1983-84 Boston Celtics
These weren't the Lakers you've come to know and fear.
Looking like male models for a Men's Big and Tall Shop, Kareem Abdul- Jabbar, James Worthy, Kurt Rambis and Mitch Kupchak sat in street clothes on the end of the bench, while Norm Nixon was back at his Baldwin Hills home contemplating life in San Diego.
It wasn't any surprise, therefore, that the Celtics raced to a 97-67 third-quarter lead and cruised to a 121-103 victory last night over what was left of the Lakers. "It was obvious we weren't big enough for them tonight," said LA coach Pat Riley. "They got second and third shots all night long."
The Celtics were at full strengh with the notable exception of holdout center Robert Parish. Coach K. C. Jones took the time to look at 13 of his 14 players (Charles Bradley has a sore knee) and watched the Green Team blow out the Lakers with a big third quarter.
Larry Bird put on his third consecutive preseason virtuoso performance, scoring 20 points and grabbing 13 rebounds with 10 assists in 29 minutes. Dennis Johnson joined in with 20 points, as did Cedric Maxwell. The game also featured Greg Kite's first professional points and another strong effort from rookie hopeful Carlos Clark.
Jones wasn't deceived by the victory, however. "LA was missing a lot of people," said the Celtics coach. "They had more rookies than veterans out there and it wasn't much of a test for our veterans against them."
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