Five couldn't beat seven or eight, and it certainly couldn't beat nine. The sad reality of the Celtics' playoff demise is that this much-discussed bench crisis never had to be.
This could hardly be termed second-guessing, either, not when everyone watching this team since the fall has recognized that in Reggie Lewis and Brad Lohaus, the Celtics finally had those fresh, young and talented bodies people have been longing for in these parts. Could they have made a difference against the armed might of Chuck Daly's well-stocked Pistons? Probably not.
They weren't ready to play. Could they have made a difference if they were ready to play?
Ah, that's an entirely different matter.
Showing posts with label 1987-88 boston celtics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 1987-88 boston celtics. Show all posts
4.03.2016
1988 Eastern Conference Finals: Pistons Bring Celtics to Brink
6/2/1988
The Detroit Pistons had been wondering aloud exactly what it would take for them to win a close game in Boston Garden. Well, holding the Celtics to 25 percent shooting in a half should do until something better comes along. Yup, the Celtics are once again a game away from playoff elimination. For the first time in their history, they have lost two fifth games at home when tied at 2-2. Atlanta did it two weeks ago, and the Pistons shoved the Celtics farther out on the plank last night with a 102-96 overtime decision before 14,890 stunned Garden onlookers. The Pistons take a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference finals back to the Silverdome for Game 6 tomorrow night.
4.02.2016
1988 Eastern Conference Finals: James Edwards Making a Difference
5/30/1988
Today the uniform is blue, his team is in Michigan, the games are deciding the Eastern championship and he is the hero. James Edwards is making all of the difference. If the Pistons did not have James Edwards, people are saying . . . "We would be in deep trouble," coach Chuck Daly says. "Deep trouble." "We would probably be down, 3-0," Isiah Thomas says.
James Edwards? The Pistons lead the Celtics, 2-1, and it might be 3-0 if not for a three-point miracle by Kevin McHale. Then you imagine the removal of Edwards, and every theme of this series crumbles, collapses. Back problems have reduced Detroit power forward Rick Mahorn to a 3.3-points-per-game bully, and a bad shoulder has ruined center Bill Laimbeer's shooting (6 points per game) and rebounding (7 per game).
Three months ago, Edwards was scoring his normal 15.5 points per game for a last-place team in Phoenix, his fourth team in a nondescript 11-year career. Today, he is wearing dark glasses and smiling, conducting instant press conferences wherever he appears. He has scored 35 points and controlled 15 rebounds against the Celtics, and he has been on the floor for each game's end.
"He gives us inside strength," Thomas says. "With Mahorn and Laimbeer being injured, we would have absolutely no inside game." This often has been Detroit's largest problem, and it reportedly maddens Thomas that Laimbeer has refused to learn post-up moves. "The biggest thing that hurt us last year in our series with Celtics was the inability of Laimbeer to take advantage of a small guy guarding him inside," Thomas says. "When the Celtics were switching, we were still constantly having to take jump shots. When it was going inside, their power forward (Kevin McHale) was playing our small forward, and their small forward (Larry Bird) was playing our center. That's a defensive mismatch. Now, with Edwards, we're able to take advantage of it."
Edwards is doing for the Pistons on a much larger scale what Dirk Minniefield did for the Celtics early this season. The Celtics hadn't been able to run until Minniefield -- who had been waived or traded by five teams -- showed them how. Edwards survived the Phoenix drug investigation ("It happened, it's over now, and I've kind of forgotten about it") and went to Detroit in the Suns' fire sale last February for Ron Moore and a second-round choice in 1991.
The Dirk Minniefields and James Edwardses are everywhere. The matter is finding them. "I pretty much knew him," says Daly, who was an assistant at Cleveland when Edwards and Laimbeer were the team's centers. "We ran more stuff for him there (Cleveland); here we have to fit him in. He was better then, he was younger, and he's sat out a lot the last couple of years. (Edwards has missed 111 games the last three seasons.) But he can score, and he's been very valuable."
Edwards keeps meeting the same people. "At Cleveland I started, and Laimbeer was backing me up," Edwards says. "Now he's starting and I'm backing him up, and Chuck was there for both situations." His career began with a 15.2-ppg rookie year with the Lakers. "That's why I got traded for Adrian Dantley, as a matter of fact," Edwards says. "AD went to LA, and I went to Indiana."
Three years later, he had moved to Cleveland. "Indiana had set on an amount they were going to give me, and (owner Ted) Stepien was going to give me a lot more," says Edwards, who signed a landmark $875,000 contract with Crazy Teddie (His Prices Are Insane). For that kind of money, he was expected to fill the role of a Robert Parish, but Edwards is not that type.
"People expected a lot," he says.
He produced his 16.7 points for several coaches at Cleveland in '82, and underwent arthroscopic knee surgery the following year. "I came back and played one game," Edwards says. "After the game, I was packing my bag and they said I was gone to Phoenix. I called my agent, and he told me to get on a plane."
He played with Dennis Johnson for one year, and the two of them can be seen conversing during this series. "Everybody thought the Rick Robey trade was a bad trade for the team," Edwards says. "I guess (DJ) and (coach) John MacLeod didn't get along, but I don't think he wanted to leave at all." Edwards was playing a video game at home last winter when coach John Wenzel called and said, "You know we've been talking about trades, James. Well, you've been traded to Detroit. Thanks for playing with us."
He averaged only 5.4 points with the Pistons in the regular season, and was held out of five games. But he indicated his worth with 16 points last month at Boston. "When we first got him, everybody thought his biggest asset would be in the Boston series," Laimbeer says. "Everybody says our second unit and first unit are two completely different squads."
"He's a serious threat, and he helps all of us," says Vinnie Johnson, the second unit's designated Microwave. "The play they run for me is a motion play where I come off a pick for the shot. Boston may have Parish and McHale switch out on me, but now I'm able to punch the ball into James and get him a couple of three-point plays. Now they have to think about him in there, and even if I get it going, they can't just switch out on me."
This is very important. "For this team to win, for us to get over the top," says Thomas, "Vinnie Johnson has to play well." So Edwards arrives, and Vinnie averages 14.7 points and 50 percent against the Celtics. Edwards comes off the bench, and the world stops talking about Mahorn and Laimbeer. Edwards is a free agent, and Isiah wants him again next year. "It depends on how much the organization wants to keep winning," Thomas says. "If they want to keep winning, then they should want to have him back. We have to have him back."
James Edwards.
Why couldn't the Celtics get him?
4.01.2016
1988 Eastern Conference Finals: RODMAN DEFUSES BIRD
6/2/1988
There were but 10 seconds left in regulation, Celtics ready to inbound the ball, and everyone knew the play would be to Larry Bird. Score tied, 92-92, ball to Bird. It was running steadily through Dennis Rodman's mind. "Stay on him," said Pistons forward Rodman, describing what it would take to keep Bird from making this another one of those Celtic victories. "Body him up. Don't let him get that turnaround. Try to make him take a shot that he doesn't ordinarily take.
"And in a sense, he did take it, in the last second." Bird took the shot, a twisting, low-percentage 25- to 30-footer from the right side, and when it didn't land, the Celtics were on their way to the brink of playoff elimination. Rodman, the man who at this time last year was defending his words about Bird being considered a top player because he is white, last night was the leading Detroit defender against the Celtics star and helped spark the Pistons' 102-96 overtime victory for a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference finals.
Rodman was the man in Bird's face virtually all evening, fronting him when it counted, pestering him in crucial moments, helping to contain him to 12 points after the first half -- and only 2 in the five-minute overtime. "Rodman was the key to the game," said Detroit captain Isiah Thomas. "He came in and gave us that extra lift."
"Obviously," said Adrian Dantley, "it's the best game he's had." Rodman, like virtually the entire Detroit crew, was virtually unnoticeable in the first half when the Celtics barreled along to a 54-40 lead. For some reason, said Rodman, the spirit in the Detroit room would give a visitor the idea that the Pistons were leading by 14 points.
"We were up, I mean really up," said Rodman, who added that maybe it was Detroit's "younger legs" that ran off with this game. "Everyone was in there saying, 'It's not over, it's not over, it's not over.' We had to play it like it was a Game 7. For two games (including Monday's loss in Detroit), we just weren't shooting." By the end of the third quarter, the Pistons had cut more than 50 percent off the Boston lead, to 70-65. With only 1:22 gone in the fourth quarter, they had taken the lead, 71-70, in the midst of a stretch in which the Celtics went just under nine minutes without a field goal.
Nine seconds into the fourth quarter, Rodman canned Detroit's first shot to bring Boston's lead down to 70-67. He hit another big bucket with 7:19 to go in regulation, knocking in James Edwards' second straight miss from the free throw line. While Thomas was stealing the offensive show, Rodman was knocking in his key points and keeping up the Bird facial. "Are you the story?" said Hubie Brown, teasing Rodman as he dashed from one TV interview to the next (seven in all). "Hey, are you the story?"
Indeed he was, though Rodman's soft-spokenness hardly bespoke his stature this night. He walked calmly from one TV standup to the next, oblivious to the the young woman outside the Detroit room who screeched as he went by, then added, "Oh, I hate him." Nothing could bother him this night. "We've won two games in the Boston Garden in the playoffs," he said. "No one does that. You just don't do that." In part, it was because Rodman kept Bird in check and didn't let Kevin McHale slip away with it all at the same time.
"Try to body him up," said Rodman, again reviewing the defensive strategy against Bird. "Hey, in the first half he was on fire -- no one was going to stop him. But if you can be aggressive on the boards, then he has to work harder to make his baskets. That's what you try to do. "That one at the end of regulation, I think he wishes he didn't take that shot. It didn't work. And I think maybe he's struggling a little bit. Come Friday, hopefully he's still struggling."
1.08.2016
The 1988 Trade Deadline
IF YOU'RE interested in seeing the Boston Celtics in the NBA finals again this year, there are a few things you should know:
1. On Saturday, the day before Boston was wiped out by the Lakers, Larry Bird was spotted playing one-on-one basketball with Bill Walton at Loyola Marymount. The big fella looked pretty good.
2. Artis Gilmore's line Sunday: 13 minutes, no shots, no rebounds, five fouls, and an air-ball free throw.
3. Bird's comment: "The Lakers are just better than us, that's all. They have more talent."
4. Mychal Thompson's comment: "The night I was traded to the Lakers (almost exactly a year ago), I looked north and saw a new star in the heavens. It was big and bright, and it was gold with a purple hue around it."
5.24.2010
1988 Eastern Conference Finals: Celtics Reluctantly Pass the Torch
6/4/1988
There were three seconds left, and that was that. Larry Bird walked off the floor. Danny Ainge walked off the floor. Then Dennis Johnson. Finally, the limping, gimping Robert Parish and Kevin McHale exited.
There were three seconds left and the celebration had begun inside the huge arena and the five starting Celtics walked and walked and . . . Kevin McHale stopped. He shook Isiah Thomas' hand. "Go get 'em," the Celtics forward said in the middle of the noise in the middle of the floor of the Silverdome at 11:30 last night. "Neither of those teams want to play physical out there in the West. Go right after 'em. Don't be satisfied with getting there. Go get 'em. You can. You're good."
Thus the torch was passed. Go get 'em. There was not a lot of ceremony involved, but -- then again -- not much was needed. The Detroit Pistons were the new kings of the professional basketball East, 95-90 winners in this sixth and final game of the best-of-seven playoff series to determine a representative for next week's NBA Finals. The Boston Celtics were going home. "The Pistons were better," one Celtic after another had to agree. "No matter how much you talk, you have to say the Pistons were better."
"You can only talk so much about what you're doing wrong before you have to talk about what the other team was doing right," McHale said. "You have to say that's a hell of a defensive team." "They covered everything," Danny Ainge said. "There never seemed to be any open shots. They forced us to work the clock down. They forced us to take shots we didn't want to take. They played good defense."
This final game was snipped from the same cloth as all the other games. The game was a flat-out struggle for the Celtics. Never did they seem to have a rhythm, a flow. Never did they find a secret word or code or 20-foot jumper that worked again and again. Every shot was put through the basket with a lot of hammering, a lot of Black and Decker noise. When did scoring a basket become such a hard task? Men who are paid a lot of money to put this round leather ball through this much larger metal rim suddenly could not do the simple act that had made them millionaires.
"And it wasn't one of those 'Larry just wasn't hitting' stories, either," Danny Ainge said. "We had a lot more problems than that." "I think we shot 10 percentage points lower in the series than we did during the season," McHale said. "You just can't do that. Forty percent (actually 41) during the series. That just won't get it done." The individual pieces of the Celtics game had disappeared. It was as if all the pieces on a chessboard suddenly were restricted, their moves cut by half or even more. Queens and bishops and castles had become rooks. Pawns. One space. No more.
Bird seemed smothered by the Pistons' Dennis Rodman. The butterfly jumper simply would not work. WOULD NOT WORK. He was 4 for 17 in the game, 23 percent. Struggling. Even on his drives, the ball would go around the rim, spinning hard, spinning out. He looked as if he were trying to change the game by his force of will. The will could not work. Not this time.
Ainge?
He scored 2 points in the final two games. He came out of a whirlpool in this one, troubled by a back that ached and throbbed, couldn't hit a shot. Couldn't hit anything. Three-point king. One for 11. Couldn't throw his dirty laundry into a clothes hamper. Dennis Johnson? Also aching. Aching worse. Brought to the city a day late from his bed at home. Walking as if he were Fred Sanford going to get the morning paper. Trying to fight through his bad back. Unable to move the way he wanted to move.
"Everybody was just getting frustrated out there," Dennis Johnson said. "We weren't hitting once again, and everybody started forcing shots. Frustrated." Robert Parish was out of the game before the first period was finished, walking slowly on a knee bruised in a collision with the Pistons' Vinnie Johnson. McHale mostly was McHale, spinning through the middle, finding his offense, but the Pistons closed on him as if he were a mouse in a trap. How could he move? He was playing with reserves who had not played much in these games -- with Mark Acres and Brad Lohaus and Jim Paxson and Dirk Minniefield -- and the Pistons were able to shuffle extra people to the trouble spots.
Hard. Everything was hard for the Celtics. Harder and harder, to be exact. As this game went longer -- as most of the games went longer -- everything became harder and harder. Too old? Too tired? Too whatever. The Pistons were the team that was flying at the end of these games. The Celtics were the ones who were not.
"You have to give them credit," Danny Ainge said. "They're the Pistons -- and I don't like the Pistons, just don't like 'em -- but you have to give them credit." He sat in the locker room that was quiet and businesslike. An era was ending as tall men took showers. Red Auerbach was talking quietly about retirement. Larry Bird had a crowd around him in a corner. Robert Parish dressed without a word, no one bothering him.
"What will I do if it's Detroit against the Lakers in the Finals?" Danny Ainge asked himself -- more than anyone else -- as he had a sudden thought. "That would be a tough one."
"Would you watch?" a reporter asked.
Ainge thought for half a second.
"I don't think so," he said.
There were three seconds left, and that was that. Larry Bird walked off the floor. Danny Ainge walked off the floor. Then Dennis Johnson. Finally, the limping, gimping Robert Parish and Kevin McHale exited.
There were three seconds left and the celebration had begun inside the huge arena and the five starting Celtics walked and walked and . . . Kevin McHale stopped. He shook Isiah Thomas' hand. "Go get 'em," the Celtics forward said in the middle of the noise in the middle of the floor of the Silverdome at 11:30 last night. "Neither of those teams want to play physical out there in the West. Go right after 'em. Don't be satisfied with getting there. Go get 'em. You can. You're good."
Thus the torch was passed. Go get 'em. There was not a lot of ceremony involved, but -- then again -- not much was needed. The Detroit Pistons were the new kings of the professional basketball East, 95-90 winners in this sixth and final game of the best-of-seven playoff series to determine a representative for next week's NBA Finals. The Boston Celtics were going home. "The Pistons were better," one Celtic after another had to agree. "No matter how much you talk, you have to say the Pistons were better."
"You can only talk so much about what you're doing wrong before you have to talk about what the other team was doing right," McHale said. "You have to say that's a hell of a defensive team." "They covered everything," Danny Ainge said. "There never seemed to be any open shots. They forced us to work the clock down. They forced us to take shots we didn't want to take. They played good defense."
This final game was snipped from the same cloth as all the other games. The game was a flat-out struggle for the Celtics. Never did they seem to have a rhythm, a flow. Never did they find a secret word or code or 20-foot jumper that worked again and again. Every shot was put through the basket with a lot of hammering, a lot of Black and Decker noise. When did scoring a basket become such a hard task? Men who are paid a lot of money to put this round leather ball through this much larger metal rim suddenly could not do the simple act that had made them millionaires.
"And it wasn't one of those 'Larry just wasn't hitting' stories, either," Danny Ainge said. "We had a lot more problems than that." "I think we shot 10 percentage points lower in the series than we did during the season," McHale said. "You just can't do that. Forty percent (actually 41) during the series. That just won't get it done." The individual pieces of the Celtics game had disappeared. It was as if all the pieces on a chessboard suddenly were restricted, their moves cut by half or even more. Queens and bishops and castles had become rooks. Pawns. One space. No more.
Bird seemed smothered by the Pistons' Dennis Rodman. The butterfly jumper simply would not work. WOULD NOT WORK. He was 4 for 17 in the game, 23 percent. Struggling. Even on his drives, the ball would go around the rim, spinning hard, spinning out. He looked as if he were trying to change the game by his force of will. The will could not work. Not this time.
Ainge?
He scored 2 points in the final two games. He came out of a whirlpool in this one, troubled by a back that ached and throbbed, couldn't hit a shot. Couldn't hit anything. Three-point king. One for 11. Couldn't throw his dirty laundry into a clothes hamper. Dennis Johnson? Also aching. Aching worse. Brought to the city a day late from his bed at home. Walking as if he were Fred Sanford going to get the morning paper. Trying to fight through his bad back. Unable to move the way he wanted to move.
"Everybody was just getting frustrated out there," Dennis Johnson said. "We weren't hitting once again, and everybody started forcing shots. Frustrated." Robert Parish was out of the game before the first period was finished, walking slowly on a knee bruised in a collision with the Pistons' Vinnie Johnson. McHale mostly was McHale, spinning through the middle, finding his offense, but the Pistons closed on him as if he were a mouse in a trap. How could he move? He was playing with reserves who had not played much in these games -- with Mark Acres and Brad Lohaus and Jim Paxson and Dirk Minniefield -- and the Pistons were able to shuffle extra people to the trouble spots.
Hard. Everything was hard for the Celtics. Harder and harder, to be exact. As this game went longer -- as most of the games went longer -- everything became harder and harder. Too old? Too tired? Too whatever. The Pistons were the team that was flying at the end of these games. The Celtics were the ones who were not.
"You have to give them credit," Danny Ainge said. "They're the Pistons -- and I don't like the Pistons, just don't like 'em -- but you have to give them credit." He sat in the locker room that was quiet and businesslike. An era was ending as tall men took showers. Red Auerbach was talking quietly about retirement. Larry Bird had a crowd around him in a corner. Robert Parish dressed without a word, no one bothering him.
"What will I do if it's Detroit against the Lakers in the Finals?" Danny Ainge asked himself -- more than anyone else -- as he had a sudden thought. "That would be a tough one."
"Would you watch?" a reporter asked.
Ainge thought for half a second.
"I don't think so," he said.
1988 Eastern Conference Finals: RODMAN DEFUSES BIRD
6/2/1988
There were but 10 seconds left in regulation, Celtics ready to inbound the ball, and everyone knew the play would be to Larry Bird. Score tied, 92-92, ball to Bird. It was running steadily through Dennis Rodman's mind. "Stay on him," said Pistons forward Rodman, describing what it would take to keep Bird from making this another one of those Celtic victories. "Body him up. Don't let him get that turnaround. Try to make him take a shot that he doesn't ordinarily take.
"And in a sense, he did take it, in the last second." Bird took the shot, a twisting, low-percentage 25- to 30-footer from the right side, and when it didn't land, the Celtics were on their way to the brink of playoff elimination. Rodman, the man who at this time last year was defending his words about Bird being considered a top player because he is white, last night was the leading Detroit defender against the Celtics star and helped spark the Pistons' 102-96 overtime victory for a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference finals.
Rodman was the man in Bird's face virtually all evening, fronting him when it counted, pestering him in crucial moments, helping to contain him to 12 points after the first half -- and only 2 in the five-minute overtime. "Rodman was the key to the game," said Detroit captain Isiah Thomas. "He came in and gave us that extra lift."
"Obviously," said Adrian Dantley, "it's the best game he's had." Rodman, like virtually the entire Detroit crew, was virtually unnoticeable in the first half when the Celtics barreled along to a 54-40 lead. For some reason, said Rodman, the spirit in the Detroit room would give a visitor the idea that the Pistons were leading by 14 points.
"We were up, I mean really up," said Rodman, who added that maybe it was Detroit's "younger legs" that ran off with this game. "Everyone was in there saying, 'It's not over, it's not over, it's not over.' We had to play it like it was a Game 7. For two games (including Monday's loss in Detroit), we just weren't shooting." By the end of the third quarter, the Pistons had cut more than 50 percent off the Boston lead, to 70-65. With only 1:22 gone in the fourth quarter, they had taken the lead, 71-70, in the midst of a stretch in which the Celtics went just under nine minutes without a field goal.
Nine seconds into the fourth quarter, Rodman canned Detroit's first shot to bring Boston's lead down to 70-67. He hit another big bucket with 7:19 to go in regulation, knocking in James Edwards' second straight miss from the free throw line. While Thomas was stealing the offensive show, Rodman was knocking in his key points and keeping up the Bird facial. "Are you the story?" said Hubie Brown, teasing Rodman as he dashed from one TV interview to the next (seven in all). "Hey, are you the story?"
Indeed he was, though Rodman's soft-spokenness hardly bespoke his stature this night. He walked calmly from one TV standup to the next, oblivious to the the young woman outside the Detroit room who screeched as he went by, then added, "Oh, I hate him." Nothing could bother him this night. "We've won two games in the Boston Garden in the playoffs," he said. "No one does that. You just don't do that." In part, it was because Rodman kept Bird in check and didn't let Kevin McHale slip away with it all at the same time.
"Try to body him up," said Rodman, again reviewing the defensive strategy against Bird. "Hey, in the first half he was on fire -- no one was going to stop him. But if you can be aggressive on the boards, then he has to work harder to make his baskets. That's what you try to do. "That one at the end of regulation, I think he wishes he didn't take that shot. It didn't work. And I think maybe he's struggling a little bit. Come Friday, hopefully he's still struggling."
There were but 10 seconds left in regulation, Celtics ready to inbound the ball, and everyone knew the play would be to Larry Bird. Score tied, 92-92, ball to Bird. It was running steadily through Dennis Rodman's mind. "Stay on him," said Pistons forward Rodman, describing what it would take to keep Bird from making this another one of those Celtic victories. "Body him up. Don't let him get that turnaround. Try to make him take a shot that he doesn't ordinarily take.
"And in a sense, he did take it, in the last second." Bird took the shot, a twisting, low-percentage 25- to 30-footer from the right side, and when it didn't land, the Celtics were on their way to the brink of playoff elimination. Rodman, the man who at this time last year was defending his words about Bird being considered a top player because he is white, last night was the leading Detroit defender against the Celtics star and helped spark the Pistons' 102-96 overtime victory for a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference finals.
Rodman was the man in Bird's face virtually all evening, fronting him when it counted, pestering him in crucial moments, helping to contain him to 12 points after the first half -- and only 2 in the five-minute overtime. "Rodman was the key to the game," said Detroit captain Isiah Thomas. "He came in and gave us that extra lift."
"Obviously," said Adrian Dantley, "it's the best game he's had." Rodman, like virtually the entire Detroit crew, was virtually unnoticeable in the first half when the Celtics barreled along to a 54-40 lead. For some reason, said Rodman, the spirit in the Detroit room would give a visitor the idea that the Pistons were leading by 14 points.
"We were up, I mean really up," said Rodman, who added that maybe it was Detroit's "younger legs" that ran off with this game. "Everyone was in there saying, 'It's not over, it's not over, it's not over.' We had to play it like it was a Game 7. For two games (including Monday's loss in Detroit), we just weren't shooting." By the end of the third quarter, the Pistons had cut more than 50 percent off the Boston lead, to 70-65. With only 1:22 gone in the fourth quarter, they had taken the lead, 71-70, in the midst of a stretch in which the Celtics went just under nine minutes without a field goal.
Nine seconds into the fourth quarter, Rodman canned Detroit's first shot to bring Boston's lead down to 70-67. He hit another big bucket with 7:19 to go in regulation, knocking in James Edwards' second straight miss from the free throw line. While Thomas was stealing the offensive show, Rodman was knocking in his key points and keeping up the Bird facial. "Are you the story?" said Hubie Brown, teasing Rodman as he dashed from one TV interview to the next (seven in all). "Hey, are you the story?"
Indeed he was, though Rodman's soft-spokenness hardly bespoke his stature this night. He walked calmly from one TV standup to the next, oblivious to the the young woman outside the Detroit room who screeched as he went by, then added, "Oh, I hate him." Nothing could bother him this night. "We've won two games in the Boston Garden in the playoffs," he said. "No one does that. You just don't do that." In part, it was because Rodman kept Bird in check and didn't let Kevin McHale slip away with it all at the same time.
"Try to body him up," said Rodman, again reviewing the defensive strategy against Bird. "Hey, in the first half he was on fire -- no one was going to stop him. But if you can be aggressive on the boards, then he has to work harder to make his baskets. That's what you try to do. "That one at the end of regulation, I think he wishes he didn't take that shot. It didn't work. And I think maybe he's struggling a little bit. Come Friday, hopefully he's still struggling."
1988 Eastern Conference Finals: Pistons Bring Celtics to Brink
6/2/1988
The Detroit Pistons had been wondering aloud exactly what it would take for them to win a close game in Boston Garden. Well, holding the Celtics to 25 percent shooting in a half should do until something better comes along. Yup, the Celtics are once again a game away from playoff elimination. For the first time in their history, they have lost two fifth games at home when tied at 2-2. Atlanta did it two weeks ago, and the Pistons shoved the Celtics farther out on the plank last night with a 102-96 overtime decision before 14,890 stunned Garden onlookers. The Pistons take a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference finals back to the Silverdome for Game 6 tomorrow night.
Boston had lurched into overtime despite two Larry Bird misses in the final 34 seconds of regulation. Fred Roberts had tied the game at 92 (Boston's only 2 substitute points of the night) on a short post-up with 1:09 left, but Bird was unable to get the shots he wanted because Dennis Rodman played him tough. Larry shot 4 for 15 in the second half plus OT.
The contest had started out as a real basketball game, in contrast to the previous brawls underneath, but by the fourth quarter, it was trench warfare again. Every whistle created outrage, and you'll be hearing around town today about how Jake O'Donnell brought down the Celtics. Six field goals in the final 17 minutes is what ruined the Celtics, not Jake O'Donnell.
We're talking about a team which had a scoreless starter (Danny Ainge) and had four men score all but 2 of its points. With Isiah Thomas taking it upon himself to make things happen, Detroit shrugged off a 54-40 halftime deficit, turning the game upside down with a 19-2 run which changed a 68-56 Boston lead into a 75-70 Detroit advantage with 9:24 remaining in regulation.
Thomas had his Good Twin/ Evil Twin routine perfected last night. In the first half, he was 3 for 10 with his basketball mind back in Ypsilanti. In the second half plus overtime, Thomas scored 29 of his game-high 35 points and did it by taking 20 shots. Isiah took eight of Detroit's last nine shots in regulation (leaving one crumb for Bill Laimbeer), and had Boston been able to do anything offensively, he would have been vilified for his hostile takeover of the Detroit offense. "I said to myself, 'If we are going to lose, I'm going down shooting,' " Thomas explained. "If I was going to lose, I was going to shoot us out or shoot us in."
The Celtics were dominated by Detroit's post-intermission defense. The home team shot 6 for 20 in the third quarter, 4 for 16 in the fourth quarter and 2 for 12 in the overtime. That's 12 for 48 in 29 minutes of basketball. That's pathetic. "At the half," said Thomas, "we knew if we could make a couple of shots we could get back in the game because we felt our defense was good enough to keep them from making shots they're accustomed to making."
Boston was loose and easy in the first half, moving from a 29-26 one-period edge to the comfy halftime spread with a sound mixture of inside and outside basketball. Bird appeared to be his old self. By halftime, he had 15 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and a block, and there were times when he appeared omnipresent. The crowd sensed a big Boston victory. But Detroit never stopped believing in itself. "In the first half, we weren't contesting every shot," said John Salley. "In the second half, we concentrated. Even if we got there late, we made sure a hand was up. And we went after every rebound."
Boston's high-water mark was at 56-40. But here Dennis Johnson hung out a pass which Thomas knocked ahead, leading to a layup for Joe Dumars (18). The next thing Boston knew, it was 56-46 and Adrian Dantley was on a little roll. Boston's sluggish offense awoke, trading hoops with the Pistons for three minutes or so. The key reversal came in the final nine seconds of the third period. Two free throws by Kevin McHale (26 before fouling out with 1:59 left in regulation) made it 70-61, Boston. But Thomas first scored on a lane jumper over half of North America, then stole the inbounds from the shell-shocked Ainge (scoreless in 47 minutes) and popped in a short jumper, sending the Pistons riding into the final period on a cloud, down by a scant 5 points (70-65).
The momentum carried over as Detroit scored on its first five possessions to go up, 75-70. By now the Pistons' defensive commitment was total, and the Celtics just couldn't get good shots. Referees O'Donnell and Hue Hollins did their best to adjudicate the mutual mauling underneath, but with Boston punching it inside every time downcourt, it was Slam-Dance Time in the paint again. Once in overtime, the Celtics failed to improve. A second-chance basket by DJ gave them a 94-92 lead, but the next 6 points belonged to Detroit as a free throw and gift three-point play by Dantley (with all the whacking going on, Hollins decides to call a teeny-tiny touch outside on Roberts) and a shovel drive by Thomas made it 98-94 with 1:55 to go.
Boston's last gasp came at the 23-second mark. It was 100-96 when Jim Paxson and Rodman became entangled and Jake called an offensive foul on Paxson. So let us not hear about Detroit being unable to get key calls in Boston. And if they win tomorrow night, the Pistons won't have to worry about anything having to do with Boston until next year.
The Detroit Pistons had been wondering aloud exactly what it would take for them to win a close game in Boston Garden. Well, holding the Celtics to 25 percent shooting in a half should do until something better comes along. Yup, the Celtics are once again a game away from playoff elimination. For the first time in their history, they have lost two fifth games at home when tied at 2-2. Atlanta did it two weeks ago, and the Pistons shoved the Celtics farther out on the plank last night with a 102-96 overtime decision before 14,890 stunned Garden onlookers. The Pistons take a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference finals back to the Silverdome for Game 6 tomorrow night.
Boston had lurched into overtime despite two Larry Bird misses in the final 34 seconds of regulation. Fred Roberts had tied the game at 92 (Boston's only 2 substitute points of the night) on a short post-up with 1:09 left, but Bird was unable to get the shots he wanted because Dennis Rodman played him tough. Larry shot 4 for 15 in the second half plus OT.
The contest had started out as a real basketball game, in contrast to the previous brawls underneath, but by the fourth quarter, it was trench warfare again. Every whistle created outrage, and you'll be hearing around town today about how Jake O'Donnell brought down the Celtics. Six field goals in the final 17 minutes is what ruined the Celtics, not Jake O'Donnell.
We're talking about a team which had a scoreless starter (Danny Ainge) and had four men score all but 2 of its points. With Isiah Thomas taking it upon himself to make things happen, Detroit shrugged off a 54-40 halftime deficit, turning the game upside down with a 19-2 run which changed a 68-56 Boston lead into a 75-70 Detroit advantage with 9:24 remaining in regulation.
Thomas had his Good Twin/ Evil Twin routine perfected last night. In the first half, he was 3 for 10 with his basketball mind back in Ypsilanti. In the second half plus overtime, Thomas scored 29 of his game-high 35 points and did it by taking 20 shots. Isiah took eight of Detroit's last nine shots in regulation (leaving one crumb for Bill Laimbeer), and had Boston been able to do anything offensively, he would have been vilified for his hostile takeover of the Detroit offense. "I said to myself, 'If we are going to lose, I'm going down shooting,' " Thomas explained. "If I was going to lose, I was going to shoot us out or shoot us in."
The Celtics were dominated by Detroit's post-intermission defense. The home team shot 6 for 20 in the third quarter, 4 for 16 in the fourth quarter and 2 for 12 in the overtime. That's 12 for 48 in 29 minutes of basketball. That's pathetic. "At the half," said Thomas, "we knew if we could make a couple of shots we could get back in the game because we felt our defense was good enough to keep them from making shots they're accustomed to making."
Boston was loose and easy in the first half, moving from a 29-26 one-period edge to the comfy halftime spread with a sound mixture of inside and outside basketball. Bird appeared to be his old self. By halftime, he had 15 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and a block, and there were times when he appeared omnipresent. The crowd sensed a big Boston victory. But Detroit never stopped believing in itself. "In the first half, we weren't contesting every shot," said John Salley. "In the second half, we concentrated. Even if we got there late, we made sure a hand was up. And we went after every rebound."
Boston's high-water mark was at 56-40. But here Dennis Johnson hung out a pass which Thomas knocked ahead, leading to a layup for Joe Dumars (18). The next thing Boston knew, it was 56-46 and Adrian Dantley was on a little roll. Boston's sluggish offense awoke, trading hoops with the Pistons for three minutes or so. The key reversal came in the final nine seconds of the third period. Two free throws by Kevin McHale (26 before fouling out with 1:59 left in regulation) made it 70-61, Boston. But Thomas first scored on a lane jumper over half of North America, then stole the inbounds from the shell-shocked Ainge (scoreless in 47 minutes) and popped in a short jumper, sending the Pistons riding into the final period on a cloud, down by a scant 5 points (70-65).
The momentum carried over as Detroit scored on its first five possessions to go up, 75-70. By now the Pistons' defensive commitment was total, and the Celtics just couldn't get good shots. Referees O'Donnell and Hue Hollins did their best to adjudicate the mutual mauling underneath, but with Boston punching it inside every time downcourt, it was Slam-Dance Time in the paint again. Once in overtime, the Celtics failed to improve. A second-chance basket by DJ gave them a 94-92 lead, but the next 6 points belonged to Detroit as a free throw and gift three-point play by Dantley (with all the whacking going on, Hollins decides to call a teeny-tiny touch outside on Roberts) and a shovel drive by Thomas made it 98-94 with 1:55 to go.
Boston's last gasp came at the 23-second mark. It was 100-96 when Jim Paxson and Rodman became entangled and Jake called an offensive foul on Paxson. So let us not hear about Detroit being unable to get key calls in Boston. And if they win tomorrow night, the Pistons won't have to worry about anything having to do with Boston until next year.
1988 Eastern Conference Finals: James Edwards Making a Difference
5/30/1988
Today the uniform is blue, his team is in Michigan, the games are deciding the Eastern championship and he is the hero. James Edwards is making all of the difference. If the Pistons did not have James Edwards, people are saying . . . "We would be in deep trouble," coach Chuck Daly says. "Deep trouble." "We would probably be down, 3-0," Isiah Thomas says.
James Edwards? The Pistons lead the Celtics, 2-1, and it might be 3-0 if not for a three-point miracle by Kevin McHale. Then you imagine the removal of Edwards, and every theme of this series crumbles, collapses. Back problems have reduced Detroit power forward Rick Mahorn to a 3.3-points-per-game bully, and a bad shoulder has ruined center Bill Laimbeer's shooting (6 points per game) and rebounding (7 per game).
Three months ago, Edwards was scoring his normal 15.5 points per game for a last-place team in Phoenix, his fourth team in a nondescript 11-year career. Today, he is wearing dark glasses and smiling, conducting instant press conferences wherever he appears. He has scored 35 points and controlled 15 rebounds against the Celtics, and he has been on the floor for each game's end.
"He gives us inside strength," Thomas says. "With Mahorn and Laimbeer being injured, we would have absolutely no inside game." This often has been Detroit's largest problem, and it reportedly maddens Thomas that Laimbeer has refused to learn post-up moves. "The biggest thing that hurt us last year in our series with Celtics was the inability of Laimbeer to take advantage of a small guy guarding him inside," Thomas says. "When the Celtics were switching, we were still constantly having to take jump shots. When it was going inside, their power forward (Kevin McHale) was playing our small forward, and their small forward (Larry Bird) was playing our center. That's a defensive mismatch. Now, with Edwards, we're able to take advantage of it."
Edwards is doing for the Pistons on a much larger scale what Dirk Minniefield did for the Celtics early this season. The Celtics hadn't been able to run until Minniefield -- who had been waived or traded by five teams -- showed them how. Edwards survived the Phoenix drug investigation ("It happened, it's over now, and I've kind of forgotten about it") and went to Detroit in the Suns' fire sale last February for Ron Moore and a second-round choice in 1991.
The Dirk Minniefields and James Edwardses are everywhere. The matter is finding them. "I pretty much knew him," says Daly, who was an assistant at Cleveland when Edwards and Laimbeer were the team's centers. "We ran more stuff for him there (Cleveland); here we have to fit him in. He was better then, he was younger, and he's sat out a lot the last couple of years. (Edwards has missed 111 games the last three seasons.) But he can score, and he's been very valuable."
Edwards keeps meeting the same people. "At Cleveland I started, and Laimbeer was backing me up," Edwards says. "Now he's starting and I'm backing him up, and Chuck was there for both situations." His career began with a 15.2-ppg rookie year with the Lakers. "That's why I got traded for Adrian Dantley, as a matter of fact," Edwards says. "AD went to LA, and I went to Indiana."
Three years later, he had moved to Cleveland. "Indiana had set on an amount they were going to give me, and (owner Ted) Stepien was going to give me a lot more," says Edwards, who signed a landmark $875,000 contract with Crazy Teddie (His Prices Are Insane). For that kind of money, he was expected to fill the role of a Robert Parish, but Edwards is not that type.
"People expected a lot," he says.
He produced his 16.7 points for several coaches at Cleveland in '82, and underwent arthroscopic knee surgery the following year. "I came back and played one game," Edwards says. "After the game, I was packing my bag and they said I was gone to Phoenix. I called my agent, and he told me to get on a plane."
He played with Dennis Johnson for one year, and the two of them can be seen conversing during this series. "Everybody thought the Rick Robey trade was a bad trade for the team," Edwards says. "I guess (DJ) and (coach) John MacLeod didn't get along, but I don't think he wanted to leave at all." Edwards was playing a video game at home last winter when coach John Wenzel called and said, "You know we've been talking about trades, James. Well, you've been traded to Detroit. Thanks for playing with us."
He averaged only 5.4 points with the Pistons in the regular season, and was held out of five games. But he indicated his worth with 16 points last month at Boston. "When we first got him, everybody thought his biggest asset would be in the Boston series," Laimbeer says. "Everybody says our second unit and first unit are two completely different squads."
"He's a serious threat, and he helps all of us," says Vinnie Johnson, the second unit's designated Microwave. "The play they run for me is a motion play where I come off a pick for the shot. Boston may have Parish and McHale switch out on me, but now I'm able to punch the ball into James and get him a couple of three-point plays. Now they have to think about him in there, and even if I get it going, they can't just switch out on me."
This is very important. "For this team to win, for us to get over the top," says Thomas, "Vinnie Johnson has to play well." So Edwards arrives, and Vinnie averages 14.7 points and 50 percent against the Celtics. Edwards comes off the bench, and the world stops talking about Mahorn and Laimbeer. Edwards is a free agent, and Isiah wants him again next year. "It depends on how much the organization wants to keep winning," Thomas says. "If they want to keep winning, then they should want to have him back. We have to have him back."
James Edwards.
Why couldn't the Celtics get him?
Today the uniform is blue, his team is in Michigan, the games are deciding the Eastern championship and he is the hero. James Edwards is making all of the difference. If the Pistons did not have James Edwards, people are saying . . . "We would be in deep trouble," coach Chuck Daly says. "Deep trouble." "We would probably be down, 3-0," Isiah Thomas says.
James Edwards? The Pistons lead the Celtics, 2-1, and it might be 3-0 if not for a three-point miracle by Kevin McHale. Then you imagine the removal of Edwards, and every theme of this series crumbles, collapses. Back problems have reduced Detroit power forward Rick Mahorn to a 3.3-points-per-game bully, and a bad shoulder has ruined center Bill Laimbeer's shooting (6 points per game) and rebounding (7 per game).
Three months ago, Edwards was scoring his normal 15.5 points per game for a last-place team in Phoenix, his fourth team in a nondescript 11-year career. Today, he is wearing dark glasses and smiling, conducting instant press conferences wherever he appears. He has scored 35 points and controlled 15 rebounds against the Celtics, and he has been on the floor for each game's end.
"He gives us inside strength," Thomas says. "With Mahorn and Laimbeer being injured, we would have absolutely no inside game." This often has been Detroit's largest problem, and it reportedly maddens Thomas that Laimbeer has refused to learn post-up moves. "The biggest thing that hurt us last year in our series with Celtics was the inability of Laimbeer to take advantage of a small guy guarding him inside," Thomas says. "When the Celtics were switching, we were still constantly having to take jump shots. When it was going inside, their power forward (Kevin McHale) was playing our small forward, and their small forward (Larry Bird) was playing our center. That's a defensive mismatch. Now, with Edwards, we're able to take advantage of it."
Edwards is doing for the Pistons on a much larger scale what Dirk Minniefield did for the Celtics early this season. The Celtics hadn't been able to run until Minniefield -- who had been waived or traded by five teams -- showed them how. Edwards survived the Phoenix drug investigation ("It happened, it's over now, and I've kind of forgotten about it") and went to Detroit in the Suns' fire sale last February for Ron Moore and a second-round choice in 1991.
The Dirk Minniefields and James Edwardses are everywhere. The matter is finding them. "I pretty much knew him," says Daly, who was an assistant at Cleveland when Edwards and Laimbeer were the team's centers. "We ran more stuff for him there (Cleveland); here we have to fit him in. He was better then, he was younger, and he's sat out a lot the last couple of years. (Edwards has missed 111 games the last three seasons.) But he can score, and he's been very valuable."
Edwards keeps meeting the same people. "At Cleveland I started, and Laimbeer was backing me up," Edwards says. "Now he's starting and I'm backing him up, and Chuck was there for both situations." His career began with a 15.2-ppg rookie year with the Lakers. "That's why I got traded for Adrian Dantley, as a matter of fact," Edwards says. "AD went to LA, and I went to Indiana."
Three years later, he had moved to Cleveland. "Indiana had set on an amount they were going to give me, and (owner Ted) Stepien was going to give me a lot more," says Edwards, who signed a landmark $875,000 contract with Crazy Teddie (His Prices Are Insane). For that kind of money, he was expected to fill the role of a Robert Parish, but Edwards is not that type.
"People expected a lot," he says.
He produced his 16.7 points for several coaches at Cleveland in '82, and underwent arthroscopic knee surgery the following year. "I came back and played one game," Edwards says. "After the game, I was packing my bag and they said I was gone to Phoenix. I called my agent, and he told me to get on a plane."
He played with Dennis Johnson for one year, and the two of them can be seen conversing during this series. "Everybody thought the Rick Robey trade was a bad trade for the team," Edwards says. "I guess (DJ) and (coach) John MacLeod didn't get along, but I don't think he wanted to leave at all." Edwards was playing a video game at home last winter when coach John Wenzel called and said, "You know we've been talking about trades, James. Well, you've been traded to Detroit. Thanks for playing with us."
He averaged only 5.4 points with the Pistons in the regular season, and was held out of five games. But he indicated his worth with 16 points last month at Boston. "When we first got him, everybody thought his biggest asset would be in the Boston series," Laimbeer says. "Everybody says our second unit and first unit are two completely different squads."
"He's a serious threat, and he helps all of us," says Vinnie Johnson, the second unit's designated Microwave. "The play they run for me is a motion play where I come off a pick for the shot. Boston may have Parish and McHale switch out on me, but now I'm able to punch the ball into James and get him a couple of three-point plays. Now they have to think about him in there, and even if I get it going, they can't just switch out on me."
This is very important. "For this team to win, for us to get over the top," says Thomas, "Vinnie Johnson has to play well." So Edwards arrives, and Vinnie averages 14.7 points and 50 percent against the Celtics. Edwards comes off the bench, and the world stops talking about Mahorn and Laimbeer. Edwards is a free agent, and Isiah wants him again next year. "It depends on how much the organization wants to keep winning," Thomas says. "If they want to keep winning, then they should want to have him back. We have to have him back."
James Edwards.
Why couldn't the Celtics get him?
5.13.2010
1988 Eastern Conference Finals: Bird Sparks Comeback that Evens Series
5/31/1988
The game was slowly drifting away from the Celtics yesterday. The Pistons felt it. The Silverdome crowd of 26,625 sensed it. And Larry Bird fought it. As the third quarter ended, there was not much Bird could do. The Celtics were trailing, 68-60, and Bird was on the bench with 12 points, four fouls and a vow that, if nothing else, he would make a final effort to get Boston back in the game.
As has been the case for most of the Eastern Conference finals, he had been a picture of offensive inconsistency and frustration, playing in spurts that seemed to indicate he was coming out of a malaise that had been affecting his game all week. Then it began. A three-pointer from the left corner. Swish. A 14-foot jumper just inside the foul line. Swish. A drive to the basket on Joe Dumars that resulted in two free throws.
Two minutes had gone by in the fourth quarter. And the Pistons' 8-point lead had dissolved to 1. The crowd was quiet. Many had probably seen this eight days before when Bird made the fourth quarter his personal clinic in the seventh game against the Atlanta Hawks. This was more personal. The Pistons, on the verge of taking a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series, had seen their worst nightmare turn into reality.
A minute later, Bird picked up his fifth foul. The crowd again turned the Silverdome into a noise chamber, sensing a reprieve. There was none. In a bizarre game that was the latest chapter of a strange series, the Celtics hung on for a 79-78 victory. While Bird did not take control at the end, he started the comeback in the fourth quarter and led the Celtics with 20 points and 10 rebounds, also contributing 6 assists. For a change, Bird ended the game feeling fresh. When he picked up his fourth foul with 6:41 left in the third, he got a rare mid-game rest.
"It helped a lot," said Bird. "I really felt rested when I came back. We were down by 8 and everyone seemed pretty cold. So I just decided to go after it. I felt real good. And when the first shot went in, I really seemed to have my rhythm." Bird had been out of sync all afternoon, mainly because he was dodging Piston arms and legs that seemed to gravitate toward him.
The tone for the game was set in the first few minutes when he went down in a heap with Bill Laimbeer. When he tried to get up, he found Laimbeer clinging to him. A few seconds later, he swatted off Laimbeer again. When it happened a third time, Bird lost his temper and picked up a foolish foul by pushing Laimbeer right in front of referee Ed Rush. "Pushing I don't mind," said Bird. "Shoving I don't mind. But when they start slapping your hand as you shoot it and don't call it, well, that's different. That affects things. I didn't like it and I said something."
He said too much and received his second technical of the season. When Bird lost his temper, he also lost the rest of his offensive rhythm. A minute later, he picked up his fourth foul and was headed for the bench. While Bird sat, the Celtics fiddled. The Pistons outscored them, 17-4, and took control of a game no one seemed to want.
"Offensively, neither team was doing much," said Bird. "But I thought we were playing a good game defensively. We just had to hang in there until our shots started going in." Not many of them did, and the Celtics began the fourth quarter in a hole. then Bird started his comeback. Not even a fifth foul with 9:13 left slowed him down.
The game came down to a last-chance effort by the Pistons, who were trailing by a point with eight seconds left. Dumars' last-second shot was gathered in by Robert Parish. The Celtics had not only survived but prospered, heading back to Boston with the home-court advantage restored. "It's all a matter of confidence," said Bird. "This team hasn't been shooting that well, but it never stops trying, never stops working. If we can start putting the ball in the basket, Detroit is going to be in trouble."
Bird is not ready to predict a victory, just as he wasn't ready to concede defeat when the Celtics dropped Saturday's game. "We've been in this situation a lot of times," he said. "We got what we came here for today. A lot of people had written us off. Now it's different. It's a best-of-three series. Our goal is to win the championship. And we're not going to do that unless we win this series. "Today helped. It's a lot better to be tied at two games than down, three to one." For the Celtics, it was a lot better to have Larry Bird taking control of the game. Even if only for a few minutes.
The game was slowly drifting away from the Celtics yesterday. The Pistons felt it. The Silverdome crowd of 26,625 sensed it. And Larry Bird fought it. As the third quarter ended, there was not much Bird could do. The Celtics were trailing, 68-60, and Bird was on the bench with 12 points, four fouls and a vow that, if nothing else, he would make a final effort to get Boston back in the game.
As has been the case for most of the Eastern Conference finals, he had been a picture of offensive inconsistency and frustration, playing in spurts that seemed to indicate he was coming out of a malaise that had been affecting his game all week. Then it began. A three-pointer from the left corner. Swish. A 14-foot jumper just inside the foul line. Swish. A drive to the basket on Joe Dumars that resulted in two free throws.
Two minutes had gone by in the fourth quarter. And the Pistons' 8-point lead had dissolved to 1. The crowd was quiet. Many had probably seen this eight days before when Bird made the fourth quarter his personal clinic in the seventh game against the Atlanta Hawks. This was more personal. The Pistons, on the verge of taking a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series, had seen their worst nightmare turn into reality.
A minute later, Bird picked up his fifth foul. The crowd again turned the Silverdome into a noise chamber, sensing a reprieve. There was none. In a bizarre game that was the latest chapter of a strange series, the Celtics hung on for a 79-78 victory. While Bird did not take control at the end, he started the comeback in the fourth quarter and led the Celtics with 20 points and 10 rebounds, also contributing 6 assists. For a change, Bird ended the game feeling fresh. When he picked up his fourth foul with 6:41 left in the third, he got a rare mid-game rest.
"It helped a lot," said Bird. "I really felt rested when I came back. We were down by 8 and everyone seemed pretty cold. So I just decided to go after it. I felt real good. And when the first shot went in, I really seemed to have my rhythm." Bird had been out of sync all afternoon, mainly because he was dodging Piston arms and legs that seemed to gravitate toward him.
The tone for the game was set in the first few minutes when he went down in a heap with Bill Laimbeer. When he tried to get up, he found Laimbeer clinging to him. A few seconds later, he swatted off Laimbeer again. When it happened a third time, Bird lost his temper and picked up a foolish foul by pushing Laimbeer right in front of referee Ed Rush. "Pushing I don't mind," said Bird. "Shoving I don't mind. But when they start slapping your hand as you shoot it and don't call it, well, that's different. That affects things. I didn't like it and I said something."
He said too much and received his second technical of the season. When Bird lost his temper, he also lost the rest of his offensive rhythm. A minute later, he picked up his fourth foul and was headed for the bench. While Bird sat, the Celtics fiddled. The Pistons outscored them, 17-4, and took control of a game no one seemed to want.
"Offensively, neither team was doing much," said Bird. "But I thought we were playing a good game defensively. We just had to hang in there until our shots started going in." Not many of them did, and the Celtics began the fourth quarter in a hole. then Bird started his comeback. Not even a fifth foul with 9:13 left slowed him down.
The game came down to a last-chance effort by the Pistons, who were trailing by a point with eight seconds left. Dumars' last-second shot was gathered in by Robert Parish. The Celtics had not only survived but prospered, heading back to Boston with the home-court advantage restored. "It's all a matter of confidence," said Bird. "This team hasn't been shooting that well, but it never stops trying, never stops working. If we can start putting the ball in the basket, Detroit is going to be in trouble."
Bird is not ready to predict a victory, just as he wasn't ready to concede defeat when the Celtics dropped Saturday's game. "We've been in this situation a lot of times," he said. "We got what we came here for today. A lot of people had written us off. Now it's different. It's a best-of-three series. Our goal is to win the championship. And we're not going to do that unless we win this series. "Today helped. It's a lot better to be tied at two games than down, three to one." For the Celtics, it was a lot better to have Larry Bird taking control of the game. Even if only for a few minutes.
1988 Eastern Conference Finals: CELTICS SCORE 79 POINTS, BUT WIN
5/31/1988
Before any of the other stuff comes into play, let's establish one important fact. This series is tied at two games apiece. So many weird things happened in this Back To The Future game that it would be a simple matter to overlook the ramifications of this truly bizarre encounter. But there are no style points in the NBA playoffs. You score more points than the other guy, you win the game. Fortunately, we have a Kevin McHale around to get a handle on this macabre afternoon of NBA basketball.
"Like I always say," McHale chirped, "if you're only gonna score 79, it's better to hold them to 78." Yup, no misspoken words there. The Boston Celtics tied the best-of-seven Eastern Conference finals yesterday afternoon with a 79-78 triumph over the Detroit Pistons in the Silverdome, an anti-basketball edifice that doesn't deserve better basketball to start with. "We face a three-game series," said a somber Detroit coach Chuck Daly. "(The Celtics) have survived another scare, just like in the Atlanta series."
But 79-78? Is Ike still in the White House? Wonder what new mischief Lucy Ricardo will be cooking up at the Club Tropicana. Can't wait to see where John Cameron Swayze hopscotches around for headlines tonight. 79-78? The last time the Celtics won a playoff game by scoring 79 points was on March 21, 1954 (when the Celtics beat the Knicks by the same score), or 415 playoff games ago. 79-78? Isn't that a Denver-San Antonio halftime score?
Moreover, the game ended as Celtics-Pistons close games seem destined to end -- in controversy. The major question at the conclusion was whether Robert Parish goaltended a Joe Dumars jumper as the buzzer sounded. Neither Darell Garretson nor Ed Rush thought so. No other opinions mattered. Detroit had a full eight seconds to go for the winning basket following a miss-one, make-one trip to the line by Dennis Johnson, who was foolishly fouled by Isiah Thomas a long way from the hoop ("We were going for a steal," explained Daly). The ball was inbounded from the left sideline to Isiah, who was guarded by Danny Ainge.
The Celtics had a foul to give, but Ainge chose not to give it. Larry Bird abandoned Bill Laimbeer to double-team Thomas, and the Detroit floor general gave it up to Laimbeer (a game-high 29 points), who was stationed straightaway in three-point territory. He passed up the shot and fed Dumars, who had flashed into the lane, then took a contested jumper over an onrushing DJ. The shot was short. Parish grabbed the 13-footer as the buzzer sounded. He later held his hands about 10 inches apart and said it was that much short. Dumars said it wasn't goaltending. Laimbeer said it was, but that "
Parish does that all the time, and he's very good at it." Replays were, as usual, inconclusive. The Pistons have now lost two excruciating games in this series, but in neither have they been deserving of much sympathy. On Thursday night, they missed 10 of 32 second-half free throws. Yesterday they were pathetic offensively in both the first and fourth periods, bookending 10-point quarters around 26 in the second quarter and 32 in the third, when they changed a 10-point halftime deficit (46-36) into a 68-60 lead entering Period 4.
How bad was Detroit? Well, after Laimbeer hit a right baseline jumper to make it 8-4 (7:55 of the first quarter), the Pistons missed an official total of 20 consecutive shots. Yeah, well how bad was Boston? The Celtics won this vital game while making eight field goals and shooting 29 percent in the second half. While Detroit was going 0 for 20, the Celtics were a mere 5 for 13 and were able to construct nothing larger than a 14-point lead (37-23, 41-27) despite making four second-quarter three-pointers (three by Ainge, one by Johnson).
"At the half," said Daly, "I was ecstatic. We were only 10 down (46-36) after missing 20 straight. They should have been up by 25." As you might expect, each side credited the other team's defense for its offensive problems. There is no denying that we may be seeing a new level of mutual defensive intensity. But 79-78? On this much, everyone agreed: The first minute and a half of the fourth quarter was crucial. That's when Bird came back, after sitting out the final 6:41 of the third period in foul trouble, to score the first 7 points of the final period. Things started on a positive note for the Celtics with a 24-second violation on the Pistons. Bird responded with a broken-play left-wing three-pointer. Adrian Dantley turned it over, and Bird nailed a 14-footer. Vinnie Johnson missed, and Bird took it to the hoop for two free throws, making it 68-67, Pistons.
"Yeah, Bird was hot," said Laimbeer. "But where were we on the other end? We came out with no life. We were dead." The largest spread in the remainder of the game was Detroit's 4-point lead of 71-67. The Celtics erased that with a little run of 6-0 for a 73-71 lead (7:24 remaining). Detroit regained the lead at 75-74 on a Thomas jumper (3:44). The game was tied at 76 when Laimbeer, who had scored half his team's 36 intermission points, tapped in a miss by Dumars (1 for 10). But DJ took a Bird feed and calmly swished a foul line jumper, tying the game at 78 with 1:13 remaining. Next came a fateful Detroit possession. Good Boston defense put Dumars in a right-corner pickle as the shot clock was winding down and, with two seconds left before a violation, he called for a 20-second timeout. When play resumed, a Dantley right-corner inbounds alley-oop feed to John Salley went directly into the basket for a seldom-seen turnover.
At least that was the official call. Salley's version was that he touched the ball. If that's true, the basket should have counted. With 26 seconds left, DJ missed a left baseline leaner, but McHale pulled down the huge offensive rebound and pitched it back out. Boston called time out with 20 seconds left and 18 on the shot clock. On the inbounds, Johnson got it to Bird, who dumped it in to McHale on the right box with 11 seconds left. McHale threw it back to DJ. This is when Thomas rammed Johnson in the vain hope of a steal. DJ missed his first shot but rattled home the second, leaving Boston ahead by the antedeluvian score of 79-78 and setting up the dramatic finale.
"That's one of the weirdest games, one of the weirdest turnarounds I've ever been in," observed K.C. Jones. Oh, it's a strange series, all right. Who knows? Maybe Chuck Nevitt will become an issue before it's over.
Before any of the other stuff comes into play, let's establish one important fact. This series is tied at two games apiece. So many weird things happened in this Back To The Future game that it would be a simple matter to overlook the ramifications of this truly bizarre encounter. But there are no style points in the NBA playoffs. You score more points than the other guy, you win the game. Fortunately, we have a Kevin McHale around to get a handle on this macabre afternoon of NBA basketball.
"Like I always say," McHale chirped, "if you're only gonna score 79, it's better to hold them to 78." Yup, no misspoken words there. The Boston Celtics tied the best-of-seven Eastern Conference finals yesterday afternoon with a 79-78 triumph over the Detroit Pistons in the Silverdome, an anti-basketball edifice that doesn't deserve better basketball to start with. "We face a three-game series," said a somber Detroit coach Chuck Daly. "(The Celtics) have survived another scare, just like in the Atlanta series."
But 79-78? Is Ike still in the White House? Wonder what new mischief Lucy Ricardo will be cooking up at the Club Tropicana. Can't wait to see where John Cameron Swayze hopscotches around for headlines tonight. 79-78? The last time the Celtics won a playoff game by scoring 79 points was on March 21, 1954 (when the Celtics beat the Knicks by the same score), or 415 playoff games ago. 79-78? Isn't that a Denver-San Antonio halftime score?
Moreover, the game ended as Celtics-Pistons close games seem destined to end -- in controversy. The major question at the conclusion was whether Robert Parish goaltended a Joe Dumars jumper as the buzzer sounded. Neither Darell Garretson nor Ed Rush thought so. No other opinions mattered. Detroit had a full eight seconds to go for the winning basket following a miss-one, make-one trip to the line by Dennis Johnson, who was foolishly fouled by Isiah Thomas a long way from the hoop ("We were going for a steal," explained Daly). The ball was inbounded from the left sideline to Isiah, who was guarded by Danny Ainge.
The Celtics had a foul to give, but Ainge chose not to give it. Larry Bird abandoned Bill Laimbeer to double-team Thomas, and the Detroit floor general gave it up to Laimbeer (a game-high 29 points), who was stationed straightaway in three-point territory. He passed up the shot and fed Dumars, who had flashed into the lane, then took a contested jumper over an onrushing DJ. The shot was short. Parish grabbed the 13-footer as the buzzer sounded. He later held his hands about 10 inches apart and said it was that much short. Dumars said it wasn't goaltending. Laimbeer said it was, but that "
Parish does that all the time, and he's very good at it." Replays were, as usual, inconclusive. The Pistons have now lost two excruciating games in this series, but in neither have they been deserving of much sympathy. On Thursday night, they missed 10 of 32 second-half free throws. Yesterday they were pathetic offensively in both the first and fourth periods, bookending 10-point quarters around 26 in the second quarter and 32 in the third, when they changed a 10-point halftime deficit (46-36) into a 68-60 lead entering Period 4.
How bad was Detroit? Well, after Laimbeer hit a right baseline jumper to make it 8-4 (7:55 of the first quarter), the Pistons missed an official total of 20 consecutive shots. Yeah, well how bad was Boston? The Celtics won this vital game while making eight field goals and shooting 29 percent in the second half. While Detroit was going 0 for 20, the Celtics were a mere 5 for 13 and were able to construct nothing larger than a 14-point lead (37-23, 41-27) despite making four second-quarter three-pointers (three by Ainge, one by Johnson).
"At the half," said Daly, "I was ecstatic. We were only 10 down (46-36) after missing 20 straight. They should have been up by 25." As you might expect, each side credited the other team's defense for its offensive problems. There is no denying that we may be seeing a new level of mutual defensive intensity. But 79-78? On this much, everyone agreed: The first minute and a half of the fourth quarter was crucial. That's when Bird came back, after sitting out the final 6:41 of the third period in foul trouble, to score the first 7 points of the final period. Things started on a positive note for the Celtics with a 24-second violation on the Pistons. Bird responded with a broken-play left-wing three-pointer. Adrian Dantley turned it over, and Bird nailed a 14-footer. Vinnie Johnson missed, and Bird took it to the hoop for two free throws, making it 68-67, Pistons.
"Yeah, Bird was hot," said Laimbeer. "But where were we on the other end? We came out with no life. We were dead." The largest spread in the remainder of the game was Detroit's 4-point lead of 71-67. The Celtics erased that with a little run of 6-0 for a 73-71 lead (7:24 remaining). Detroit regained the lead at 75-74 on a Thomas jumper (3:44). The game was tied at 76 when Laimbeer, who had scored half his team's 36 intermission points, tapped in a miss by Dumars (1 for 10). But DJ took a Bird feed and calmly swished a foul line jumper, tying the game at 78 with 1:13 remaining. Next came a fateful Detroit possession. Good Boston defense put Dumars in a right-corner pickle as the shot clock was winding down and, with two seconds left before a violation, he called for a 20-second timeout. When play resumed, a Dantley right-corner inbounds alley-oop feed to John Salley went directly into the basket for a seldom-seen turnover.
At least that was the official call. Salley's version was that he touched the ball. If that's true, the basket should have counted. With 26 seconds left, DJ missed a left baseline leaner, but McHale pulled down the huge offensive rebound and pitched it back out. Boston called time out with 20 seconds left and 18 on the shot clock. On the inbounds, Johnson got it to Bird, who dumped it in to McHale on the right box with 11 seconds left. McHale threw it back to DJ. This is when Thomas rammed Johnson in the vain hope of a steal. DJ missed his first shot but rattled home the second, leaving Boston ahead by the antedeluvian score of 79-78 and setting up the dramatic finale.
"That's one of the weirdest games, one of the weirdest turnarounds I've ever been in," observed K.C. Jones. Oh, it's a strange series, all right. Who knows? Maybe Chuck Nevitt will become an issue before it's over.
1988 Eastern Conference Finals: Bird Slacking Off in Practice, Too
May 30, 1988
Nobody's ever going to accuse Larry Bird of not practicing enough. That is, not until now. Bird is in a three-game slump, and his shooting percentage bears closer resemblance to Wade Boggs' batting average than Bird's usual greatness. The keenest of Bird-watchers -- the man who rebounds and then feeds Bird those crisp passes in his legendary shootaround -- says that recently Bird has been taking a lot fewer pregame practice shots.
"Usually I break a sweat," said Celtics assistant equipment manager Joe Qatato. "But the last three games I've noticed we've been out for just a short time. It's unusual." Qatato says he doesn't keep count but has been told by reporters that Bird shoots roughly an average of 300 shots before each game, and even more during playoff time. Thus far in the Detroit series, he launched 107 practice shots prior to Game 1, 104 prior to Game 2 in Boston and 119 before Game 3 at the Silverdome.
Could Bird be hurting?
"No," said Qatato. "Larry's one of my best friends and everything's fine both physically and mentally. The Pistons are playing good defense and, hey, look at all the rebounds he's getting." Has Qatato said anything to Bird about shooting only for 10 or 12 minutes? "No," said Qatato. "It's not my place to ask -- he calls the shots."
"I don't think you can read anything into it," said general manager Jan Volk. "You have to ask him," said coach K.C. Jones. "I don't watch him shoot." Maybe Bird is just trying to conserve energy, "No," said Bird. "I don't count my shots. I couldn't tell you if I shot more or I shot less."
Bird patiently signed every autograph after Saturday's loss, and yesterday gleefully posed with a local high school basketball team whose gym the Celtics borrowed to practice. The man doesn't seem worried. But if practice does indeed make perfect, the Celtics are in trouble. Shooting at the other end of the court last week was a guy with a ready smile who's there when Bird arrives and he's still there when Bird leaves. He tossed up 356 shots before Game 2 and 373 before Game 3.
His name is Isiah Thomas.
Nobody's ever going to accuse Larry Bird of not practicing enough. That is, not until now. Bird is in a three-game slump, and his shooting percentage bears closer resemblance to Wade Boggs' batting average than Bird's usual greatness. The keenest of Bird-watchers -- the man who rebounds and then feeds Bird those crisp passes in his legendary shootaround -- says that recently Bird has been taking a lot fewer pregame practice shots.
"Usually I break a sweat," said Celtics assistant equipment manager Joe Qatato. "But the last three games I've noticed we've been out for just a short time. It's unusual." Qatato says he doesn't keep count but has been told by reporters that Bird shoots roughly an average of 300 shots before each game, and even more during playoff time. Thus far in the Detroit series, he launched 107 practice shots prior to Game 1, 104 prior to Game 2 in Boston and 119 before Game 3 at the Silverdome.
Could Bird be hurting?
"No," said Qatato. "Larry's one of my best friends and everything's fine both physically and mentally. The Pistons are playing good defense and, hey, look at all the rebounds he's getting." Has Qatato said anything to Bird about shooting only for 10 or 12 minutes? "No," said Qatato. "It's not my place to ask -- he calls the shots."
"I don't think you can read anything into it," said general manager Jan Volk. "You have to ask him," said coach K.C. Jones. "I don't watch him shoot." Maybe Bird is just trying to conserve energy, "No," said Bird. "I don't count my shots. I couldn't tell you if I shot more or I shot less."
Bird patiently signed every autograph after Saturday's loss, and yesterday gleefully posed with a local high school basketball team whose gym the Celtics borrowed to practice. The man doesn't seem worried. But if practice does indeed make perfect, the Celtics are in trouble. Shooting at the other end of the court last week was a guy with a ready smile who's there when Bird arrives and he's still there when Bird leaves. He tossed up 356 shots before Game 2 and 373 before Game 3.
His name is Isiah Thomas.
1988 Eastern Conference Finals: Bird Slump Nothing New
5/30/1988
The truth is, folks, it's all happened before.
Larry Bird doesn't have to be injured or ill in order to have difficulty scoring in the postseason. When the playoffs come, and nobody takes nights or afternoons off and the focus becomes defense, defense and maybe a little more defense mixed in, Bird frequently has struggled for games on end.
Sample:
1980 PHILADELPHIA, Games 3, 4 and 5
FG-FGA FT-FTA Rebs. (O-D-T) Assists Points
9-21 3-4 2-19-21 4 22
6-15 7-8 4-9-13 3 19
5-19 2-2 4-10-14 4 12
20-55 12-14 10-38-48 11 53
1981 HOUSTON, Games 3, 4 and 5
3-11 2-4 0-12-12 7 8
3-11 2-2 1-11-12 8 8
5-16 2-2 2-11-13 5 12
11-38 6-8 3-34-37 20 28
1982 WASHINGTON, Games 3 and 4
3-8 8-9 3-10-13 1 14
4-16 2-2 0-8-8 1 10
7-24 10-11 3-18-21 2 24
1982 PHILADELPHIA, Games 6 and 7
8-19 4-4 4-16-20 8 20
6-19 2-2 4-13-17 4 14
14-38 6-6 8-29-37 12 34
1983 ATLANTA, Games 1 and 2
9-20 8-8 1-14-15 5 26
4-18 7-8 7-9-16 9 15
13-38 15-16 8-23-31 14 41
1985 PHILADELPHIA, Games 4 and 5
4-15 6-6 2-5-7 6 14
6-18 5-7 1-4-5 5 17
10-33 11-12 3-9-12 11 31
1987 LOS ANGELES, Games 4, 5 and 6
7-19 5-5 1-9-10 7 21
7-18 8-9 2-10-2 7 23
6-16 4-4 1-8-9 5 16
20-53 17-18 4-27-21 19 60
So when you look at what's going on now in the DETROIT series . . .
8-20 3-5 1-8-9 6 20
6-20 6-7 2-10-12 8 18
6-17 6-6 2-9-11 8 18
20-57 15-18 5-27-32 22 56
You don't have to automatically assume anything is "wrong" with him. Maybe there is, and maybe there isn't, but it's more likely the Pistons are just doing a great job on him. Take note, however, at some of those rebound and assist totals over the years during these times of shooting woe. That's why Larry Bird is Larry Bird. If you just want a scorer, you could always bring Lou Hudson out of retirement.
The truth is, folks, it's all happened before.
Larry Bird doesn't have to be injured or ill in order to have difficulty scoring in the postseason. When the playoffs come, and nobody takes nights or afternoons off and the focus becomes defense, defense and maybe a little more defense mixed in, Bird frequently has struggled for games on end.
Sample:
1980 PHILADELPHIA, Games 3, 4 and 5
FG-FGA FT-FTA Rebs. (O-D-T) Assists Points
9-21 3-4 2-19-21 4 22
6-15 7-8 4-9-13 3 19
5-19 2-2 4-10-14 4 12
20-55 12-14 10-38-48 11 53
1981 HOUSTON, Games 3, 4 and 5
3-11 2-4 0-12-12 7 8
3-11 2-2 1-11-12 8 8
5-16 2-2 2-11-13 5 12
11-38 6-8 3-34-37 20 28
1982 WASHINGTON, Games 3 and 4
3-8 8-9 3-10-13 1 14
4-16 2-2 0-8-8 1 10
7-24 10-11 3-18-21 2 24
1982 PHILADELPHIA, Games 6 and 7
8-19 4-4 4-16-20 8 20
6-19 2-2 4-13-17 4 14
14-38 6-6 8-29-37 12 34
1983 ATLANTA, Games 1 and 2
9-20 8-8 1-14-15 5 26
4-18 7-8 7-9-16 9 15
13-38 15-16 8-23-31 14 41
1985 PHILADELPHIA, Games 4 and 5
4-15 6-6 2-5-7 6 14
6-18 5-7 1-4-5 5 17
10-33 11-12 3-9-12 11 31
1987 LOS ANGELES, Games 4, 5 and 6
7-19 5-5 1-9-10 7 21
7-18 8-9 2-10-2 7 23
6-16 4-4 1-8-9 5 16
20-53 17-18 4-27-21 19 60
So when you look at what's going on now in the DETROIT series . . .
8-20 3-5 1-8-9 6 20
6-20 6-7 2-10-12 8 18
6-17 6-6 2-9-11 8 18
20-57 15-18 5-27-32 22 56
You don't have to automatically assume anything is "wrong" with him. Maybe there is, and maybe there isn't, but it's more likely the Pistons are just doing a great job on him. Take note, however, at some of those rebound and assist totals over the years during these times of shooting woe. That's why Larry Bird is Larry Bird. If you just want a scorer, you could always bring Lou Hudson out of retirement.
1988 Eastern Conference Finals: Bird Loses Touch
May 29, 1988
He says he feels as good as he ever has during the playoffs. He says he is getting closer to where he wants to be, to finding out why he has been more ordinary than extraordinary in the past three games. But time is growing short for the Celtics, and Larry Bird knows it.
The numbers in yesterday's 98-94 loss to the Pistons weren't bad: 18 points, 11 rebounds, 8 assists. But they were nothing near the kind of productiion the Celtics expect of Bird and Bird expects of himself. "I'm doing something wrong," said Bird, icing down his feet, the only part of his body that wasn't cold at the end of the game. Bird and the rest of the Celtic regulars watched the last 31 seconds from the bench as K.C. Jones made an early concession gesture. "I started out and hit a couple of shots early. But after that, I didn't have much rhythm."
Bird is running low on confidence these days as well. At least as low as Bird will let himself run. "My confidence is not as good as it was in the fourth quarter against Atlanta," he said. That Bird could go from megastar in the seventh game of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Hawks to falling star after three games against the Pistons is one of life's quirks that he cannot really understand.
Despite the speculation about his health, Bird maintains he is feeling fine. "Really," he said, "I feel fine. As good as I ever have during the playoffs. There's nothing wrong with me." In yesterday's game, Bird played in spurts. He started out with a fire in his belly, if not in his eye. As early as the opening tap, Bird was asking for the ball. And two quick jumpers boosted his spirits.
But then his offense, like that of the rest of the Celtics with the exception of Kevin McHale, floated off into some unknown reaches of the Silverdome. "The Pistons were switching off on me, so I was just dumping the ball in to Kevin," said Bird. McHale could not carry the offense alone. And when the Celtics made a fourth-quarter rush, cutting a 16-point Piston lead (90-74) to 6 with 7:44 left, it seemed the perfect time for Bird to readjust his cape.
But not this time. At least not offensively. Bird shot and missed and then shot and missed again, and suddenly No. 33 was almost invisible. "We had some chances," said Bird. "But then Danny (Ainge) missed a couple and I missed a couple." The frustrating thing is that Bird sees himself coming out of this slump, if one can call it a slump. "On Thursday (in Game 2), I was missing by a lot," said Bird. "Today it was just by a bit. I'm getting closer. But that's not much consolation."
With the Celtics trailing, 2-1, in this best-of-seven series, Bird realizes it is time to take some drastic measures. The Celtics cannot afford to leave Michigan down by two games. They have already lost the home-court edge. They are two games from losing the series. With very little more to lose, Bird says he will go on the offensive. "I'm going to be more aggressive in the next game," he said. "I'm going to drive more. I need to do more things."
Certainly Bird can do only so much. Although his shooting has been off, there has been nothing wrong with his rebounding, or his defense, or in the way he has handed off assists. He almost had a triple-double by halftime yesterday. But during a stretch in which the Celtics are suffering an offensive power outage, they cannot afford to have Bird as a set-up man for everyone else.
There were signs yesterday that Bird was ready to take a leading role again. "I saw the fire there," said Jones. "He put in his first three shots. After that, it seems the old thing took over again." K.C. is worried. So is Bird. "No matter who you're playing, when you're down, 2-1, you have to be concerned," Bird said.
But right now it is just concern. Nothing more. No panic -- yet. The Celtics can still turn things in their direction with a victory tomorrow. But in order to do that, they need Larry Bird.
All of him.
He says he feels as good as he ever has during the playoffs. He says he is getting closer to where he wants to be, to finding out why he has been more ordinary than extraordinary in the past three games. But time is growing short for the Celtics, and Larry Bird knows it.
The numbers in yesterday's 98-94 loss to the Pistons weren't bad: 18 points, 11 rebounds, 8 assists. But they were nothing near the kind of productiion the Celtics expect of Bird and Bird expects of himself. "I'm doing something wrong," said Bird, icing down his feet, the only part of his body that wasn't cold at the end of the game. Bird and the rest of the Celtic regulars watched the last 31 seconds from the bench as K.C. Jones made an early concession gesture. "I started out and hit a couple of shots early. But after that, I didn't have much rhythm."
Bird is running low on confidence these days as well. At least as low as Bird will let himself run. "My confidence is not as good as it was in the fourth quarter against Atlanta," he said. That Bird could go from megastar in the seventh game of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Hawks to falling star after three games against the Pistons is one of life's quirks that he cannot really understand.
Despite the speculation about his health, Bird maintains he is feeling fine. "Really," he said, "I feel fine. As good as I ever have during the playoffs. There's nothing wrong with me." In yesterday's game, Bird played in spurts. He started out with a fire in his belly, if not in his eye. As early as the opening tap, Bird was asking for the ball. And two quick jumpers boosted his spirits.
But then his offense, like that of the rest of the Celtics with the exception of Kevin McHale, floated off into some unknown reaches of the Silverdome. "The Pistons were switching off on me, so I was just dumping the ball in to Kevin," said Bird. McHale could not carry the offense alone. And when the Celtics made a fourth-quarter rush, cutting a 16-point Piston lead (90-74) to 6 with 7:44 left, it seemed the perfect time for Bird to readjust his cape.
But not this time. At least not offensively. Bird shot and missed and then shot and missed again, and suddenly No. 33 was almost invisible. "We had some chances," said Bird. "But then Danny (Ainge) missed a couple and I missed a couple." The frustrating thing is that Bird sees himself coming out of this slump, if one can call it a slump. "On Thursday (in Game 2), I was missing by a lot," said Bird. "Today it was just by a bit. I'm getting closer. But that's not much consolation."
With the Celtics trailing, 2-1, in this best-of-seven series, Bird realizes it is time to take some drastic measures. The Celtics cannot afford to leave Michigan down by two games. They have already lost the home-court edge. They are two games from losing the series. With very little more to lose, Bird says he will go on the offensive. "I'm going to be more aggressive in the next game," he said. "I'm going to drive more. I need to do more things."
Certainly Bird can do only so much. Although his shooting has been off, there has been nothing wrong with his rebounding, or his defense, or in the way he has handed off assists. He almost had a triple-double by halftime yesterday. But during a stretch in which the Celtics are suffering an offensive power outage, they cannot afford to have Bird as a set-up man for everyone else.
There were signs yesterday that Bird was ready to take a leading role again. "I saw the fire there," said Jones. "He put in his first three shots. After that, it seems the old thing took over again." K.C. is worried. So is Bird. "No matter who you're playing, when you're down, 2-1, you have to be concerned," Bird said.
But right now it is just concern. Nothing more. No panic -- yet. The Celtics can still turn things in their direction with a victory tomorrow. But in order to do that, they need Larry Bird.
All of him.
1988 Eastern Conference Finals: Pistons Grab 2-1 Lead
5/29/1988
Chuck Daly's team now has a 2-1 series lead, with the third game scheduled for the Silverdome tomorrow afternoon. To look at his face and to hear his cautious responses to questions concerning the mortality of the Boston Celtics, you might think he was down, 0-3, with the fourth game scheduled for Red Auerbach's apartment.
"You know the scene in 'Fatal Attraction' when the woman rises up out of the bathtub after you think she's dead?" Daly inquired in the aftermath of yesterday's 98-94 conquest of the Celtics. "That's the Celtics. I swear to God, if we had five wins against them, (commissioner David) Stern would come in and take two of them away."
Of course, he ought to have three victories already, but that's a different story. The series stands at 2-1 for many reasons, but how about Joe Dumars and James Edwards, to name two? Dumars, a docile 4-for-11 shooter in Boston Thursday, was an All-Star level player yesterday. He was essentially left alone by Boston's slowly rotting defense, and he responded by hitting his first six shots en route to a 12-for-21, 29-point game.
Edwards, meanwhile, clinched the Fire Sale Objet d'Art of the Year award with another vital bench effort. Big James, whom the grateful Pistons rescued from the Phoenix Suns' attic, came off the bench in the third period as the Celtics were making a run and scored 9 of his 11 points in the final six minutes as Detroit took a comfortable 84-71 lead into the final period.
"I played with him in Phoenix," reminded Dennis Johnson. "He could always shoot the ball." Once upon a time, Larry Bird could, too. Or was that Larry's statue come to life, a la "Mannequin," last Sunday against the Hawks? Larry flopped a 6-for-17 effort on top of the 8-for-20 and 6-for-20 clunkers he had against Detroit in Boston. True, he led all rebounders with 11 and all assist men with 8, but the Celtics won't go very far with Bird shooting 35 percent (20 for 57).
"He's a time bomb," insists Daly, who knows that yesterday Bird actually did look better than he had in Boston and that he had three or four excruciating in-and-out shots in the treacherous Silverdome. "We're not taking any credit." Boston played its best basketball in the first four minutes of the game, when good ball movement and some tough shots in the face of Detroit's sound defense gave it a 16-11 lead.
The Celtics also looked very good during a two-minute stretch of the third period (closing within 6 at 70-64) and during a 2 1/2-minute burst in the final period (again closing within 6 at 90-84). It was the other 39 1/2 minutes they had trouble with.
Dumars was the early assassin. The third-year guard took advantage of rugged picks set by Bill Laimbeer and a slow-to-react Boston defense that left him open whenever either Adrian Dantley or Isiah Thomas had the ball. Dumars drilled three consecutive jumpers to give the Pistons a 17-16 lead, and when Kevin McHale (32) responded, Dumars salvaged a badly broken play (Bird had poked the ball away from Dantley) with a three-pointer (20-18). There would subsequently be four ties (20, 22, 27 and 29), but no more lead changes.
Edwards, the new Motown folk hero, made his big contribution after the Celtics had chopped a 14-point deficit (70-56) to 6 at 70-64. At this juncture, Bird agonized as a jumper spun out, leading to a three-point play by Thomas at the other end. McHale
missed a short hook, leading to a Detroit fast break. Vinnie Johnson missed, but in the ensuing ferocity of the rebound action Edwards picked up a loose ball and threw up a desperate prayer that the Hoop God answered in the affirmative. Better yet, a foul was affixed, and the Celtics had slipped from 6 down with the ball to minus-12 (76-64) in the span of a minute.
Edwards' contributions cannot be exaggerated, since Rick Mahorn is getting more feeble by the day because of his disc problem and Laimbeer had a very tame offensive day (0 for 3, 2 points). "James didn't play much against Chicago," points out Daly, "but I thought he would in this series because against Boston you need all the big people you can get."
Boston could have used another big guy; that's for sure. Robert Parish was a non-factor after picking up three fouls in the first six minutes, and there were no Edwardses available on the Boston bench. The Pistons even managed to survive a 14-point last quarter because the Celtics weren't offensively potent enough to make
them pay.
"Nobody's gonna beat anybody shooting 40 percent," said McHale, who had 31 of his 32 points by the end of the third quarter. "I don't care what kind of defense you play, or how you do on the boards, you just aren't gonna beat anybody shooting like
that." And forget about fast-break layups, of course. The Celtics run out of rebounds about as often as David Letterman hosts "Meet The Press."
They get another shot in the Dismal Dome tomorrow. They've been down this way before. Think of the 1984 LA series. But they were a bit (ahem) younger, then, too.
Chuck Daly's team now has a 2-1 series lead, with the third game scheduled for the Silverdome tomorrow afternoon. To look at his face and to hear his cautious responses to questions concerning the mortality of the Boston Celtics, you might think he was down, 0-3, with the fourth game scheduled for Red Auerbach's apartment.
"You know the scene in 'Fatal Attraction' when the woman rises up out of the bathtub after you think she's dead?" Daly inquired in the aftermath of yesterday's 98-94 conquest of the Celtics. "That's the Celtics. I swear to God, if we had five wins against them, (commissioner David) Stern would come in and take two of them away."
Of course, he ought to have three victories already, but that's a different story. The series stands at 2-1 for many reasons, but how about Joe Dumars and James Edwards, to name two? Dumars, a docile 4-for-11 shooter in Boston Thursday, was an All-Star level player yesterday. He was essentially left alone by Boston's slowly rotting defense, and he responded by hitting his first six shots en route to a 12-for-21, 29-point game.
Edwards, meanwhile, clinched the Fire Sale Objet d'Art of the Year award with another vital bench effort. Big James, whom the grateful Pistons rescued from the Phoenix Suns' attic, came off the bench in the third period as the Celtics were making a run and scored 9 of his 11 points in the final six minutes as Detroit took a comfortable 84-71 lead into the final period.
"I played with him in Phoenix," reminded Dennis Johnson. "He could always shoot the ball." Once upon a time, Larry Bird could, too. Or was that Larry's statue come to life, a la "Mannequin," last Sunday against the Hawks? Larry flopped a 6-for-17 effort on top of the 8-for-20 and 6-for-20 clunkers he had against Detroit in Boston. True, he led all rebounders with 11 and all assist men with 8, but the Celtics won't go very far with Bird shooting 35 percent (20 for 57).
"He's a time bomb," insists Daly, who knows that yesterday Bird actually did look better than he had in Boston and that he had three or four excruciating in-and-out shots in the treacherous Silverdome. "We're not taking any credit." Boston played its best basketball in the first four minutes of the game, when good ball movement and some tough shots in the face of Detroit's sound defense gave it a 16-11 lead.
The Celtics also looked very good during a two-minute stretch of the third period (closing within 6 at 70-64) and during a 2 1/2-minute burst in the final period (again closing within 6 at 90-84). It was the other 39 1/2 minutes they had trouble with.
Dumars was the early assassin. The third-year guard took advantage of rugged picks set by Bill Laimbeer and a slow-to-react Boston defense that left him open whenever either Adrian Dantley or Isiah Thomas had the ball. Dumars drilled three consecutive jumpers to give the Pistons a 17-16 lead, and when Kevin McHale (32) responded, Dumars salvaged a badly broken play (Bird had poked the ball away from Dantley) with a three-pointer (20-18). There would subsequently be four ties (20, 22, 27 and 29), but no more lead changes.
Edwards, the new Motown folk hero, made his big contribution after the Celtics had chopped a 14-point deficit (70-56) to 6 at 70-64. At this juncture, Bird agonized as a jumper spun out, leading to a three-point play by Thomas at the other end. McHale
missed a short hook, leading to a Detroit fast break. Vinnie Johnson missed, but in the ensuing ferocity of the rebound action Edwards picked up a loose ball and threw up a desperate prayer that the Hoop God answered in the affirmative. Better yet, a foul was affixed, and the Celtics had slipped from 6 down with the ball to minus-12 (76-64) in the span of a minute.
Edwards' contributions cannot be exaggerated, since Rick Mahorn is getting more feeble by the day because of his disc problem and Laimbeer had a very tame offensive day (0 for 3, 2 points). "James didn't play much against Chicago," points out Daly, "but I thought he would in this series because against Boston you need all the big people you can get."
Boston could have used another big guy; that's for sure. Robert Parish was a non-factor after picking up three fouls in the first six minutes, and there were no Edwardses available on the Boston bench. The Pistons even managed to survive a 14-point last quarter because the Celtics weren't offensively potent enough to make
them pay.
"Nobody's gonna beat anybody shooting 40 percent," said McHale, who had 31 of his 32 points by the end of the third quarter. "I don't care what kind of defense you play, or how you do on the boards, you just aren't gonna beat anybody shooting like
that." And forget about fast-break layups, of course. The Celtics run out of rebounds about as often as David Letterman hosts "Meet The Press."
They get another shot in the Dismal Dome tomorrow. They've been down this way before. Think of the 1984 LA series. But they were a bit (ahem) younger, then, too.
1988 Eastern Conference Finals: Auerbach Praises Pistons
5/28/1988
Red Auerbach doesn't want to be, but he is very impressed with the Detroit strategy in the Eastern Conference finals. "They played the first two games in Boston much more aggressively than they usually do," said the Celtics president."
They were much more physical. Guys not usually physical were very physical. I think what they wanted to do was set a physical tempo here in Boston and then step it up a notch in Detroit. My guessing is that their strategy was to set up the refs for the game in Detroit. You can't go from doing nothing physical to all of a sudden being very physical without getting fouls called. But they are gambling that by setting the tempo here, they can get away with more out there."
People close to some of the Lakers say they are rooting for the Celtics to win because they don't think there is any way the Celtics can beat them, while Detroit would present a much more formidable opponent. The Lakers also reportedly felt that Utah would be a lot tougher to play than Dallas because they match up much better with the Mavericks than the Jazz.
The Lakers say giant center Mark Eaton's presence in the lane all the time forced them to alter their shots and the quickness of guard John Stockton forced them to play more defense than they had all year. Stockton's ability to hold the ball for 20 seconds, then make a play to beat the 24-second clock, took the Laker fast break out of action and forced them to play tough defense every 24-second possession, which they do not like to do. They fear Detroit more than Boston or Dallas because Detroit has Isiah Thomas, who can do the same thing Stockton did: control the ball and then make a move to penetrate the defense and set up a play.
Red Auerbach doesn't want to be, but he is very impressed with the Detroit strategy in the Eastern Conference finals. "They played the first two games in Boston much more aggressively than they usually do," said the Celtics president."
They were much more physical. Guys not usually physical were very physical. I think what they wanted to do was set a physical tempo here in Boston and then step it up a notch in Detroit. My guessing is that their strategy was to set up the refs for the game in Detroit. You can't go from doing nothing physical to all of a sudden being very physical without getting fouls called. But they are gambling that by setting the tempo here, they can get away with more out there."
People close to some of the Lakers say they are rooting for the Celtics to win because they don't think there is any way the Celtics can beat them, while Detroit would present a much more formidable opponent. The Lakers also reportedly felt that Utah would be a lot tougher to play than Dallas because they match up much better with the Mavericks than the Jazz.
The Lakers say giant center Mark Eaton's presence in the lane all the time forced them to alter their shots and the quickness of guard John Stockton forced them to play more defense than they had all year. Stockton's ability to hold the ball for 20 seconds, then make a play to beat the 24-second clock, took the Laker fast break out of action and forced them to play tough defense every 24-second possession, which they do not like to do. They fear Detroit more than Boston or Dallas because Detroit has Isiah Thomas, who can do the same thing Stockton did: control the ball and then make a move to penetrate the defense and set up a play.
1988 Eastern Conference Finals: DJ Won the Battle
5/27/1988
He had been pushed and bumped and elbowed, and all he did was raise his eyebrows and look at referees Jack Madden and Mike Mathis. Dennis Johnson knew better than to expect whistles to blow on this particular evening. He knew that it had come down to a game of basic in-your-face basketball. It was a game of skins and shirts, playground style, where either you made a shot or you didn't. Either you made the play or you didn't.
Last night, with the frantic Boston Garden crowd of 14,890 chanting "DJ, DJ," Dennis Johnson did what he had to do to help the Celtics hang on to an incredible 119-115 double-overtime victory over the Detroit Pistons and tie the best-of-seven Eastern Conference finals, 1-1.
All the Celtic guard did in the second overtime was take control, coming up with a pair of steals that took the heart out of the Pistons and scoring the final 6 points of the game, which took the soul out of them. "DJ just took over at the end," said Danny Ainge.
Someone obviously had to, since Larry Bird was an offensive no-show for the second straight game and no one else seemed to emerge. Oh, Kevin McHale threw in his controversial three-pointer which sent the game into the second overtime. "I raised my arms like everyone else on that one," said DJ, who seemed to get more of an adrenaline fix than anyone.
But the Pistons would not go gently into this good and long night. They were intent on leaving Boston with a 2-0 lead. Johnson wouldn't let them. He stole the ball from Joe Dumars and headed the length of the court. As he reached the basket, bodies collided and he felt himself sliding to the ground.
No whistle, and Johnson arched his eyebrows and gave Mathis a "come on" look. Then he stole the ball from Isiah Thomas, who had been conducting his own war with Johnson all night. They had banged each other the entire game and kept giving each other looks that were one step short of putting on the gloves. "He's a great clutch performer," conceded Pistons coach Chuck Daly. "He made the plays."
And he made them all in the final two minutes of the game. "I looked at the clock and there was 1:49 left," Johnson said. "I got a steal and then another steal. Things just fell into my hands." It was in his hands until nine seconds left, when his two foul shots gave the Celtics the 119-115 lead. The Pistons called time out, and the crowd, which had counted this one in the L column until McHale's miracle came out of the haze, started chanting DJ's name.
It started in the section of the stands where Red Auerbach sits and spread around the Garden, up to the rafters, where Johnny Most nearly went from agony to ecstasy.
Finally, the clock ran down as the Pistons tried one more time to win it. Fittingly enough, it ended with DJ blocking a Thomas shot and the two looking at each other for the final time in a long and draining evening.
The message was clear. They would meet again. And it was just as clear that on this night, Dennis Johnson had won the individual war.
He had been pushed and bumped and elbowed, and all he did was raise his eyebrows and look at referees Jack Madden and Mike Mathis. Dennis Johnson knew better than to expect whistles to blow on this particular evening. He knew that it had come down to a game of basic in-your-face basketball. It was a game of skins and shirts, playground style, where either you made a shot or you didn't. Either you made the play or you didn't.
Last night, with the frantic Boston Garden crowd of 14,890 chanting "DJ, DJ," Dennis Johnson did what he had to do to help the Celtics hang on to an incredible 119-115 double-overtime victory over the Detroit Pistons and tie the best-of-seven Eastern Conference finals, 1-1.
All the Celtic guard did in the second overtime was take control, coming up with a pair of steals that took the heart out of the Pistons and scoring the final 6 points of the game, which took the soul out of them. "DJ just took over at the end," said Danny Ainge.
Someone obviously had to, since Larry Bird was an offensive no-show for the second straight game and no one else seemed to emerge. Oh, Kevin McHale threw in his controversial three-pointer which sent the game into the second overtime. "I raised my arms like everyone else on that one," said DJ, who seemed to get more of an adrenaline fix than anyone.
But the Pistons would not go gently into this good and long night. They were intent on leaving Boston with a 2-0 lead. Johnson wouldn't let them. He stole the ball from Joe Dumars and headed the length of the court. As he reached the basket, bodies collided and he felt himself sliding to the ground.
No whistle, and Johnson arched his eyebrows and gave Mathis a "come on" look. Then he stole the ball from Isiah Thomas, who had been conducting his own war with Johnson all night. They had banged each other the entire game and kept giving each other looks that were one step short of putting on the gloves. "He's a great clutch performer," conceded Pistons coach Chuck Daly. "He made the plays."
And he made them all in the final two minutes of the game. "I looked at the clock and there was 1:49 left," Johnson said. "I got a steal and then another steal. Things just fell into my hands." It was in his hands until nine seconds left, when his two foul shots gave the Celtics the 119-115 lead. The Pistons called time out, and the crowd, which had counted this one in the L column until McHale's miracle came out of the haze, started chanting DJ's name.
It started in the section of the stands where Red Auerbach sits and spread around the Garden, up to the rafters, where Johnny Most nearly went from agony to ecstasy.
Finally, the clock ran down as the Pistons tried one more time to win it. Fittingly enough, it ended with DJ blocking a Thomas shot and the two looking at each other for the final time in a long and draining evening.
The message was clear. They would meet again. And it was just as clear that on this night, Dennis Johnson had won the individual war.
1988 Eastern Conference Finals: Broken Play Key to Win
5/27/1988
The clock read 0:07 when Isiah Thomas' three-point launch from the left sideline in the first overtime soared over Kevin McHale's outstretched arms and dropped cleanly through the basket. The Detroit bench looked like a combination of Mardi Gras and New Year's Eve as the Celtics called time out and the Pistons had visions of a two-game advantage and home court on the horizon. It was 109-106, Detroit, and everyone, it seemed, was celebrating on the Detroit sideline, anticipating a commanding lead over the Celtics in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference
finals.
Except Isiah.
"I've been playing these guys long enough to know that it ain't over until the final buzzer sounds," said Thomas, who led the Pistons with 24 points and dished off eight assists. The Detroit coaching staff had one plan. When the Celtics put the ball in play, they'd go for the safe foul with the 3-point lead.
Dennis Johnson's inbounds pass flicked off Larry Bird's fingertips as the Pistons were momentarily stuck in neutral. The ball wound up in Kevin McHale's hands, and the most improbable scenario unfolded for Detroit. First, the Pistons were immobilized. Second, McHale made the shot.
After the 119-115 double-OT loss, Thomas looked at the game's biggest bucket with a sense of humor. "They probably designed it that way," he grinned. And "no," said Isiah, he wasn't thinking about vindication after his three-pointer for his boo-boo in last year's Game 5. "That's in your (the media's) mind, but it wasn't on mine. We lost. We can't dwell on it. We have to get ready for Saturday's game," said Thomas, who blamed his team's poor free throw shooting (24 for 35), particularly in the late stages of regulation and the OTs, for contributing to the loss just as much as McHale's clutch shot and Johnson's steals and game-winning free throws.
"It happens sometimes -- we're normally a good free throw-shooting team," added Thomas. "But we're going home and we play really well at home. Teams have to come into the Silverdome and play extremely well to beat us." Bill Laimbeer, who fouled out in the second OT, said, "We thought we had the game won. We probably should have fouled McHale and, unfortunately, he made the three-pointer. It just happened so fast.
"We played good enough to win and we didn't, but we have to go out now and take advantage of playing on our court." Laimbeer said that after Thomas nailed his three-pointer, "I knew the game wasn't over because they have a lot of good three-point shooters. And then the guy who's not their best three-point shooter happened to can it.
"Hey, the Boston Celtics are a very talented team and they're defending champions in the East," he added. "Granted, we play better at home, but their goal is to win one in Detroit. "It's frustrating at the moment. We thought we should have won the game, but we didn't. But we have an outstanding ballclub and our fans will be excited to see us come home.
"Tonight we played good basketball. I felt even though it was going back and forth, we controlled the game." Pistons coach Chuck Daly said, "Neither club wanted to give in. They ultimately prevailed. When we had the 3-point lead, we wanted to foul but the play broke down and then the officials called (McHale's shot) a three.
"I don't know whether the call was correct or not. I didn't see a replay. But (referee Jack) Madden called it good, and so it was." Daly said the game wound down to both teams trading baskets "and who could get the basket to win the game. Our foul shooting down the stretch cost us -- both in regulation and overtime.
"But they're a great team and we're a good team and we've got five more games to play," added Daly, who unwittingly predicted a seven-game series with that remark. Joe Dumars, who had a chance to win the game after McHale's basket when he fired up a corner jumper -- an air ball -- said the Celtics got back into the game "on a busted play. It caught us off guard a little bit."
It must have shocked Dumars, who never came close three seconds later. "Physically, the Celtics should have been tired because we're younger," said Dumars. "But they have big hearts. They fought back. We've had two hard-fought games and now we have to protect our home-court advantage."
The clock read 0:07 when Isiah Thomas' three-point launch from the left sideline in the first overtime soared over Kevin McHale's outstretched arms and dropped cleanly through the basket. The Detroit bench looked like a combination of Mardi Gras and New Year's Eve as the Celtics called time out and the Pistons had visions of a two-game advantage and home court on the horizon. It was 109-106, Detroit, and everyone, it seemed, was celebrating on the Detroit sideline, anticipating a commanding lead over the Celtics in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference
finals.
Except Isiah.
"I've been playing these guys long enough to know that it ain't over until the final buzzer sounds," said Thomas, who led the Pistons with 24 points and dished off eight assists. The Detroit coaching staff had one plan. When the Celtics put the ball in play, they'd go for the safe foul with the 3-point lead.
Dennis Johnson's inbounds pass flicked off Larry Bird's fingertips as the Pistons were momentarily stuck in neutral. The ball wound up in Kevin McHale's hands, and the most improbable scenario unfolded for Detroit. First, the Pistons were immobilized. Second, McHale made the shot.
After the 119-115 double-OT loss, Thomas looked at the game's biggest bucket with a sense of humor. "They probably designed it that way," he grinned. And "no," said Isiah, he wasn't thinking about vindication after his three-pointer for his boo-boo in last year's Game 5. "That's in your (the media's) mind, but it wasn't on mine. We lost. We can't dwell on it. We have to get ready for Saturday's game," said Thomas, who blamed his team's poor free throw shooting (24 for 35), particularly in the late stages of regulation and the OTs, for contributing to the loss just as much as McHale's clutch shot and Johnson's steals and game-winning free throws.
"It happens sometimes -- we're normally a good free throw-shooting team," added Thomas. "But we're going home and we play really well at home. Teams have to come into the Silverdome and play extremely well to beat us." Bill Laimbeer, who fouled out in the second OT, said, "We thought we had the game won. We probably should have fouled McHale and, unfortunately, he made the three-pointer. It just happened so fast.
"We played good enough to win and we didn't, but we have to go out now and take advantage of playing on our court." Laimbeer said that after Thomas nailed his three-pointer, "I knew the game wasn't over because they have a lot of good three-point shooters. And then the guy who's not their best three-point shooter happened to can it.
"Hey, the Boston Celtics are a very talented team and they're defending champions in the East," he added. "Granted, we play better at home, but their goal is to win one in Detroit. "It's frustrating at the moment. We thought we should have won the game, but we didn't. But we have an outstanding ballclub and our fans will be excited to see us come home.
"Tonight we played good basketball. I felt even though it was going back and forth, we controlled the game." Pistons coach Chuck Daly said, "Neither club wanted to give in. They ultimately prevailed. When we had the 3-point lead, we wanted to foul but the play broke down and then the officials called (McHale's shot) a three.
"I don't know whether the call was correct or not. I didn't see a replay. But (referee Jack) Madden called it good, and so it was." Daly said the game wound down to both teams trading baskets "and who could get the basket to win the game. Our foul shooting down the stretch cost us -- both in regulation and overtime.
"But they're a great team and we're a good team and we've got five more games to play," added Daly, who unwittingly predicted a seven-game series with that remark. Joe Dumars, who had a chance to win the game after McHale's basket when he fired up a corner jumper -- an air ball -- said the Celtics got back into the game "on a busted play. It caught us off guard a little bit."
It must have shocked Dumars, who never came close three seconds later. "Physically, the Celtics should have been tired because we're younger," said Dumars. "But they have big hearts. They fought back. We've had two hard-fought games and now we have to protect our home-court advantage."
1988 Eastern Conference Finals: DJ the Hero in Game 2 OT Win
5/27/1988
It had to happen. Sooner or later, these nasty rivals were destined to go straight to the mattresses. Innocent bystanders be damned, the Celtics and Pistons have now officially gone to war. They shoved and elbowed and banged and huffed and puffed through 58 minutes of oft-sloppy but never timid basketball last night at Boston Garden, and when it was over, the Celtics had saved face and the series, in that order.
With Kevin McHale making a controversial three-pointer (was his foot on the line or wasn't it?) to tie it with five seconds remaining in the first overtime, and with Dennis (Money Time) Johnson dominating the final 1:25 of the ballgame, the Celtics tied up the best-of-seven Eastern Conference finals, 1-1, with a stirring 119-115 double-overtime triumph over the rugged Detroit Pistons.
Boston was trailing, 115-113, with 1:39 remaining in the second OT following a Joe Dumars jumper. DJ tied it with an inside-out foul line jumper from McHale. At 1:06, Isiah Thomas, whose chances to be a hero thanks to a sensational three-pointer had been wiped out by McHale's improbable shot, won a jump ball from Larry Bird, only to spoil the possession with a not-needed 21-foot miss from the right wing.
Johnson took the ball hard to the hoop, drawing, and sinking, two free throws to put Boston ahead, 117-115, with 43 seconds to go. Detroit elected to clear out the left side for Adrian Dantley, who settled for a flat set shot from 20 feet, which was rebounded by Robert Parish at the 25-second mark.
DJ was rammed by Thomas with nine seconds left, and DJ swished both. He completed his night's work following a Detroit timeout by smashing away an Isiah three-point attempt from the left wing, knocking it out of bounds with six seconds to go. A Vinnie Johnson heave ended it.
If the Celtics go on to win either this series and the NBA title, people will immediately turn their thoughts back to that fateful Boston possession with seven seconds left in the first OT. Thomas had just capped a Detroit comeback from a 106-102 OT deficit with an icy three-pointer from the left over a switched-off McHale two seconds earlier. Boston called time, and on the inbounds a DJ pass skimmed off the fingers of the struggling (6 for 20) Larry Bird. But wait . . . McHale, a lifetime 1-for-21 three-point shooter who hadn't attempted even one desperation three in 76 regular-season and playoff games this year, picked the ball off and swished a line-drive three from the dead center of the court.
The question was whether or not his foot was nudging the line. There was a lengthy midcourt pow-wow between the officiating crew of Jack Madden and Mike Mathis and the entire Detroit entourage. At length, Madden emerged from the conclave with his arms raised, signifying a game-tying (109-109) three-pointer.
There was plenty of action left in that OT, however. First Dumars air-balled a corner three. Then Bird traveled after receiving the inbounds. Finally, Bill Laimbeer's weak lob intended for Thomas was knocked away by the ubiquitous DJ, sending one and all into the second OT.
The Pistons will bemoan the favorable three-point ruling for about the next three centuries (both Skip Caray and Rick Barry on WTBS say even the replays were too close to make a definitive call), but the fact is that Detroit essentially outplayed the Celtics and gift-wrapped this game in about 10 different ways. Start with abominable second-half free throws.
Detroit got much the best of the down-the-stretch officiating in the feared Boston Garden, but Detroit managed to hit only 22 of 32 in the second half, plus OTs. Detroit also led by 5 (96-91) with 4:07 left in regulation, but the Pistons were then in the middle of an amazing stretch, during which they could manage but one field goal (a tough Thomas banker to put his team ahead, (98-97) in 10 minutes.
Detroit had also provided Boston with life by committing 15 first-half turnovers, good for 20 Celtics points. Included among Detroit's game total of 21 turnovers were no fewer than seven offensive fouls. The missed free throws absolutely leveled the Pistons. Dantley missed the second of two with 11 seconds to go in regulation, leaving the score tied at 102. James Edwards, otherwise praiseworthy (18 points off the bench), missed a pair to start the first OT. Dantley missed two more with the score tied at 113 in the second OT. And so on.
By no extraordinary stretch of anyone's most fertile imagination could this be called a great game. The 66 personal fouls were well earned. Messrs. Madden and Mathis could have called 166 more. It was a game of hand-to-hand combat, owing more to Camp Lejeune than to a classroom at West Point. The largest margin attained by either team was 7, which Boston had as early as 15-8 (before the turnovers took over) and as late as 76-69. But the Pistons never allowed Boston to run and hide.
The Detroit guys had it down to 81-78 after three quarters, and by the time the fourth quarter was 1:20 old, a basket by the fired-up Microwave (Vinnie Johnson) had put the Pistons in front, 82-81. A bit later on, Detroit took apparent control, moving into such leads as 94-89 (two John Salley free throws) and 96-91 (two freebies by Edwards).
Boston's last-gasp regulation run started with an inside-outer by the irrepressible DJ (22 points, 10 assists, 3 steals), whose swisher made it 96-93 (3:50). Boston got back into the lead on the only Bird basket of the last 27-plus minutes (97-96), but the key shot down that particular stretch was a playground shovel drive by Danny Ainge which gave the Celtics a 102-101 lead with 28 seconds left. Dantley's first chance to be a hero followed, but he could get only half the job done, making one of two with 11 seconds to go. Bird's bid to win it on a right corner spinner from 17 feet was well defensed by Salley.
But that was long before McHale's Three-Pointer Heard 'Round The Commonwealth, or before Dennis Johnson enhanced a reputation which should make him a spokesman for some company which seeks to portray an image of continually coming through under pressure.
And now it's off to the wilds of Pontiac, tied at 1-1. They'd better remember to bring their entrenching tools.
It had to happen. Sooner or later, these nasty rivals were destined to go straight to the mattresses. Innocent bystanders be damned, the Celtics and Pistons have now officially gone to war. They shoved and elbowed and banged and huffed and puffed through 58 minutes of oft-sloppy but never timid basketball last night at Boston Garden, and when it was over, the Celtics had saved face and the series, in that order.
With Kevin McHale making a controversial three-pointer (was his foot on the line or wasn't it?) to tie it with five seconds remaining in the first overtime, and with Dennis (Money Time) Johnson dominating the final 1:25 of the ballgame, the Celtics tied up the best-of-seven Eastern Conference finals, 1-1, with a stirring 119-115 double-overtime triumph over the rugged Detroit Pistons.
Boston was trailing, 115-113, with 1:39 remaining in the second OT following a Joe Dumars jumper. DJ tied it with an inside-out foul line jumper from McHale. At 1:06, Isiah Thomas, whose chances to be a hero thanks to a sensational three-pointer had been wiped out by McHale's improbable shot, won a jump ball from Larry Bird, only to spoil the possession with a not-needed 21-foot miss from the right wing.
Johnson took the ball hard to the hoop, drawing, and sinking, two free throws to put Boston ahead, 117-115, with 43 seconds to go. Detroit elected to clear out the left side for Adrian Dantley, who settled for a flat set shot from 20 feet, which was rebounded by Robert Parish at the 25-second mark.
DJ was rammed by Thomas with nine seconds left, and DJ swished both. He completed his night's work following a Detroit timeout by smashing away an Isiah three-point attempt from the left wing, knocking it out of bounds with six seconds to go. A Vinnie Johnson heave ended it.
If the Celtics go on to win either this series and the NBA title, people will immediately turn their thoughts back to that fateful Boston possession with seven seconds left in the first OT. Thomas had just capped a Detroit comeback from a 106-102 OT deficit with an icy three-pointer from the left over a switched-off McHale two seconds earlier. Boston called time, and on the inbounds a DJ pass skimmed off the fingers of the struggling (6 for 20) Larry Bird. But wait . . . McHale, a lifetime 1-for-21 three-point shooter who hadn't attempted even one desperation three in 76 regular-season and playoff games this year, picked the ball off and swished a line-drive three from the dead center of the court.
The question was whether or not his foot was nudging the line. There was a lengthy midcourt pow-wow between the officiating crew of Jack Madden and Mike Mathis and the entire Detroit entourage. At length, Madden emerged from the conclave with his arms raised, signifying a game-tying (109-109) three-pointer.
There was plenty of action left in that OT, however. First Dumars air-balled a corner three. Then Bird traveled after receiving the inbounds. Finally, Bill Laimbeer's weak lob intended for Thomas was knocked away by the ubiquitous DJ, sending one and all into the second OT.
The Pistons will bemoan the favorable three-point ruling for about the next three centuries (both Skip Caray and Rick Barry on WTBS say even the replays were too close to make a definitive call), but the fact is that Detroit essentially outplayed the Celtics and gift-wrapped this game in about 10 different ways. Start with abominable second-half free throws.
Detroit got much the best of the down-the-stretch officiating in the feared Boston Garden, but Detroit managed to hit only 22 of 32 in the second half, plus OTs. Detroit also led by 5 (96-91) with 4:07 left in regulation, but the Pistons were then in the middle of an amazing stretch, during which they could manage but one field goal (a tough Thomas banker to put his team ahead, (98-97) in 10 minutes.
Detroit had also provided Boston with life by committing 15 first-half turnovers, good for 20 Celtics points. Included among Detroit's game total of 21 turnovers were no fewer than seven offensive fouls. The missed free throws absolutely leveled the Pistons. Dantley missed the second of two with 11 seconds to go in regulation, leaving the score tied at 102. James Edwards, otherwise praiseworthy (18 points off the bench), missed a pair to start the first OT. Dantley missed two more with the score tied at 113 in the second OT. And so on.
By no extraordinary stretch of anyone's most fertile imagination could this be called a great game. The 66 personal fouls were well earned. Messrs. Madden and Mathis could have called 166 more. It was a game of hand-to-hand combat, owing more to Camp Lejeune than to a classroom at West Point. The largest margin attained by either team was 7, which Boston had as early as 15-8 (before the turnovers took over) and as late as 76-69. But the Pistons never allowed Boston to run and hide.
The Detroit guys had it down to 81-78 after three quarters, and by the time the fourth quarter was 1:20 old, a basket by the fired-up Microwave (Vinnie Johnson) had put the Pistons in front, 82-81. A bit later on, Detroit took apparent control, moving into such leads as 94-89 (two John Salley free throws) and 96-91 (two freebies by Edwards).
Boston's last-gasp regulation run started with an inside-outer by the irrepressible DJ (22 points, 10 assists, 3 steals), whose swisher made it 96-93 (3:50). Boston got back into the lead on the only Bird basket of the last 27-plus minutes (97-96), but the key shot down that particular stretch was a playground shovel drive by Danny Ainge which gave the Celtics a 102-101 lead with 28 seconds left. Dantley's first chance to be a hero followed, but he could get only half the job done, making one of two with 11 seconds to go. Bird's bid to win it on a right corner spinner from 17 feet was well defensed by Salley.
But that was long before McHale's Three-Pointer Heard 'Round The Commonwealth, or before Dennis Johnson enhanced a reputation which should make him a spokesman for some company which seeks to portray an image of continually coming through under pressure.
And now it's off to the wilds of Pontiac, tied at 1-1. They'd better remember to bring their entrenching tools.
1988 Eastern Conference Finals: Pistons Draw First Blood
5/26/1988
Euphoria is nontransferable from Sunday to Wednesday, and so, apparently, is skill. The Boston Celtics, so noble on Sunday against Atlanta, were appallingly mortal last night, shooting 36 percent in the second half and suffering the worst imaginable consequence -- a first-game loss to the Detroit Pistons. With the second game of the best-of-seven Eastern Conference finals coming up tonight (8, SportsChannel), the deeper Pistons have a chance to drive a stake the length of Chile through the Celtics' heart with a triumph. But they chose not to gloat.
"It's a seven-game series," said a very subdued Chuck Daly after guiding his team to a long-awaited 104-96 Boston Garden triumph over the Celtics. "You've got to win four." Isiah Thomas also mouthed the Piston party line. "It's the first to win four," he said, "not the first to win one." This series won't last long if Isiah plays many games the equal of the masterpiece he submitted last night. Word had filtered east that the erstwhile Pocket Magic had been acting like a supreme orchestrator of late, and he demonstrated the validity of that scouting report with his magnificent 35-point, 12-assist performance. Everything he did looked effortless as he taunted the Celtics with soft perimeter jumpers, skillful drives and clever feeds, the biggest of which was a pick-and-roll dish to Dennis Rodman for a clinching dunk with 1:30 remaining (96-89).
Isiah slipped the stiletto into the Bostonians all night long, but never more so than during the decisive fourth quarter, when he scored 15 points. Included in his bounty were three three-point possessions, the result of two downtown three-point shots (78-73, 90-82) and a vintage Isiah gutsy drive which produced a basket and foul on Robert Parish (87-82). He did everything a guard is supposed to do in this game, posting impressive numbers right down to the final stat sheet column, where he registered a scant two turnovers in 44 minutes. Detroit had come heavily advertised as The Beast With Nine Heads, and it was that tremendous depth which also helped propel the Pistons to their first Garden victory since Dec. 19, 1982, or 21 agonizing games ago. For the Pistons managed to carve out this satisfying conquest of the hated Celtics on a night when starting center Bill Laimbeer missed the final 19 minutes with an injury to his right shoulder, and when both Adrian Dantley and John Salley were in foul trouble.
To the Celtics, a comparable situation would be a catastrophe. For Daly & Co., it's a minor irritation. Daly plucked Rodman (9 rebounds) and James Edwards (6 points, 6 assists and a block) from his well-stocked bench, and Detroit life went on just fine. The teams went through a spurty first period (Boston went from 10-6 down to 18-13 up to 23-21 down, etc.) and a hard-fought second quarter (which left the Celtics ahead, 53-52, at the half). Detroit was having its usual difficulty containing Kevin McHale (31, with 16 in the first half), but the Pistons were operating satisfactorily at the other end, shooting 56 percent from the floor.
Boston made its move at the outset of the third period, extending the lead to 61-54. Detroit was cold from the floor here, and even more miserable from the line. But the Celtics could not benefit from the Detroit offensive struggle. It was 70-64, Celtics, when Thomas kicked off a run of 7-0 with a get-back fast break three-point play in the exhaust fumes of a Larry Bird lefty drive with 3:20 left. That would be the last Boston hoop for five minutes, until a falling-down three-pointer by Danny Ainge (a girl-with-the-curl-in-the-middle-of-the-foreheadish 18) halted a Detroit spree which had put the visitors up, 80-73.
A McHale floater and Bird's only fourth-quarter hoop (What is this? No Dominique, no challenge? Just kidding) tied it at 80, but the unflustered Pistons struck back with successive hoops by Adrian Dantley. At 84-82 following a McHale layup, Thomas came up with the back-to-back threes, and the Celtics never seriously threaten again. K.C. Jones was not pleased with his team's thought process. "We had very bad decision-making most of the game as far as shot selection and ballhandling were concerned," he declared. "We would push it up and then fire from outside. That's not the way to play against the Detroit Pistons, because when they get those long rebounds, they're off on a fast break.
"We just didn't show patience at the offensive end," he continued. "When we did, like in the third quarter, we got a decent lead of 6 or 7 points. But we couldn't hold it. We started firing it up again." There's very little time now for the Celtics to reflect on their sins. They'll throw the ball up a little after 8 tonight.
Can you say "Must Game," boys and girls?
Euphoria is nontransferable from Sunday to Wednesday, and so, apparently, is skill. The Boston Celtics, so noble on Sunday against Atlanta, were appallingly mortal last night, shooting 36 percent in the second half and suffering the worst imaginable consequence -- a first-game loss to the Detroit Pistons. With the second game of the best-of-seven Eastern Conference finals coming up tonight (8, SportsChannel), the deeper Pistons have a chance to drive a stake the length of Chile through the Celtics' heart with a triumph. But they chose not to gloat.
"It's a seven-game series," said a very subdued Chuck Daly after guiding his team to a long-awaited 104-96 Boston Garden triumph over the Celtics. "You've got to win four." Isiah Thomas also mouthed the Piston party line. "It's the first to win four," he said, "not the first to win one." This series won't last long if Isiah plays many games the equal of the masterpiece he submitted last night. Word had filtered east that the erstwhile Pocket Magic had been acting like a supreme orchestrator of late, and he demonstrated the validity of that scouting report with his magnificent 35-point, 12-assist performance. Everything he did looked effortless as he taunted the Celtics with soft perimeter jumpers, skillful drives and clever feeds, the biggest of which was a pick-and-roll dish to Dennis Rodman for a clinching dunk with 1:30 remaining (96-89).
Isiah slipped the stiletto into the Bostonians all night long, but never more so than during the decisive fourth quarter, when he scored 15 points. Included in his bounty were three three-point possessions, the result of two downtown three-point shots (78-73, 90-82) and a vintage Isiah gutsy drive which produced a basket and foul on Robert Parish (87-82). He did everything a guard is supposed to do in this game, posting impressive numbers right down to the final stat sheet column, where he registered a scant two turnovers in 44 minutes. Detroit had come heavily advertised as The Beast With Nine Heads, and it was that tremendous depth which also helped propel the Pistons to their first Garden victory since Dec. 19, 1982, or 21 agonizing games ago. For the Pistons managed to carve out this satisfying conquest of the hated Celtics on a night when starting center Bill Laimbeer missed the final 19 minutes with an injury to his right shoulder, and when both Adrian Dantley and John Salley were in foul trouble.
To the Celtics, a comparable situation would be a catastrophe. For Daly & Co., it's a minor irritation. Daly plucked Rodman (9 rebounds) and James Edwards (6 points, 6 assists and a block) from his well-stocked bench, and Detroit life went on just fine. The teams went through a spurty first period (Boston went from 10-6 down to 18-13 up to 23-21 down, etc.) and a hard-fought second quarter (which left the Celtics ahead, 53-52, at the half). Detroit was having its usual difficulty containing Kevin McHale (31, with 16 in the first half), but the Pistons were operating satisfactorily at the other end, shooting 56 percent from the floor.
Boston made its move at the outset of the third period, extending the lead to 61-54. Detroit was cold from the floor here, and even more miserable from the line. But the Celtics could not benefit from the Detroit offensive struggle. It was 70-64, Celtics, when Thomas kicked off a run of 7-0 with a get-back fast break three-point play in the exhaust fumes of a Larry Bird lefty drive with 3:20 left. That would be the last Boston hoop for five minutes, until a falling-down three-pointer by Danny Ainge (a girl-with-the-curl-in-the-middle-of-the-foreheadish 18) halted a Detroit spree which had put the visitors up, 80-73.
A McHale floater and Bird's only fourth-quarter hoop (What is this? No Dominique, no challenge? Just kidding) tied it at 80, but the unflustered Pistons struck back with successive hoops by Adrian Dantley. At 84-82 following a McHale layup, Thomas came up with the back-to-back threes, and the Celtics never seriously threaten again. K.C. Jones was not pleased with his team's thought process. "We had very bad decision-making most of the game as far as shot selection and ballhandling were concerned," he declared. "We would push it up and then fire from outside. That's not the way to play against the Detroit Pistons, because when they get those long rebounds, they're off on a fast break.
"We just didn't show patience at the offensive end," he continued. "When we did, like in the third quarter, we got a decent lead of 6 or 7 points. But we couldn't hold it. We started firing it up again." There's very little time now for the Celtics to reflect on their sins. They'll throw the ball up a little after 8 tonight.
Can you say "Must Game," boys and girls?
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