Labels: Boston Celtics, Jackie MacMullan, Julius Erving, Larry Bird, Philadelphia 76ers, Robert Parish

posted by David Friedman @ 11:14 PM

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Kobe Bryant is not as Good as Michael Jordan--So What?

Kobe Bryant scored 26 points during the Lakers' 100-94 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday December 14 to move past Michael Jordan into third place on pro basketball's career scoring list. One might think that this accomplishment would be an occasion to reflect upon Bryant's consistency and longevity but while some observers have taken that approach many commentators go to great lengths--either via anecdotes or via statistics--to "prove" that Jordan is not just better than Bryant but that Jordan is much better. The very fact that the comparison is often made--even if it is just done to belittle Bryant--says a lot. No one is comparing scrub players to Michael Jordan. For that matter, no one is comparing LeBron James or Tim Duncan or Dwyane Wade or Kevin Garnett to Jordan. Bryant has won five championships and he has been a dominant two-way player since the early 2000s. There is no one else since Jordan retired who can be compared with Jordan. Yes, everyone in the post-Jordan era falls short in that matchup, but at least a case can be made for Bryant in terms of Bryant being a fundamentally sound, freakishly competitive multiple championship winner with a high pain tolerance and a low tolerance for teammates who lack willpower and desire.

The way that some people compare Jordan and Bryant is interesting. The best case for Jordan versus Bryant would focus on Jordan's efficiency and Jordan's performances during his 6-0 run in NBA Finals (Bryant has one more Finals appearance than Jordan but also two more Finals losses). Of course, field goal percentages in general were higher during Jordan's era, the rules and style of play were much different and Jordan's overall numbers benefited from him playing college ball before immediately becoming an NBA starter while Bryant jumped straight to the NBA from high school and thus needed some on the job training as a bench player.

The similarities between the players--in skill set, physique and demeanor--are striking and not just superficial. If Jordan had publicly called his teammates soft and then the next night his undermanned squad defeated the reigning NBA champions, the media would have exploded with paeans to Jordan's competitive greatness and how Jordan brings out the best in his teammates--but when Bryant does this he is mocked, media members predict that Bryant is going to shoot 50 times against the Spurs and then when the Lakers win the whole story disappears.

While some media members and fans may not understand or appreciate the rough edges of Bryant's personality, Kevin Durant, the 2014 NBA MVP, respects Bryant's approach and refutes the idea that good players do not want to play with Bryant:

Excuse my language, but that's (expletive). I want to play with a winner every single night, especially somebody who wants to win that bad, who works that hard, who demands a lot, who raises up your level. I'd want to play with a guy like that every day...(His style) may make people uncomfortable, how he acts and just how he approaches the game, but I love that type of stuff. I think (the accusation) is BS.

Durant admires the way that Bryant pushes his teammates to be better, a trait that Durant observed firsthand as Bryant's teammate while winning the gold medal in the 2012 Olympics:

Just his work ethic, just his demeanor man. He doesn't mind being an (expletive), and he comes to work man. He's intense. He demands a lot out of his teammates, and I've seen that just playing alongside him in the Olympics (in 2012). He demands a lot out of everybody. He makes them better. Everybody out on the court. You've got to respect that. As a player, I study guys like that. We might not have the same personality, but I think we approach the game the same way and I've learned a lot from just watching him.

Once one moves past comparing Bryant to Jordan and once one understands that any player with the right mindset would welcome the challenge and opportunity of playing with Bryant, one can focus on just how remarkable Bryant's current season is. Forget for a moment his career-low field goal percentage and consider the fact that Bryant is a highly productive player in his 19th NBA season. Only three players in NBA history have even made it past their 19th season: Robert Parish (21 seasons), Kevin Willis (21 seasons) and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (20 seasons). All three of those players are big men who could camp out in the post and did not have the responsibility of handling the ball full-court. Parish did not average more than 5 ppg after his 18th season. Willis was not a full-time starter or double figure scorer after his 14th season. Abdul-Jabbar, one of the most dominant centers in pro basketball history, did not average more than 25 ppg or more than 9 rpg after his 13th season; he made the All-Star team in his 19th, 20th and 21st seasons but he did not average more than 18 ppg or 7 rpg in any of those campaigns.

In contrast, during the 2014-15 season Bryant is logging heavy minutes (35.4 mpg), his floor game is still excellent (5.1 rpg, 4.9 apg and 1.4 spg, numbers that are comparable to his career averages of 5.3 rpg, 4.8 apg and 1.4 spg) and he is scoring 24.6 ppg. Bryant's field goal percentage (.372) is not good but he is remarkably productive and durable for a 19 year veteran who is coming off of two serious leg injuries. Bryant is in excellent shape and if his body holds up his field goal percentage will probably improve during the course of this season as he regains his game legs after being out of action for such an extended period.

No, Kobe Bryant is not quite as good as Michael Jordan and, no, Kobe Bryant is no longer as efficient or dominant as he was during his prime--or even during his last healthy full season, when he was a legitimate MVP-caliber player averaging 25.5 ppg on .463 field goal shooting (including a career-high .510 from two point range) as a 17 year NBA veteran--but Bryant is the closest thing to Jordan that we have seen or are likely to see anytime soon. Bryant's former dominance and his remarkable, ongoing longevity should be celebrated.

Labels: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kevin Willis, Kobe Bryant, L.A. Lakers, Michael Jordan, Robert Parish

posted by David Friedman @ 9:02 AM

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Wayback Machine, Part IX: The 1983 Complete Handbook of Pro Basketball

The front cover photo of the 1983 Complete Handbook of Pro Basketball showcased new school versus old school: the Lakers' Magic Johnson dribbled the ball in the open court with the 76ers' Julius Erving in hot pursuit. Fourth year pro Johnson had already won two NBA titles and two NBA Finals MVPs, while 12 year veteran Erving owned four regular season MVPs (three in the ABA, one in the NBA), two ABA championships and two ABA Finals MVPs. The two superstars had just squared off in the 1982 Finals, with Johnson's squad prevailing four games to two.

The 1983 CHPB contained 350 pages, making it the largest edition of the series yet. It included 23 team profiles, lists of the 1982 NBA statistical leaders, the complete 1982-83 schedule, a list of all 225 players selected in the 1982 NBA Draft and a "TV/Radio roundup." The 1983 CHPB had five feature stories: Pete Alfano contributed "What Next for Dr. J?" and "Dave DeBusschere's Rescue Mission," Bill Libby described "The Magical Mystery Tour," Willie Schatz wrote "TV's Dick Stockton: A View From Courtside" and Bob Ryan added "Robert Parish Pivots to Celtic Glory."

Steve Hershey and George White co-wrote the "Inside the NBA" article, predicting that the Milwaukee Bucks would beat the L.A. Lakers in the 1983 NBA Finals. The Bucks posted the third best record in the Eastern Conference and swept the second seeded Boston Celtics before falling 4-1 to the 76ers in the Eastern Conference Finals. No other team won a game against the 76ers in the 1983 playoffs and the 76ers owned the record for best single season playoff winning percentage (12-1, .923) until the 2001 Lakers went 15-1 (.938) in an expanded postseason format. The 1983 Lakers' quest for a repeat ended when the 76ers swept them 4-0.

In addition to their prognostications, Hershey and White also editorialized about the overall state of the NBA: "As long as the owners cling to the antiquated policy of no revenue sharing, the financially-strapped teams have no hope. A year ago, 17 of the 23 teams lost money and, with a disappointing contract and escalating salaries--the average now is $214,500--there is no reason for optimism in the future."

Here are some interesting notes, quotes and quips from the 1983 CHPB:

1) Alfano, a New York Times' writer, had covered Erving since the Doctor arrived in New York for the 1973-74 season, so he had a front row seat as Erving led the New York Nets to a pair of ABA championships. "What Next for Dr. J?" examined the entire arc of Erving's career, focusing on his quest to win an NBA championship. The NBA title eluded Erving during the first six seasons of his Philadelphia 76ers career and after the 76ers lost to the Lakers in the 1982 Finals it seemed fair to wonder if Erving would ever complete the one blank space on his professional resume--and if he would do so as a top level performer, as opposed to being along for the ride. Erving's frustration was palpable right after the 1982 Finals ended: "Never has the walk [back to the locker room] been tougher to take. I've never been more hurt than right now. If you don't win, you're always second-best, bridesmaids, but there is nothing embarrassing about this. I'm just discouraged and hurt."

Still, Erving maintained an upbeat attitude: "There will always be tomorrow. My only regret would have been if I were quitting, and I'm not. I'm just going to keep banging and playing this game I love so much. I'll be back next year and running around like a rookie. Let's face it, I've been through a lot in my career and most of it was good. This should be the worst thing that happens in my life."

Erving concluded, "I feel there is a plan for us. You have a will of your own and you are given choices. Your destiny is affected by your will. People don't understand that destiny is broad. Many times I have to battle my will. Certain times I have great strength, other times great weaknesses."

Prior to the 1982-83 season, the 76ers acquired Moses Malone to match up with the Lakers' Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the Boston Celtics' Robert Parish and the other All-Star/All-NBA/future Hall of Fame centers who had repeatedly thwarted Philadelphia's championship dreams in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Malone and Erving proved to be a well-matched duo, complemented by All-Stars Maurice Cheeks, Andrew Toney and Bobby Jones. In the 1982-83 season, Erving was no longer the best player in the NBA--or even on his own team--but he made the All-NBA First Team and he finished fifth in MVP voting, so he was still an elite performer who played a crucial role for arguably the greatest single season squad in pro basketball history.

2) Alfano's DeBusschere profile described the Hall of Fame forward's smooth transition from being a great player to being a general manager--for Erving's ABA champion Nets in 1973-74--to being the ABA Commissioner. DeBusschere's newest challenge was serving as executive vice president/director of basketball operations for his old team, the New York Knicks, and trying to revive their slumping fortunes. DeBusschere enjoyed a remarkably diverse and successful athletic career. At just 24, he became the youngest coach in NBA history, serving as player/coach for the Detroit Pistons. He also played Major League Baseball, posting a 3.09 ERA in spot duty for the Chicago White Sox during the 1963 season. DeBusschere made the All-Star team three times as a Piston but he became a two-time champion--and a legend--after being traded to the Knicks. He was the final piece in their championship puzzle, providing rugged defense, dependable rebounding and solid scoring. DeBusschere had some classic confrontations with fellow Hall of Famer Gus Johnson.

DeBusschere built some solid Knick teams and he drafted Patrick Ewing but DeBusschere was not able to restore the franchise's former glory. He died of a heart attack in 2003.

3) Bill Libby called Magic Johnson "arguably the best player in pro basketball," noting that Johnson won the 1980 Finals MVP after scoring 42 points on 23 field goal attempts in the clinching contest and then he earned the 1982 Finals MVP after scoring 13 points on just three field goal attempts. Johnson did whatever it took for his team to win, proving to be a triple threat as a scorer, rebounder and passer. The media members who voted for the Rookie of the Year and MVP awards favored Larry Bird over Johnson until the late 1980s but Libby's comment was right on target: while Malone was the league's most dominant force in the early 1980s, Johnson was the league's best all-around player (a similar distinction could have been made several years ago between Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant or in recent years between a healthy Dwight Howard and LeBron James).

Johnson became embroiled in controversy when his publicly critical comments about Coach Paul Westhead seemed to directly result in Westhead's 1981 dismissal but Johnson established himself as the player of the decade by leading the Lakers to five championships, including the league's first back to back titles (1987-88) since the curtain closed on the Bill Russell era in 1969. 

4) Dick Stockton is a class act on and off of the air. For many years he was the leading national NBA play by play announcer, developing great chemistry with several different analysts, including Bill Russell, Tommy Heinsohn and Hubie Brown.

When I approached Stockton face to face--without prior notice--at a Cleveland Cavaliers game and asked him if he could take a few moments to answer some questions for my upcoming Andrew Toney article, he could have politely--or impolitely--declined: he was a big-time national TV star who had no idea who I was. Instead, Stockton warmly agreed to my request and he enthusiastically answered my questions. I bumped into him on a few subsequent occasions at other games and he always gave me a friendly greeting. I can assure you that this is not typical behavior in this business.

Schatz' feature described how Stockton became captivated by sports journalism after attending the 1953 NBA Finals as a kid and watching Leonard Koppett file his game report from press row. Stockton graduated from Syracuse and steadily worked his way up the broadcasting totem pole until he earned the plum assignment as CBS' lead play by play announcer on NBA games. In the article, the then-39 year old Stockton said, "The test is longevity"; he is still working NBA and NFL games three decades later--and he has been honored by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame--so Stockton has passed that test with flying colors.

5) Casual fans may think of Robert Parish as the Boston Big Three's version of Ringo Starr but The Chief finished fourth in MVP voting in 1982 and his performance that season convinced many people that he was the best all-around center--if not the best player, period--in the NBA. Ryan's article quoted Philadelphia Coach Billy Cunningham stating that Parish deserved to win the MVP, while New York forward Maurice Lucas said, "There wasn't a better center in the league this year." Ryan cited Parish's impressive statistics (including a career-high 19.9 ppg, 10.8 rpg and 2.4 bpg) but hastened to add that Parish's impact could not  be quantified purely by using numbers; Ryan noted that Parish's shooting range distorted opposing defenses and Parish's ability to run the floor gave the Celtics more options on the fast break. It is important to remember that for most of NBA history--until the emergence of the back to back champion Pistons in the late 1980s, followed by the dominance of the Jordan-Pippen Bulls in the 1990s--it was very rare for a team to win an NBA title without having an All-Star caliber center; such a center might very well be the most valuable player on his team--or even in the entire league--even if there was a forward or a guard who was a more versatile all-around performer. Oscar Robertson and Jerry West are two of the greatest all-around players in pro basketball history but each player won his lone NBA title only after teaming up with a Hall of Fame center. Larry Bird likely would not have won a single championship without the production Parish provided at both ends of the court.

6) Bird shot just .427 from the field in the 1982 playoffs, including .412 in Boston's seven game loss to Philadelphia in the Eastern Conference Finals. His CHPB profile included some criticism of his postseason play: "Do we see a chink in the armor?...Perhaps the best all-around player in the league, but he had a problem in the playoffs...Made only 41 percent of his shots (54-131) in Eastern Conference Finals...Took only five shots in the second half of Game Seven, when team desperately needed points...Kept saying that his team didn't need him to score, that he could contribute in other ways..."

7) Parish's profile began with this bold declaration: "The Celtics' Most Valuable Player." The author explained, "Took over leadership when Larry Bird and Tiny Archibald were hurt and triggered 18-game winning streak."

8) The CHPB combined perceptive analysis with sharp one-liners; M.L. Carr's profile deftly deconstructed how he had become more of a towel-waver than a contributor: "Words speak louder than action...This part of the Carr never stops running...Self-appointed locker room spokesman...Displays a great defensive stance, then lets most guards in the league drive around him."

9) Former All-Star Larry Kenon had not yet celebrated his 30th birthday but he was already on the downside of his career (he would play his final NBA game in 1983): "Envious of Dr. J, he started calling himself Dr. K, then settled for Mr. K during his 20-ppg days in San Antonio. Now it's plain old K, as in struck out."

10) Mark Aguirre's profile included high praise from Erving: "He makes his teammates better, and that's usually the sign of a great player." Aguirre averaged 18.7 ppg as a rookie but a broken foot limited him to 51 games. He was often mocked for his round physique but he actually had one of the lowest body fat percentages (9.7) on Dallas' team.

11) Kelly Tripucka, son of star Notre Dame quarterback Frank Tripucka, had a great rookie season, averaging 21.6 ppg, earning an All-Star selection and finishing tied for 11th (with Dan Roundfield) in MVP voting: "Julius Erving and Larry Bird were the only forwards in the East to outscore him...Led all rookies in scoring...Was fourth in the league in minutes played...Highest scoring rookie since Bernard King (24.2 ppg) in 1977-78."

12) Tripucka's Detroit teammate Isiah Thomas became just the fourth rookie to start in the All-Star Game: "An instant leader who helped this team increase victory total from 21 to 39...Has that rare quality of making his teammates better players." Although I am not a big fan of the shorthand phrase "making his teammates better," I agree with the CHPB's assessment that both Thomas and Aguirre--who later teamed up to win back to back titles (1989-90) with the Detroit Pistons--made their respective teams significantly better.

13) Before he went to New York and solidified his status as a future Hall of Famer, Bernard King's career and life were on the brink: "Came back from edge of utter abjection of only a couple of years ago to reestablish himself as one of basketball's most unstoppable offensive forces...Legal problem and entanglement with drugs and alcohol had threatened to obliterate his career with Utah but, given a second chance by Al Attles, he has played the best basketball of his life." King averaged 23.2 ppg in 79 games for Golden State in 1981-82.

14) Kobe Bryant's father Joe played for Philadelphia and San Diego before landing in Houston for the 1981-82 season: "Believed San Diego was an extended scene from Animal House...Parttime clown, parttime basketball player. Can't seem to keep the two apart...When he isn't on stage with the funny stuff, he possesses a fair amount of professional talent...Can get inside occasionally for some muscle baskets, handles the ball well enough to play guard in an emergency and has also filled in at center."

15) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar often received unwarranted criticism during his career but the 1983 CHPB praised his contributions to the Lakers' 1982 championship team: "Absolutely no respect for the rocking chair...Put another outstanding season (23.9 ppg, 8.7 rpg) in the record books at age 35. Opposing centers will be unhappy to hear the opinion of noted sports physician Dr. Robert Kerlan: 'With his body, he could easily play until he's 40.'...Still the most imposing defensive player in the league (third in blocked shots with a 2.72 average) and still the game's best passing center."

16) Defense is perhaps the most underrated qualitiy about Julius Erving individually and about his Philadelphia teams collectively. Erving annually ranked among the league leaders in steals and blocked shots, Maurice Cheeks was a top notch defensive point guard, Lionel Hollins was a tenacious defender as a point guard or a shooting guard, Bobby Jones was the best defensive forward in the league for several years and Caldwell Jones was an undersized but very solid defensive center. The Philadelphia team profile in the 1983 CHPB gave Erving and his teammates the credit that they deserved:

You don't get to the Finals three times in six years without playing defense. Stop and think how all those dunks and fast breaks originate. Steals and blocked shots is the answer. The 76ers may not look like they're playing defense in the classic sense, but they do more to disrupt what other teams want to do than almost anybody.

Cheeks may be the most underrated defensive guard in the league. He had more steals (209) than anyone. Caldwell Jones and Erving were ninth and 10th in blocked shots, averaging 1.80 and 1.74 respectively, and there's your transition game. For straight-up defense, Hollins is excellent and everybody knows about Bobby Jones, a six-time selection to the All-Defensive Team. All in all, playing defense is this team's best quality.

17) Erving's profile reflected both his individual greatness and the urgency of his quest to become an NBA champion: "Frustrated once more...Another magnificent effort was wasted...The only thing left to conquer for this incomparable talent is an NBA championship ring and time is running out...Averaged 25 ppg in Finals against the Lakers, almost single-handedly taking over segments of games, but it still wasn't enough...Scored 20 points in the second half of the stunning upset of the Celtics in Game Seven of Eastern Conference Finals...Also accounted for 18 of his 23 points in the second half of do-or-die Game Five victory over Lakers." The profile concluded with these words: "As classy off the court as he is on...Patient and personable to everyone...Very popular with opposing players...And the best of all--he shows no signs of slowing down."

18) Second year guard Andrew Toney emerged as a big-time player and the 76ers' second leading scorer behind Erving: "Has a great jumper and can stop on a dime...Difficult to defend because he has no favorite spot and unlimited range...A vastly underrated passer, too...His 52.2 shooting percentage was third in league among guards...Has ability to score in bunches."

19) George Gervin averaged 32.3 ppg en route to winning his fourth scoring title, second in ABA/NBA history behind only Wilt Chamberlain's seven at that time. Gervin's profile noted that he began his career playing alongside another future Hall of Famer in the ABA: "'I went to the School of Dr. J and I'm proud to say it,' Gervin says of his old Virginia Squires' teammate. 'He schooled me, not in basketball, but in life.'"

Wayback Machine, Part I looked at the 1975 Complete Handbook of Pro Basketball

Wayback Machine, Part II looked at the 1976 Complete Handbook of Pro Basketball

Wayback Machine, Part III looked at the 1977 Complete Handbook of Pro Basketball

Wayback Machine, Part IV looked at the 1978 Complete Handbook of Pro Basketball

Wayback Machine, Part V looked at the 1979 Complete Handbook of Pro Basketball

Wayback Machine, Part VI looked at the 1980 Complete Handbook of Pro Basketball

Wayback Machine, Part VII looked at the 1981 Complete Handbook of Pro Basketball

Wayback Machine, Part VIII looked at the 1982 Complete Handbook of Pro Basketball

Labels: Bob Ryan, Complete Handbook of Pro Basketball, Dave DeBusschere, Dick Stockton, Julius Erving, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Robert Parish, Zander Hollander

posted by David Friedman @ 3:02 PM

3 comments

Fountain of Youth: Life Begins at 40 for These NBA Players

A slightly different version of this article was originally published in the April 2004 issue of Basketball Digest.

Ponce de Leon never found the fabled Fountain of Youth. Maybe that's because he never met Michael Jordan, Karl Malone, John Stockton and Kevin Willis. They seem to have discovered the secret to eternal (or at least prolonged) youth.

It is rare for a pro basketball player to continue playing past his 40th birthday and almost unheard of to be productive at that age. Before John Stockton only two players logged significant minutes in the season during which they reached their 40th birthday: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Robert Parish. Abdul-Jabbar turned 40 near the end of the 1986-87 season, during which he averaged 17.5 ppg and 6.7 rpg. He made the All-Star team and his L.A. Lakers won the NBA title that year. He increased his averages to 19.2 ppg and 6.8 rpg in the 1987 playoffs, but his statistics declined in his final two seasons.

Parish was still a credible center when he turned 40 before the start of the 1993-94 season, during which he produced 11.7 ppg and 7.3 rpg for the Boston Celtics, who did not make the playoffs. Parish played three more seasons, setting an all-time record with 21 seasons played, but his numbers dropped dramatically. In 1996-97, his final season, he played less than 10 regular season minutes per game for the eventual champion Chicago Bulls and appeared (briefly) in only two of their playoff games.

Michael Jordan's career has traversed a tremendous arc, starting as a young buck shattering scoring records for a mediocre Chicago Bulls team. Then he became the driving force behind the Bulls' "three-peat" run of championships. After that he retired at the height of his abilities, a la Jim Brown. Jordan's ensuing attempt to play pro baseball was scuttled by his refusal to cross picket lines during Major League Baseball's labor problems in 1994.

Jordan's remarkable comeback to basketball in 1995 saw him ascend once again to the top of the NBA as he led the Bulls to three more NBA titles. After that Jordan seemed to ride off into the sunset for good, at least as a player--but he soon realized, as he put it, that he had a competitive "itch" that needed to be "scratched."

This second comeback brought his career full circle; he was once again a high scorer on a mediocre team--except as an old Wizard he scored less and lost more than he did as a young Bull. Jordan's second comeback ended after two seasons with no playoff appearances and a pink slip from Wizards' owner Abe Pollin, so it certainly was not an unqualified success. On the other hand, Jordan had some notable accomplishments during his last tour of duty in the NBA.

In 2002-03, the season during which Jordan turned 40, he played all 82 games, averaging 37.0 mpg, slightly lower than his career average of 38.3. He produced 20.0 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 3.8 apg and 1.5 spg. He twice captured Eastern Conference Player of the Week honors in 2002-03: from December 30-January 5 he averaged 22.3 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 5.3 apg and 2.25 spg as the Wizards won three of four; from February 24-March 2 Jordan posted 24.5 ppg, 8.3 rpg and 4.8 apg, again leading the Wizards to three wins in four games.

During 2001-02 and 2002-03 he rang up eight 40-plus point games, with the Wizards winning seven of them, including a pair of victories against the Nets, the Eastern Conference Champions in both seasons. Just days after his 40th birthday, Jordan scored 43 points in an 89-86 victory over the Nets on February 21, 2003, becoming the oldest player in pro basketball history to score at least 40 points in a game. Jordan scored just enough points as a Wizard to retain the career ppg title at 30.1 ppg, edging Wilt Chamberlain.

Most importantly, Jordan's performance--and the standard of professionalism that he set for practices and games--lifted the Wizards from 19 wins to back to back 37 win seasons. That 18 game improvement indicates that Jordan still had the impact of a superstar. He may not have been able to "attack the citadels," as veteran NBA Assistant Coach Johnny Bach picturesquely describes the young Jordan’s bold forays to the hoop, but Jordan did hit several game winning shots. The team's winning percentage had declined for three straight years before Jordan donned a uniform and early returns in 2003-04 suggest that the Wizards will not get close to 37 wins without Jordan any time soon.

Time has hardly dulled the sharpness of Karl Malone's game (or his famed elbows, which have already provided free dental work to Steve Nash and Corey Maggette this season). Playing alongside Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant has decreased Malone's scoring, but his passing and rebounding skills are still quite evident.

Malone, who turned 40 on July 24, 2003, became the oldest player to post a triple double (10 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists) in a 103-87 win over the defending champion San Antonio Spurs on November 28, 2003. This broke a record that Elvin Hayes had held for almost 20 years; Hayes was a 38 year old Houston Rocket when he totaled 16 points, 17 rebounds and 11 assists on April 13, 1984, also versus the Spurs.

Malone is pursuing Jabbar's career scoring record and his first NBA title. Coming in to the 2003-04 season Malone needed to average 24.5 ppg while playing all 82 games to pass Jabbar. Clearly, he will neither play in 82 games nor approach 24.5 ppg. Assuming he plays at least 70 games in 2003-04 and 2004-05 Malone will need to average a little over 14 ppg to claim the top spot. Only a severe injury or completely unanticipated sudden loss of skill will deprive Malone of the career scoring crown.

Stockton continued to rank among the yearly assists, steals and field goal percentage leaders when he turned 40. He long ago placed the career assists and steals marks out of sight. His 15,806 regular season assists (10.5 apg, second best career average to Magic Johnson’s 11.2) are almost 5600 ahead of Mark Jackson. How big a difference is that? A player with 5600 assists would rank in the top three dozen playmakers of all-time, ahead of Hall of Famers Dave Bing, Walt Frazier, Gail Goodrich and Hal Greer.

Stockton's 3265 regular season steals (2.2 spg) are 751 ahead of Jordan, who ranks second on the career list with 2514. Scottie Pippen, the highest ranking active player, is nearly 1000 steals behind Stockton. Stockton's durability is even more remarkable considering that he is only 6-1, 175 pounds.

Kevin Willis has never been a star of the magnitude of Jordan, Malone or Stockton but he does have an NBA championship ring, an All-Star game appearance (1992 as an Atlanta Hawk), over 17,000 career regular season points and nearly 12,000 regular season rebounds. He is currently playing in his 20th NBA season. Willis plans on playing two more years after 2003-04, which would enable him to surpass Robert Parish for most seasons in an NBA career. He is no longer a starting player and does not log heavy minutes, but Willis is still in outstanding physical condition and provides a valuable inside presence as well as locker room and practice floor leadership for the San Antonio Spurs as they defend their NBA title.

What are the common denominators among the 40 and over set in the NBA? Good genes and the good fortune to avoid a career ending injury definitely play a role, but each of these players increased his chances for longevity by having tremendous dedication to fitness and conditioning. This enabled them to not merely stick around for many seasons but to be durable enough to seldom miss a game.

Stockton played all 82 games in an astonishing 16 seasons, plus all 50 in the lockout year. Until 2003-04 Malone never missed more than two games in a season, with many of the absences due to suspension, not injury. Jordan was sidelined for most of his second season by a broken foot, but he did play 80 or more games in 11 years despite his high flying style of play that left him exposed to a lot of contact. Willis did not display quite the same level of durability as the others, but he has always been respected and admired for his intense workout regimen that not only helped to lengthen his career but also produced one of the most impressive physiques in the league.

There are several players whose work ethic and ability to avoid serious injuries make them potential future members of the NBA’s 40 and over club. Prior to 2003-04, Malone's Laker teammate Gary Payton never missed more than three games in a season. Kevin Garnett has never missed more than five games in a season. Tim Duncan has played all 82 games in four of his six seasons and logged 81 in another year. Scottie Pippen and Reggie Miller displayed impressive durability for much of their careers and are closer to 40 than those three, but nagging injuries may force them out of the game before their 40th birthdays.

Life Begins at 40

Player	Year	Statistics/accomplishments
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar	1986-87	17.5 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 56.4 fg% (fifth in NBA) in reg. season; 19.2 ppg, 6.8 rpg in playoffs. All-Star. Won NBA title.
Robert Parish	1993-94	11.7 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 49.1 fg% in reg.season; DNQ for for playoffs.
John Stockton	2001-02	13.4 ppg, 8.2 apg (fifth in NBA), 51.7 fg% (fifth in NBA), 1.85 spg (10th in NBA) in
		reg.season; 12.5 ppg, 10.0 apg, 2.8 spg in playoffs.
Kevin Willis	2002-03	4.2 ppg, 3.2 rpg in reg.season; 2.6 ppg, 1.7 rpg in playoffs. Won NBA title.
Michael Jordan	2002-03	20.0 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 3.8 apg, 82 games, 3031 reg. season minutes; DNQ for playoffs. All-Star.
Karl Malone	2003-04	14.0 ppg, 9.5 rpg, 3.7 apg, 50.6 fg% after 24 games.

Note: Statistics/accomplishments are listed for each player for the season
in which he turned 40.

Labels: John Stockton, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kevin Willis, Michael Jordan, Robert Parish

posted by David Friedman @ 1:35 AM

2 comments

The Way We Were, Part III: Celtics-Lakers, 1987

In Part I of the 1980s Celtics-Lakers Finals trilogy, Larry Bird's Boston Celtics defeated Magic Johnson's L.A. Lakers 4-3 in 1984. The Lakers avenged that defeat with a 4-2 victory in the 1985 Finals in Part II and at the time it certainly seemed likely that those teams would meet again in the 1986 Finals--but fans would have to wait an extra year for the third and final chapter in this saga.

In 1985-86, the Celtics added Bill Walton--the 1978 regular season MVP and 1977 Finals MVP--to provide frontcourt depth and the injury prone center enjoyed the healthiest season of his career, averaging 19.3 mpg while appearing in 80 games, far surpassing his previous career-high of 67 games. Walton won the Sixth Man Award after shooting .562 from the field and averaging 7.6 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 2.1 apg and 1.3 bpg. The Celtics' frontcourt rotation was ridiculously good, consisting of Hall of Famers Larry Bird--who won his third straight MVP--Kevin McHale, Robert Parish and Walton plus former All-Star Scott Wedman, who provided an offensive spark off of the bench that season, averaging 8.0 ppg in 17.7 mpg. Of course, the backcourt was not too shabby either, with 1979 Finals MVP and perennial All-Defensive Team member Dennis Johnson at one guard and sharpshooting future All-Star Danny Ainge at the other guard. Jerry Sichting shot .570 from the field in 19.5 mpg as the first guard off of the bench. Not surprisingly, the Celtics cruised through the regular season, amassing one of the greatest records of all-time, 67-15. They were particularly dominant in the friendly confines of the Boston Garden, setting a record that still stands by winning 40 out of 41 home games. They won their last 31 home games of the season, which is still the current NBA record for such a season-ending streak, and when they won their first seven home games in 1986-87 they set a record for consecutive home wins that stood for nearly a decade.

The Celtics beat the Chicago Bulls 3-0 in the first round of the playoffs but that series is remembered not for Boston's dominance--the Celtics won game one by 19 and game three by 18--but rather for a breakout performance by second year sensation Michael Jordan. After winning the 1985 Rookie of the Year award, Jordan missed most of the 1986 season due to a broken foot. Against the team's wishes, he came back late in the season, playing limited minutes and helping the Bulls qualify for the playoffs. He scored 49 points in the first game--but that was just a prelude to his game two performance when he scored 63 points as the lowly Bulls pushed the powerful Celtics to two overtimes before bowing, 135-131. Jordan broke Elgin Baylor's 24 year old record for most points in a playoff game (61, which is still the Finals record). Interestingly, Baylor missed most of the 1962 season due to his armed forces commitment and he later said that being fresher helped him to have such a great game; no one else has scored more than 56 points in an NBA playoff game. After Jordan went over, around and through various Boston defenders, Bird famously said, "He's God disguised as Michael Jordan." In the Eastern Conference semifinals the Celtics brushed aside Dominique Wilkins' Atlanta Hawks 4-1 and then they destroyed the Milwaukee Bucks 4-0 in the Eastern Conference Finals.

The Lakers easily posted the best record in the West (62-20), they swept San Antonio in the first round and then they beat Mark Aguirre's Dallas Mavericks in six games in the Western Conference semifinals. In the Western Conference Finals they faced the Houston Rockets, who were led by the "Twin Towers," Hakeem Olajuwon and 1984 Rookie of the Year Ralph Sampson. The Rockets seized homecourt advantage by winning game two in Los Angeles, they captured both games in Houston and they wrapped up the series in game five on Sampson's twisting shot at the buzzer. There would be no repeat for the Lakers and no rematch for the Celtics. The Finals proved to be anticlimactic as the Celtics won the first two games at home, earned one victory in the middle three games in Houston and closed out the series with a convincing 114-97 game six win at home. Bird had perhaps his best Finals game ever in that contest, finishing with 29 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds after nearly having a triple double at halftime. He won the Finals MVP, averaging 24.0 ppg, 9.7 rpg and 9.5 apg in the series. McHale (25.8 ppg, .573 field goal shooting) was the leading scorer in the Finals for the second year in a row; Bird led the Celtics in scoring twice in his five Finals appearances and was the leading overall scorer in the Finals once (1984).

The 1986 Celtics were undoubtedly Bird's greatest team and one of the best teams of all-time--and the 1987 Lakers were most likely Magic's greatest team and one of the best teams of all-time. If there is one regret about the 1980s NBA it is that there was not some way to have the 1986 Celtics face the 1987 Lakers in the ultimate battle of champions.

Magic once said that the best thing about his rivalry with Bird is that they each made the other play his best game. Perhaps it was inevitable that after Bird and the Celtics stormed through the NBA in 1986 that Magic and the Lakers would have a virtually identical run in 1987, posting a 65-17 record and winning 37 of 41 home games. Bird and Magic were not the first NBA players who added something new to their games each offseason but because they faced each other in the Finals three times in an era during which media coverage of the league expanded tremendously even casual fans knew about how they transformed their games: Bird added the three point shot as a deadly weapon and, with range no longer a factor, he perfected a deadly stepback move that made him almost unguardable during his prime; one offseason he really stepped up his cardio training, hit the weights and his body looked more toned than ever. Meanwhile, Magic steadily improved his free throw shooting and he added the three point shot to his repertoire in the latter stages of his career. However, the most famous addition to either of their games happened prior to the 1986-87 season when Kareem Abdul-Jabbar taught Magic how to shoot the skyhook. Magic modified the move slightly and he used it to good effect that season--and very famously in game four of the Finals--as Abdul-Jabbar accepted a lesser role and was not his team's leading scorer for the first time in his career. Magic averaged a career-high 23.9 ppg, led the NBA in assists for the fourth time in five years and won his first MVP award, beating out Jordan and Bird. The Lakers made a key midseason acquisition by picking up Mychal Thompson, a former 20 ppg-10 rpg player who could play power forward and center; he took the place of the departed Bob McAdoo, who had been a key bench player for the Lakers since the 1981-82 season.

The Lakers annihilated the Western Conference in the playoffs, posting an 11-1 record with scores that included 128-95, 140-103, 133-108 and 133-102. The sole loss came in game four of the Western Conference semifinals after they had already taken a 3-0 lead over the Golden State Warriors. Golden State guard Eric "Sleepy" Floyd--a career 12.8 ppg scorer who averaged 18.8 ppg that season--simply went nuts and had one of the most improbable playoff performances in NBA history, racking up 51 points as the Warriors won, 129-121.

The Celtics' road to the 1987 Finals was much more arduous. Their season began with tragedy when Len Bias, the second overall pick in the draft, died of heart failure after overdosing on cocaine; the Celtics had hoped that he would infuse their frontcourt with youth and athleticism for years to come. Although they finished with the second best record in the league (59-23) the frontcourt depth that had been so key in 1986 was wiped out by injuries to Walton (who played just 10 games) and Wedman (who played in only six games). The Celtics had to rely on their starters more than ever and they also had to deal with strong challengers in Atlanta, Detroit and Milwaukee. In the first round they again faced the Bulls and had to contend with Jordan, who had just set the non-Wilt Chamberlain single season record by scoring 3041 points (37.1 ppg). The Celtics held Jordan slightly below his average (35.7 ppg) and won 3-0. Then they had a long, hard series against Milwaukee, losing on the road in overtime in game three and then winning on the road in double overtime in game four. Milwaukee retaliated by capturing game five in Boston and it took the Celtics the full seven games to dispatch the Bucks. Things only got tougher in the Eastern Conference Finals when the Celtics faced a Detroit Pistons team that lacked their star power but was built specifically to combat the physicality of their frontcourt. The Celtics won the first two games at home but the Pistons scored two routs in Detroit to even the series. The Pistons led 107-106 and had possession of the ball late in game five when Bird made one of the most famous plays in NBA history, stealing Isiah Thomas' inbounds pass and feeding a cutting Dennis Johnson for the game-winning layup. The Pistons bounced back to win game six at home but dropped a 117-114 decision in game seven at the Boston Garden.

The Celtics had made it back to the Finals but they were truly the walking wounded, with the most notable injuries being the foot fractures suffered by McHale and Walton, each of whom played anyway in the playoffs and later had fusion surgeries. As Walton said on Tuesday during ESPN's special rebroadcast of game six of the 1987 Finals, the lesson here for young players is don't play if you have a broken foot. Walton never played in another NBA game after the 1987 Finals. McHale played for six more seasons but never reached the All-NBA First Team level that he performed at in 1986-87, when he averaged 26.1 ppg and became the only player to shoot at least .600 from the field (a league-best .604) and .800 from the free throw line (.836) in the same season.

Not surprisingly, the well-rested Lakers jumped out to a 9-0 lead in game one of the Finals, led 69-54 at halftime and coasted to a 126-113 victory. Magic had 29 points, 13 assists, eight rebounds and no turnovers. James Worthy had a game-high 33 points on 16-23 field goal shooting and he narrowly missed posting a triple double (10 assists, nine rebounds). Bird led the Celtics with 28 points and seven rebounds.

The Celtics kept pace in a high scoring first quarter in game two, only trailing 38-34, but the Lakers blew the game open in the second quarter with a 20-0 run. Michael Cooper accounted for all 20 points by scoring or via assist as he tied a Finals record with eight assists in one quarter. Cooper also shot 6-7 from three point range in this game, finishing with 20 points and nine assists. Remarkably, in the third quarter Magic also had eight assists; he ended up with 24 points and 20 assists. Byron Scott tied Magic for game-high honors with 24 points as five Lakers scored at least 20 points in a 141-122 victory. Bird led the Celtics with 23 points.

If you think the phenomenon of players performing better at home than they do on the road in the playoffs is something new, consider what happened in game three in Boston: Scott's production plummeted to four points on 2-9 field goal shooting, while Worthy--who scored 56 points on 26-38 field goal shooting in the first two games--had just 13 points on 6-18 shooting. Magic (32 points, 11 rebounds, nine assists) and Abdul-Jabbar (27 points, seven rebounds) tried to carry the load for the Lakers but the Celtics prevailed because of strong performances by their five starters, who scored 107 of the team's 109 points in a six point win. Bird led the way with 30 points, though he shot just 10-24 from the field. He also had a game-high 12 rebounds and four assists. There had been some understandable talk before this game that the Lakers might sweep the Celtics and afterwards Bird admitted that the Celtics had thought about this: "We're just too good a team to be swept. This was the most important game of the series for us. If we lost, it might've been tough to get up for game four. Now it's going to be easy."

The 1987 playoffs produced two of the signature moments in NBA history. The first was Bird's steal in game five of the Eastern Conference Finals. The second was Magic's game-winning shot in game four, a dagger that he termed the "junior, junior skyhook." For most of the game it did not seem like the score would be close enough for a last second shot to make a difference; the Celtics built a 15 point second half lead but then the Lakers rallied and went ahead on a lob from Magic to Abdul-Jabbar with less than 30 seconds to play. Bird answered with a three pointer to put Boston up 106-104. Abdul-Jabbar split a pair of free throws but the Celtics were not able to control the rebound, so the Lakers had one final chance. After a timeout, Magic received a pass on the left wing, drove to the middle of the lane and hit one of the most famous shots in NBA history, a hook lofted over the outstretched arms of Boston's Hall of Fame frontcourt. There were still two seconds left and Bird got free for a corner three pointer that could have won the game but he missed--and the game, the series and the rivalry tilted in Magic's favor. Magic finished with a game-high 29 points plus eight rebounds and five assists. McHale led the Celtics with 25 points (shooting 10-14 from the field) and 13 rebounds. Bird had 21 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists but he shot 7-19 from the field.

"You expect to lose on a skyhook," Bird said after the game. "You don't expect it to be from Magic." He knew that the Celtics had squandered a great opportunity. "We turned the ball over twice (late in the game). We missed a rebound after a free throw. We really can't blame anyone but ourselves...A lot happened in the last minute and a half. Robert (Parish) gets the ball taken away from him. I throw the ball at Kevin's feet. They miss a free throw and we don't get the rebound. How many chances do you need to win a game?" Bird realized that the odds of the Celtics winning the series were not good. "I know when we're up 3-1 I always say it's over. It's not a good position. There's no question we're in trouble. We're not a good road team. I don't know if we can beat them twice out there. But we'll give it a try."

Naturally, the Celtics did not want the Lakers to celebrate a championship in Boston. All five Celtic starters scored at least 20 points in a 123-108 victory that shifted the series back to Los Angeles. Dennis Johnson led Boston with 25 points and 11 assists, while Bird had 23 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists though his shot was again off (7-18). Magic led the Lakers with 29 points, 12 assists and eight rebounds but Worthy (12 points on 6-19 shooting) and Scott (seven points on 3-10 shooting) once again struggled on the road.

The Celtics survived a slow start to take a 32-25 first quarter lead in game six and they still led 56-51 at halftime. However, they were done in by a disastrous third quarter during which the Lakers outscored them 30-12. That proved to be too much to overcome and the Lakers clinched the title with a 106-93 victory. During game six, CBS ran a graphic titled "Bird's '0 for' starts": he shot 0-6 from the field to start game three, 0-3 to start game four, 0-4 to start game five and that trend continued with an 0-3 to start game six. He eventually scored eight points in the first quarter but he ended up with just 16 points on 6-16 shooting. He also had nine rebounds and five assists. Bird averaged 24.2 ppg, 10.0 rpg and 5.5 apg in the series while shooting .445 from the field. Dennis Johnson led Boston with a game-high 33 points and he added 10 rebounds, tying McHale for game-high honors. Abdul-Jabbar scored 32 points on 13-18 shooting, a remarkable performance for anyone, let alone a 40 year old. However, the night belonged to Magic, who finished with 16 points, 19 assists and eight rebounds to clinch his third Finals MVP. Magic only shot 7-21 from the field but he orchestrated the Lakers' fastbreak attack to perfection. Magic led both teams in scoring (26.2 ppg) and assists (13.0 apg) during the series in addition to averaging a team-high 8.0 rpg. He shot .541 from the field. Bird put it best: "Magic is a great, great basketball player. The best I've ever seen."

After the series was over, Dennis Johnson said to Michael Cooper, "Same time, same place, next year" and Cooper agreed--but it was not to be. The Lakers survived three brutal seven game series to win the 1988 championship, becoming the first team since Bill Russell's 1968-69 Celtics to repeat as champions--but the Lakers' opponents in the Finals were the Pistons, not Bird's Celtics. Bird played in his last Finals game in 1987 and the Celtics have not been back to the Finals since then--until tonight. Magic's Lakers lost in the 1989 Finals to the Pistons and then they fell to Jordan's Bulls in the 1991 Finals as Jordan captured the first of his six championships. Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant revived Laker glory earlier in this decade by winning three straight championships (2000-02) and making a fourth Finals appearance in 2004. Will Bryant's Lakers and Kevin Garnett's Celtics author their own Finals trilogy or is this year's engagement strictly a one-time showing? As Cooper and Johnson found out, next year is never promised to you, so you have to make the most of each opportunity to win a championship.

1986-87 NBA Leaderboard
---------------------------

Best Regular Season Records

1) L.A. Lakers, 65-17
2) Boston Celtics, 59-23
3) Atlanta Hawks, 57-25
4) Dallas Mavericks, 55-27
5) Detroit Pistons, 52-30

MVP

1) Magic Johnson (Lakers)
2) Michael Jordan (Bulls)
3) Larry Bird (Celtics)
4) Kevin McHale (Celtics)
5) Dominique Wilkins (Hawks)

Scoring

1) Michael Jordan, 37.1 ppg (Bulls)
2) Dominique Wilkins, 29.0 ppg (Hawks)
3) Alex English, 28.6 ppg (Nuggets)
4) Larry Bird, 28.1 ppg (Celtics)
5) Kiki Vandeweghe, 26.9 ppg (Trail Blazers)

Rebounding

1) Charles Barkley, 14.6 rpg (76ers)
2) Charles Oakley, 13.1 rpg (Bulls)
3) Buck Williams, 12.5 rpg (Nets)
4) James Donaldson, 11.9 rpg (Mavericks)
5) Bill Laimbeer, 11.6 rpg (Pistons)

Assists

1) Magic Johnson, 12.2 apg (Lakers)
2) Sleepy Floyd, 10.3 apg (Warriors)
3) Isiah Thomas, 10.0 apg (Pistons)
4) Doc Rivers, 10.0 apg (Hawks)
5) Terry Porter, 8.9 apg (Trail Blazers)

Notes:
------

Roland Lazenby's excellent 1996 book The NBA Finals: A 50 Year Celebration is the source for some of the quotes and background information in this post and it is truly a great read not just about the Lakers and Celtics but also about the first half century of NBA history.

Information about various records and statistics can be found in the 2008 Finals Record Book, which is made available to members of the media covering the 2008 NBA playoffs. Other statistical information can be found in various editions of the Sporting News Official NBA Guide and the excellent website Basketball-Reference.com.

Labels: Boston Celtics, James Worthy, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kevin McHale, L.A. Lakers, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Robert Parish

posted by David Friedman @ 4:46 AM

3 comments

The Way We Were, Part II: Celtics-Lakers, 1985

Part I of this series looked back at the greatest individual NBA rivalry of the early 1980s (hint: it was not Bird-Magic) as a prelude to examining the 1984 NBA Finals, the first of three showdowns between Larry Bird's Boston Celtics and Magic Johnson's L.A. Lakers. The Lakers blew several golden opportunities to take commanding leads in the 1984 Finals and that made for a long offseason of discontent for Magic, who Celtics star Kevin McHale sarcastically dubbed "Tragic" in reference to several late game gaffes committed by the Lakers' point guard. In 1984-85 there could be only one goal for the Celtics--become the first team since the 1968-69 Celtics to win back to back championships--and there could be only one goal for the Lakers: return to the Finals and finally topple the Celtics, a franchise that enjoyed an 8-0 Finals record against the Lakers.

While fans eagerly anticipated a Celtics-Lakers rematch, one other story captured a fair amount of attention that season: a spectacular rookie named Michael Jordan was reminding everyone of the aerial exploits of a young Julius Erving. Jordan played for a weak Chicago team that had only won 27 games the previous season and even his formidable skills were only good enough to add 11 victories to that total but he ran away with the Rookie of the Year award by averaging 28.2 ppg (third in the NBA behind Bernard King and Bird), 6.5 rpg, 5.9 apg and 2.4 spg; he led the Bulls in each of those categories, plus free throw percentage (.845), leaving people to wonder what he could accomplish if he had a better supporting cast. While watching Bird and Magic duel for the 1985 title, who could have imagined that Jordan would eventually win more championships than either of them?

The interesting thing about looking back at these championship series in detail is that there is an inevitable tendency to think that the great players of the past never committed turnovers, never missed shots and never made mental mistakes--but, as Part I made very clear, Bird, Magic and several other future Hall of Famers hardly played perfect basketball in the 1984 Finals. Championship play--not just in basketball but in any competition--is defined not by perfection but by heart and will and determination and the ability to maintain focus in spite of previous errors, bad calls and other real or imagined obstacles. We like to think of championship teams as well oiled machines that personified perfection but the reality is that in order to win a championship you have to battle, you have to scratch, you have to claw--it's a dirty, rough business, not something that is nearly as pristine as it looks after NBA Entertainment carefully packages the highlights into a DVD.

That point can be underscored most clearly by bringing this discussion full circle and zooming ahead from Jordan's rookie season to briefly glance at Jordan's last championship run. I'm sure that when most people remember Jordan they recall his high flying exploits but I think that the game that best exemplifies the champion he became is game seven of the 1998 Eastern Conference Finals when his Bulls defeated the Indiana Pacers 88-83. If you are looking for basketball beauty then this game would not even enter the discussion: the Bulls shot 29-76 (.382) from the field but they won primarily because they battled their way to retrieve 22 of those misses. Jordan shot 9-25 from the field but he had five offensive rebounds. Scottie Pippen shot 6-18 from the field but he had six offensive rebounds. The Bulls did not win that game by being pretty or creating a lot of highlights or even by being efficient; they won it through sheer effort and determination. Anyone who would try to do some kind of statistical analysis of that game--and that Bulls team--would be missing the whole point: champions do whatever it takes to win, whether or not it looks good in the boxscore. Think of Al Pacino's famous "Inches" speech in "Any Given Sunday": "The inches we need are everywhere around us. They're in every break of the game, every minute, every second. On this team we fight for that inch. On this team we tear ourselves and everyone else around us to pieces for that inch. We claw with our fingernails for that inch. Because we know when we add up all those inches, that's gonna make the...difference between winning and losing! Between living and dying!"

So when you look at the numbers from the 1984, 1985 and 1987 Finals and when you read about the mistakes that different legendary players made at various times in those series, don't think any less of them. Championship basketball is simply not always going to be pretty.

In 1984-85, the Celtics finished with the best record in the NBA, 63-19--and the Lakers were right behind them with a 62-20 record. The Lakers had no serious challengers in the West, while it seemed like the Celtics had a pair of worthy teams to deal with in the young Milwaukee Bucks (59-23) and their old rival the Philadelphia 76ers (58-24), who had added rookie Charles Barkley to the 1983 championship nucleus of Moses Malone-Julius Erving-Andrew Toney-Maurice Cheeks. The Lakers cruised back to the Finals, ringing up an 11-2 record in the Western Conference playoffs. Meanwhile, the Celtics won a surprisingly competitive first round series versus the 36-46 Cleveland Cavaliers despite the fact that the two teams scored exactly the same number of points in the four games. The Detroit Pistons gave the Celtics a good battle in the Eastern Conference semifinals, splitting the first four games before the Celtics closed out the series with back to back wins; these were not yet the "Bad Boys" Pistons but rather a high scoring team that averaged 116.0 ppg in the regular season, third in the NBA. In the next couple years the Pistons would add Joe Dumars, Dennis Rodman and John Salley and transform themselves into a tough, defensive-minded team capable of seriously threatening the Celtics' Eastern Conference supremacy.

The Celtics did not have to face the second seeded Bucks because they were swept by the Sixers. The final playoff matchup between Bird's Celtics and Erving's 76ers turned out to be one sided as the Celtics stormed to a 3-0 lead before closing the series out in five games. Now the Celtics had the opportunity to defend their crown--and the Lakers had a chance to avenge their painful defeat from the previous season.

For such a highly anticipated showdown, the first game turned out to be very anti-climactic: in what became known as the "Memorial Day Massacre," the Celtics routed the Lakers 148-114. Six Celtics scored at least 13 points, paced by 26 each by Kevin McHale and Scott Wedman, who shot 11-11 from the field, including four three pointers. Bird had 18 points, nine assists and six rebounds, while Magic had 19 points and 12 assists but only grabbed one rebound. The 38 year old Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had finished fourth in the MVP voting but he looked like he had aged about 20 years as he slowly moved up and down the court while the Celtics raced past him; he finished with just 12 points and three rebounds and later personally apologized to each of his teammates for his poor performance. Lakers Coach Pat Riley later said, "He made a contract with us that it would never happen again--ever. That game was a blessing in disguise. It strengthened the fiber of this team. After that, Kareem had this look, this air about him."

It might seem strange that two great, evenly matched teams could be involved in such a blowout but Dick Stockton--who called several NBA Finals for CBS during the 1980s--noted during yesterday's ESPN special rebroadcast of game six of the 1987 NBA Finals that 10 of the 19 Celtics-Lakers Finals games in the 1980s were decided by more than 10 points, something that he attributed to one team asserting its will and its tempo early in the game and then not letting up.

Abdul-Jabbar played marvelously in game two (30 points, 17 rebounds, eight assists, three blocked shots) as the Lakers beat the Celtics 109-102 and seized home court advantage. Magic added 14 points and 13 assists, while Bird led the Celtics with 30 points and 12 rebounds. "All he (Abdul-Jabbar) read in the papers was how old he was," Celtics reserve M.L. Carr said. "That made him mad. If there had been a newspaper strike, we would have won." Riley offered a more serious assessment: "He is the greatest player who has ever played the game in my opinion. I know he is constantly scrutinized for his deficiencies but he got the big rebounds and made the big shots and that is what he is all about."

The 1985 Finals employed the now familiar 2-3-2 format instead of the older 2-2-1-1-1 setup. When the series shifted to Los Angeles the Lakers fully returned the favor from game one, blowing out the Celtics 136-111. Abdul-Jabbar became the leading playoff scorer in NBA history, finishing with 26 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists. James Worthy led the Lakers with 29 points, while Magic narrowly missed a triple double with 17 points, 16 assists and nine rebounds. Kevin McHale (31 points on 10-13 field goal shooting, 10 rebounds) was the only Celtic who played well; Bird shot just 8-21 from the field and ended up with 20 points, seven rebounds and three assists. In the 1984 Finals, the Celtics repeatedly beat the Lakers to the punch, literally and figuratively. This time around, the Lakers matched the Celtics' physical play in kind and the Celtics, who had mocked the Lakers for complaining about their roughhouse tactics, now had their own complaints, with Celtics Coach K.C. Jones going so far as to say that this series would be remembered as the "cheap-shot-and-dirty" Finals. Riley would have none of that: "We're playing Celtic basketball. When they play like this, it's called hard work. When we do it, we get called a dirty team" (when the Pistons eventually responded in kind to the Celtics' physical play in the Eastern Conference playoffs they too were branded a dirty team). Lakers assistant Dave Wohl (who ironically works for the Celtics now) put it this way: "They expected us to crawl in a hole but we're not going to. It's like the bully on the block. He keeps taking your money. Each day he takes 25 cents. Finally, you get tired and you whack him. You find out that you should have done it four years ago. Our guys just got tired of being the little kid on the block." Scotty Stirling, the NBA's vice president of operations, warned both teams prior to game four that fines and suspensions would be issued by the league if they did not clean up their acts.

Just like in the 1984 Finals, the Lakers now had a golden opportunity to take a commanding 3-1 lead--and, just like in 1984, they lost a close fourth game. Bird scored 11 fourth quarter points as the Celtics rallied from a 92-85 deficit to go up 99-96 after his steal and jump shot. The Lakers forged a 105-105 tie but the Celtics had the ball on the last possession and a double-teamed Bird passed to Dennis Johnson, whose buzzer beating jumper won the game. McHale had game-high totals in points (28) and rebounds (12), Dennis Johnson added 27 points, 12 assists and seven rebounds and Bird had 26 points, 11 rebounds and five assists. Abdul-Jabbar led the Lakers with 21 points. Magic had a triple double (20 points, 12 assists, 11 rebounds).

Although Bird and Magic were the headliners in the series, the biggest matchup nightmare for the Lakers was McHale, who averaged a series-high 26.0 ppg on .598 field goal shooting. McHale called the low post the "torture chamber" and he was victimizing every Laker who tried to guard him. After McHale scored 13 points in the first quarter of game five, Riley bit the bullet and switched Abdul-Jabbar on to him, shifting a power forward over to guard center Robert Parish. McHale only had 11 points the rest of the game, while Abdul-Jabbar not only starred defensively but also poured in a game-high 36 points on 16-28 field goal shooting in addition to snaring seven rebounds and passing for seven assists. Worthy had 33 points on sizzling 13-17 field goal shooting, while Magic orchestrated the fast break attack to perfection with 26 points, 17 assists and six rebounds as the Lakers won 120-111. Coach Jones kept shortening his rotation as the series progressed and in game five his top four players each scored at least 20 points while playing between 44 and 48 minutes: Dennis Johnson went the whole 48 minutes and nearly matched Magic's production (22 points, 17 assists, three rebounds), McHale finished with 24 points and 10 rebounds in 46 minutes, Parish had 26 points in 44 minutes and Bird added 20 points, seven rebounds and seven assists in 44 minutes.

The Celtics had never let another team celebrate a championship in Boston--until game six of the 1985 Finals, which the Lakers won 111-100. This was sweet revenge not only for Magic but also for Abdul-Jabbar--whose Milwaukee Bucks lost to Boston in the 1974 Finals--and Lakers General Manager Jerry West, who lost to the Celtics in the Finals six times as a player without tasting victory a single time (he won his only championship as a player versus the Knicks in 1972). McHale led both teams with 32 points and 16 rebounds but he fouled out with more than five minutes left. Abdul-Jabbar also fouled out but not before he poured in 29 points. Worthy scored 28 points on 11-15 field goal shooting and Magic had his second triple double of the series (14 points, 14 assists, 10 rebounds).

Bird, who had won his second regular season MVP in a landslide decision over Magic, shot just 12-29 from the field, ending up with 28 points, 10 rebounds and three assists. He was battling injuries to his right elbow and index finger but refused to use those ailments as an excuse for having a subpar series (23.8 ppg on .449 field goal shooting, 8.8 rpg, 5 apg): "Kevin was the only player on top of his game this series. I didn't play to my standard. I missed too many shots. When you lose, you're a failure. Your goal is to win a championship and if you don't win it, you're a failure. Today, we played like a bunch of guys who failed."

The man of the hour was Abdul-Jabbar, the oldest player in the NBA who looked every bit of his 38 years in game one but who bounced back to average 25.7 ppg, 9.0 rpg and 5.2 apg while shooting .604 from the field in the series. That performance earned him his second Finals MVP 14 years after he had claimed his first as a very young Milwaukee Buck. Riley said, "You are never going to see another one like him. He is a superior athlete--the best of our time."

Magic averaged 18.3 ppg and 6.8 rpg in addition to setting a record that still stands for assists in a six game Finals (84; 14.0 apg); in 1984 he had set a record that still stands for assists in a seven game Finals (95; 13.6 apg) but nothing short of a victory over Boston in 1985 could ease the pain of remembering the previous year's loss: "You wait so long to get back," Magic said after the 1985 Finals concluded. "A whole year. That's the hard part. But that's what makes this game interesting. It's made me stronger."

Riley exulted, "This is the start of the Laker mystique. We broke the dynasty. There goes Boston--the mystique, the con and the deception. When we get our championship rings, we're going to have a diamond set on a parquet floor. We never again will be humiliated and tormented like they did to us last year."

Tomorrow in Part III: After a one year hiatus, the Celtics and Lakers write the final chapter of their 1980s rivalry with a showdown in the 1987 NBA Finals.

1984-85 NBA Leaderboard
---------------------------

Best Regular Season Records

1) Boston Celtics, 63-19
2) L.A. Lakers, 62-20
3) Milwaukee Bucks, 59-23
4) Philadelphia 76ers, 58-24
5) Denver Nuggets, 52-30

MVP

1) Larry Bird (Celtics)
2) Magic Johnson (Lakers)
3) Moses Malone (76ers)
4) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Lakers)
5) Terry Cummings (Bucks)

Scoring

1) Bernard King, 32.9 ppg (Knicks)
2) Larry Bird, 28.7 ppg (Celtics)
3) Michael Jordan, 28.2 ppg (Bulls)
4) Purvis Short, 28.0 ppg (Warriors)
5) Alex English, 27.9 ppg (Nuggets)

Rebounding

1) Moses Malone, 13.1 rpg (76ers)
2) Bill Laimbeer, 12.4 rpg (Pistons)
3) Buck Williams, 12.3 rpg (Nets)
4) Hakeem Olajuwon, 11.9 rpg (Rockets)
5) Mark Eaton, 11.3 rpg (Jazz)

Assists

1) Isiah Thomas, 13.9 apg (Pistons)
2) Magic Johnson, 12.6 apg (Lakers)
3) Johnny Moore, 10.0 apg (Spurs)
4) Norm Nixon, 8.8 apg (Clippers)
5) John Bagley, 8.6 apg (Cavaliers)

Notes:
------

Roland Lazenby's excellent 1996 book The NBA Finals: A 50 Year Celebration is the source for some of the quotes and background information in this post and it is truly a great read not just about the Lakers and Celtics but also about the first half century of NBA history.

Information about various records and statistics can be found in the 2008 Finals Record Book, which is made available to members of the media covering the 2008 NBA playoffs. Other statistical information can be found in various editions of the Sporting News Official NBA Guide and the excellent website Basketball-Reference.com.

Labels: Boston Celtics, James Worthy, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kevin McHale, L.A. Lakers, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Robert Parish

posted by David Friedman @ 5:00 AM

7 comments

The Way We Were, Part I: Celtics-Lakers, 1984

This Thursday, the Boston Celtics and L.A. Lakers will begin writing another chapter in one of the most storied rivalries in sports history. However, because the previous chapter was completed in 1987, a large number of NBA fans were not even born the last time these teams met in the NBA Finals. The Celtics and Lakers combined to win eight championships in the 1980s and they faced each other in the Finals three times. Those matchups represented a revival of a great rivalry from the 1950s and 1960s, when Bill Russell's Celtics won 11 championships in 13 seasons--including a record eight in a row from 1959-66--and defeated the Lakers each of the seven times that they played them in the Finals. In 1969, Lakers legend Jerry West won the first ever Finals MVP and he remains the only player from the losing team to capture that award; his 42 point, 13 rebound, 12 assist effort in a 108-106 game seven loss to Boston was truly extraordinary but even though he went on to win a championship when his 1972 Lakers defeated the New York Knicks he still says that he never really got over the disappointment of losing to Boston so many times.

Over the next three days, I will take a look back at the 1980s version of the Celtics-Lakers rivalry, focusing on their head to head duels in the 1984, 1985 and 1987 NBA Finals. Let's kick things off by setting the wayback machine to 1984:

Although nowadays people act as if Larry Bird and Magic Johnson dueled each other throughout the 1980s, the reality is that for the first four seasons of the decade they only played head to head twice a year in the regular season and did not meet in the playoffs. The big individual rivalry in the league at that time was Bird versus Julius Erving; they battled individually for recognition as not only the best forward but the best player in the NBA: Bird finished fourth, second, second and second in MVP voting from 1980-83, while Erving finished second, first, third and fifth in MVP voting during those seasons. Bird's Celtics played Erving's Philadelphia 76ers six times a year as they fought for Atlantic Division supremacy as a prelude to their annual showdowns in the Eastern Conference Finals, where the Sixers sandwiched two victories over the Celtics (1980, 1982) around a heartbreaking 1981 loss in which they took a 3-1 series lead before losing the last three games by a combined total of five points. Bird's Celtics took full advantage of their first trip to the Finals by beating an upstart 40-42 Houston team, while Erving's Sixers twice lost to the Lakers in the Finals.

While Bird beat out Magic for the 1980 Rookie of the Year Award, immediately became a fixture on the All-NBA First Team and annually finished near the top of MVP voting, it could be argued that Magic was an underrated player in his first few seasons. Despite winning Finals MVPs in 1980 and 1982, Magic received no MVP votes in 1980, finished 10th in 1981 and ranked eighth in 1982 before moving up to third in 1983 and 1984. Magic's teammate Kareem Abdul-Jabbar won his record sixth MVP in 1980 and Magic did not overtake him as the team's scoring leader until the 1986-87 season, which could be part of the reason that MVP voters were slow to grant Magic much consideration. Still, Magic had a Finals performance for the ages in 1980--producing 42 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists in the game six clincher over Philadelphia when Abdul-Jabbar was unable to play due to a sprained ankle--and in the 1981-82 season he nearly averaged a triple double (18.6 ppg, 9.6 rpg, 9.5 apg) before wrapping up his second Finals MVP in his first three seasons with 13 points, 13 rebounds and 13 assists in another game six clincher versus the 76ers.

In 1982-83, the Sixers acquired Moses Malone from Houston, stormed to a 65-17 record and swept the Lakers in the Finals; the Celtics were swept by the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference semifinals, so that was the first year that Bird and Erving did not face each other in the playoffs. That Sixers team is still one of the greatest single season squads of all-time but rather than the start of a dynasty that turned out to be the end of an era, capping off a seven year run during which Erving's Sixers won more games than any other NBA team, made it to the Eastern Conference Finals six times and advanced to the NBA Finals four times.

In retrospect, the 1983-84 season was a watershed moment for the NBA in many ways, both a passing of the torch and the start of the transformation of the league into a global sports juggernaut. For the first time since 1979, Erving did not make the All-NBA First Team and he finished out of the top five in MVP voting. His defending champion 76ers suffered a shocking first round playoff loss to the New Jersey Nets and that helped pave the way for Bird's Celtics to face Magic's Lakers in the Finals for the first time. Also, in February 1984, David Stern became the NBA Commissioner and his visionary leadership soon helped to guide the league into an era of unprecedented popularity and financial success.

The Celtics had a new coach--K.C. Jones replaced Bill Fitch--and a superstar with a new mindset; Bird was embarrassed by Boston's abbreviated 1983 playoff run and after the loss to Milwaukee he vowed to elevate his game to another level: "People say, 'As Larry goes, so go the Celtics.' So okay, next season I'll take on that pressure. I'll come back with more desire than ever. If it's got to start somewhere it might as well start here." Bird established career-highs (each of which he surpassed in subsequent seasons) in scoring (24.2 ppg), assists (6.6 apg) and free throw percentage (.888, best in the NBA) while leading the Celtics to a league-best 62 wins. He captured his first MVP in the official balloting conducted by the media, though he finished second to Bernard King in a poll of NBA players conducted by the Sporting News. Do you remember what a great three point shooter Bird was back then? If you said "Yes" then you either have a real bad memory or you are a liar: Bird shot 18-73 (.247) from three point range that season and the only time in his first five years in the league that he shot better than .300 (not .400, mind you, but .300) from three point range was his rookie season (58-143, .406). At that time, most teams only shot three pointers as last second heaves at the end of a quarter or in situations when they trailed late in a game; those half court flings and desperate shots lowered many players' percentages. The three pointer only gradually became a regular part of NBA offenses and the three point prowess for which Bird is legendary did not become a part of his game until 1984-85.

The Celtics beat the Washington Bullets 3-1 in the first round, survived a seven game battle with King's New York Knicks and gained revenge over the Bucks with a 4-1 victory in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Magic's Lakers posted the best record in the West (54-28) even though he missed 15 games, most of them due to an early season finger injury. Magic won the second of his four assists titles with a career-high 13.1 apg average and he shot a career-best .565 from the field while scoring 17.6 ppg, second on the team to Abdul-Jabbar's 21.5 ppg. The Lakers swept the Kansas City Kings 3-0, knocked off the Dallas Mavericks 4-1 and defeated the Phoenix Suns 4-2 in the Western Conference Finals. At long last Bird and Magic had the opportunity to play a rematch of their 1979 NCAA Championship Game battle. Although the media understandably played up the Bird-Magic angle, the 1984 Finals featured a total of seven future Hall of Famers: Bird, Magic, Abdul-Jabbar, James Worthy, Bob McAdoo, Robert Parish and Kevin McHale. In addition, five other participants--Dennis Johnson, Jamaal Wilkes, Danny Ainge, Scott Wedman and Swen Nater (ABA)--made the All-Star team at least once during their careers. Bird, Magic, Abdul-Jabbar and McAdoo each won at least one regular season MVP during their careers, while Bird, Magic, Abdul-Jabbar, Worthy, Dennis Johnson and Cedric Maxwell each won at least one Finals MVP.

The Lakers seized home court advantage with a 115-109 game one win in Boston. Abdul-Jabbar led the way with 32 points, eight rebounds, five assists, two blocked shots and two steals. Magic contributed 19 points, 10 assists and six rebounds, while second year forward Worthy added 20 points and five rebounds. McHale led the Celtics with 25 points, while Bird had 24 points, 14 rebounds and five assists but he shot just 7-17 from the field and committed six turnovers.

The Celtics led 37-26 after the first quarter of game two but the Lakers rallied and eventually took the lead in the third quarter. It looked like Worthy would be the hero of the game; he finished with 29 points on 11-12 field goal shooting, converting an astonishing five three point plays as Boston's defenders struggled to deal with his lightning quick first step. With just 18 seconds left in what had been a back and forth second half, the Lakers led 115-113. McHale missed two free throws but a series of miscues cost the Lakers a chance to take a commanding 2-0 lead. After a timeout, Magic passed to Worthy, who looked like he was the last man on Earth who wanted to have the ball at that particular moment. Worthy lobbed a careless cross court pass that Gerald Henderson intercepted and converted into the tying layup. On the Lakers' next possession, Magic inexplicably dribbled the clock out, apparently unaware that the Lakers no longer had the lead. The Celtics took full advantage of their second chance and emerged with new life after a 124-121 overtime win. Bird had another subpar shooting game (8-22 from the field) but he led the Celtics with 27 points and 13 rebounds.

When you consider how that game ended--with gaffes committed by future Hall of Famers Magic and Worthy--it is amusing to hear commentators, many of whom played in the NBA and committed mistakes in big games, make sweeping declarations about what great players "always" or "never" do in clutch situations, as if great players always make the right play and never make mistakes. The reality is that over the course of his career, a great player will make many great plays and some not so great plays. No great player "always" comes through in the clutch and "always" makes the right play. Michael Jordan made a very profound point when he stated in a TV ad that he had failed thousands of times but that those failures were why he eventually succeeded; the great players learn from their mistakes, do not lose confidence and bounce back when they get another opportunity to perform in a critical moment.

If the Lakers were devastated by the sudden turn of events at the end of game two you sure could not tell based on how they played in game three; they routed the Celtics 137-104 as Magic set a Finals record with 21 assists. Seven Lakers scored at least 13 points, led by Abdul-Jabbar's 24. Bird scored a game-high 30 points on 9-16 field goal shooting but he took his most famous shot of the series right after the game, when he loaded up and fired with both barrels directed squarely at his teammates: "We played like a bunch of sissies. I know the heart and soul of this team and today the heart wasn't there, that's for sure. I can't believe a team like this would let L.A. come out and push us around like they did. Today I didn't feel we played hard." Isn't it interesting that when that message comes from Larry Bird it is cited as an example of his tough-minded leadership but if another player said similar things it would be considered "throwing his teammates under the bus"? It is fascinating how the media shapes our perceptions of events and personalities.

The Lakers led by as many as 14 points in the first half of game four but the Celtics had cut the margin to 76-70 when perhaps the biggest--and certainly the most famous--play of the series happened. Laker forward Kurt Rambis was cruising in for a layup when McHale clotheslined him and sent him sprawling to the floor. That would be a flagrant three foul today--yes, I know that there is no such thing as a flagrant three but if anyone committed a foul like that Commissioner Stern would instantly invent a flagrant three foul and administer swift justice. Riley later said that the Celtics were "a bunch of thugs." Maxwell offered this interesting take on the McHale play: "Before McHale hit Kurt Rambis, the Lakers were just running across the street whenever they wanted. Now they stop at the corner, push the button, wait for the light and look both ways."

Although Boston played a beautiful brand of basketball with a lot of passing and cutting, people forget just how physical the 80s Celtics really were; the "Bad Boys" Pistons were put together specifically to be able to match the physical punishment that the Celtics dealt out and it is ironic that the finesse-oriented Bulls later emerged to vanquish them just like the finesse-oriented Lakers ultimately won two of their three matchups with the Celtics in the 80s.

Despite the Celtics' efforts to slow down the Lakers by any means necessary, the Lakers built a 113-108 lead with less than a minute left in game four. Then Abdul-Jabbar, who had scored 14 points in the fourth quarter, fouled out as Parish converted a three point play. The Lakers turned the ball over and Bird drained two free throws to tie the score. Then Parish stole Magic's pass but after Bird and McHale each missed shots the teams again battled into overtime. Bird's jumper with 16 seconds remaining gave the Celtics the lead for good. Bird shot just 9-24 from the field and had only two assists but he finished with 29 points and 21 rebounds. Abdul-Jabbar led the Lakers with 32 points, Worthy scored 30 points on 14-17 field goal shooting and Magic had 20 points, 17 assists and 11 rebounds while shooting 8-12 from the field--but this would not be remembered as a great game for Magic: he committed seven turnovers, including critical ones late in the game, and he missed two free throws with 35 seconds left in regulation. In light of Magic's late game miscues in games three and four, McHale later referred to him as "Tragic" Johnson.

The series shifted back to Boston for the critical game five and Bird authored one of the signature performances of his career, shooting 15-20 from the field, scoring 34 points and grabbing 17 rebounds as the Celtics cruised to a 121-103 win. It was a sweltering 97 degrees inside of the Boston Garden but Bird dismissed that as a concern, reasoning that most players grew up playing outside all day long in summer heat. Abdul-Jabbar, who scored 19 points but shot just 7-25 from the field, was not buying that logic. In response to a question about how difficult the playing conditions were, he said, "I suggest that you go to a local steam bath, do 100 pushups with all your clothes on, then try to run back and forth for 48 minutes. The game was in slow motion. It was like we were running in mud." Worthy led the Lakers with 22 points on 10-17 field goal shooting. Magic had 13 assists but scored just 10 points on 3-9 shooting.

Four Lakers scored at least 20 points as they staved off elimination on their home court with a 119-108 game six win. Abdul-Jabbar had a game-high 30 points, while Magic contributed 21 points, 10 assists and six rebounds. Bird shot 8-11 from the field and led the Celtics in points (28), rebounds (14) and assists (eight).

Heading into game seven, the natural assumption would be that Abdul-Jabbar, Bird or Magic would emerge as the star. Abdul-Jabbar scored a game-high 29 points on 12-22 shooting but Bird and Magic both had subpar shooting performances, 6-18 and 5-14 respectively. Bird finished with 20 points, 12 rebounds and three assists, while Magic had 16 points, 15 assists and five rebounds. The man of the hour turned out to be none other than Maxwell, who had won the 1981 Finals MVP by averaging 17.7 ppg and 9.5 rpg during a series in which Bird rebounded and passed well (15.3 rpg, 7.0 apg) but struggled mightily with his shot (39-93, .419). Before game seven, Maxwell declared that the team should hop on his back and he would carry them home and he did just that, leading the Celtics in scoring (24 points) and assists (eight) and adding eight rebounds in a 111-102 victory. Bird, who averaged series-high numbers in scoring (27.4 ppg) and rebounding (14.0 rpg), won the Finals MVP. Meanwhile, Magic had to endure a very long offseason during which he was roundly criticized for his various Finals miscues. He expressed disappointment in his play--particularly the missed free throws in game four--but seemed puzzled by the extent of the animosity directed toward him: "I sat back when it was over and I thought, 'Man, did we just lose one of the great playoff series of all time or didn't we?' This was one of the greatest in history. Yet all you read was how bad I was."

Magic would have to wait a very long year before he and his Lakers had an opportunity to avenge this painful defeat.

Tomorrow in Part II: The Celtics and Lakers post the two best records in the NBA in 1984-85 and the whole season seems like just a long prelude to their inevitable Finals rematch.

1983-84 NBA Leaderboard
---------------------------

Best Regular Season Records

1) Boston Celtics, 62-20
2) L.A. Lakers, 54-28
3) Philadelphia 76ers, 52-30
4) Milwaukee Bucks, 50-32
5) Detroit Pistons, 49-33

MVP

1) Larry Bird (Celtics)
2) Bernard King (Knicks)
3) Magic Johnson (Lakers)
4) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Lakers)
5) Isiah Thomas (Pistons)

Scoring

1) Adrian Dantley, 30.6 ppg (Jazz)
2) Mark Aguirre, 29.5 ppg (Mavericks)
3) Kiki Vandeweghe, 29.4 ppg (Nuggets)
4) Alex English, 26.4 ppg (Nuggets)
5) Bernard King, 26.3 ppg (Knicks)

Rebounding

1) Moses Malone, 13.4 rpg (76ers)
2) Buck Williams, 12.3 rpg (Nets)
3) Jeff Ruland, 12.3 rpg (Bullets)
4) Bill Laimbeer, 12.2 rpg (Pistons)
5) Ralph Sampson, 11.1 rpg (Rockets)

Assists

1) Magic Johnson, 13.1 apg (Lakers)
2-3) Isiah Thomas, 11.2 apg (Pistons)
2-3) Norm Nixon, 11.2 apg (Clippers)
**note: Thomas and Nixon each had 914 assists in 82 games**
4) John Lucas, 10.7 apg (Spurs)
5) Johnny Moore, 9.6 apg (Spurs)

Notes:
------

Roland Lazenby's excellent 1996 book The NBA Finals: A 50 Year Celebration is the source for some of the quotes and background information in this post and it is truly a great read not just about the Lakers and Celtics but also about the first half century of NBA history.

Information about various records and statistics can be found in the 2008 Finals Record Book, which is made available to members of the media covering the 2008 NBA playoffs. Other statistical information can be found in various editions of the Sporting News Official NBA Guide and the excellent website Basketball-Reference.com.

Labels: Boston Celtics, James Worthy, Julius Erving, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kevin McHale, L.A. Lakers, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Robert Parish

posted by David Friedman @ 5:33 AM

10 comments