Auerbach Dreaming of Bird, Maravich Combo

January 5, 1979 Picture the Boston Celtics with Pete Maravich at guard and Larry Bird at forward. Picture the Celts rising from the ashes next year. Bet your boots boss Red Auerbach is thinking along those lines.

Maravich, finally frustrated enough to want out of New Orleans, is on the NBA trade block. Eight clubs are in the bidding, and the Celts -- whose Jo Jo White has been bucking to be traded for some time -- are in the forefront. The Maravich deal could break any day now, letting the Jazz unload the knee-braced ace and the 3 1/2 years left on his big, big contract while maybe even getting N'Orleans forward Truck Robinson out of the mood to be traded, too, as he has wished aloud in the past because of the club's "special treatment" of Maravich.

Celtic owner John Y. Brown qualifies: "I'm aware that Red has always been fond of him, but I'm also aware of Maravich's contract." Meanwhile, Auerbach finds Bird-watching at Indiana State pure pleasure.

The Celts drafted Bird No. 1 last year as a junior and are enjoying a winter of anticipation, avowedly not unhappy that the 6-foot-7 All-America opted to play his senior year at Indiana State before going pro. The NCAA Division I statistics just out show Bird the only player among the top five in both scoring and rebounding -- No. 1 in scoring, 33.3; No. 4 in 'bounding, 14.6; but that's not all. Auerbach beams, after a visit to Terre Haute to watch Bird against Tulsa (27 points, 19 rebounds, six assists): "I don't think there is any forward in the pros now who can pass any better than he can. In fact, he's the best passing big man I ever saw."

Nobody is Watching the NBA

February 13, 1979 Every national survey that has crossed Larry O'Brien's desk since he was named commissioner of the National Basketball Association almost four years ago has arrived at the same conclusion: Basketball is the favorite sport among this country's 18-to-35 age group.

"The fans are out there, no question about it," said O'Brien. "I don't believe the figures are lying to us."

Bird and McHale Showing Some Early Signs of Chemistry

Larry Bird and rookie Kevin McHale combined for some last-minute magic last night to lift the Boston Celtics to a gutty 101-99 victory over the Bullets.

A Capital Centre crowd of 11,718, the second largest of the season, was treated to everything they could hope to see in a basketball game, but in the final analysis, it was two big shots and a block by the 6-foot-10 McHale and a great steal and a pair of baskets by Bird that made the difference.

C's Beat Bulls as Bird Goes for 30, 10, & 10

 1983-84 Boston Celtics
April 9, 1984

First, it was a rainy, blah Sunday. Second, the Celtics already were assured of the NBA's best record. Third, they were playing Chicago (27-51). This is a list of reasons to explain away the Celtics' slip-slidin' 117-110 victory yesterday. Several hundred fans among the announced sellout Garden crowd and five players didn't show up, including Celtics guards Danny Ainge (sprained left ankle) and Gerald Henderson (hamstring), ending his 327 consecutive-game streak. Cedric Maxwell (Achilles tendinitis) didn't play, either, but at least he was there.

Bird Named Player of the Month

February 3, 1982

Well, you know, he was kinda hard to ignore.

Larry Bird played 14 games in January, not including the All-Star Game, where he was the MVP. He averaged 26.9 points, 12.9 rebounds, 7.1 assists and 2.9 steals. He scored 40 points once and had over 30 on five other occasions.

So it did not exactly come as a complete shock when Bird was named yesterday as the NBA Player of the Month, beating out Gus Williams, Magic Johnson, Moses Malone, Alex English, Jay Vincent and John Long, most of whom should be immensely pleased just to be named in the same paragraph as Larry Bird, when it comes to discussing quality basketball players.-

Which brings us to last night's game. The Bird stat line reads 43 minutes, 26 points (8-for-19 from the floor), 13 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal and zero turnovers. It sounds nice, but what it added up to was a so-so Bird performance, a routine earn-the-paychec k night's work that nonetheless represented an achievement that could not have been matched for impact on the game by 95 percent of the game's players.

Rookie Bird Making an Impact

November 1, 1979 The Bird is the word in Boston this year.

Larry Bird, the most publicized National Basketball Association rookie since, well, Earvin "Magic" Johnson, is making a big impression on his first trip around the league.

He brought his act to Piscataway Wednesday night and helped the Celtics to their seventh victory in nine games. Bird is averaging close to 19 points a game and is proving to be one of the best passing big men in the league. 

Bird Follows Russell and Cowens in Transforming Celtics

December 5, 1979 Here by the filthy train trestles of North Station stands basketball's sweet Garden of sweat.

This is the home of the Boston Celtics: grean-clad keepers of the flame.

Once again, they are turning sooty, smoke-filled Boston Garden into America's least-likely gallery of fine art. Masterpieces-in-motion are once more a display.

In this Louvre of the underwear game, the third coming of the Celtics may be on its way. 

Rookie Bird Goes for 18, 12, 4, and 4

November 4, 1979 The charismatic Boston Celtics humiliated the struggling Washington Bullets for the second time in 2 1/2 weeks last night with a convincing 118-97 thrashing at Capital Centre.

The Celtics (8-2) have now won four in a row on the road.They dropped the beleaguered Bullets to 3-6.

Pacers Pass on Bird, Take Robey Instead

June 10, 1978 The rich, in this case the Portland Trail Blazers, got richer in yesterday's National Basketball Association draft.

Portland, the 1977 NBA champion and possessor of the league's best won-lost record last season despite losing center Bill Walton to injury late in the season, started the draft by selecting Minnesota's Mychal Thompson, a 6-foot-10 forward-center.

Portland had gotten first choice in the draft by sending guard John Davis and its first round pick, third overall, to Indiana.

Pacers Hope Bird Forgoes Senior Year

April 14, 1978

The Kansas CIty Kings Have lost another coin toss for first dibs in the NBA draft, this time to the Indiana Pacers - who'd like a Bird to trump the Kings' Birdsong.

Oh what a tangled web they weave. The New Jersey Nets should have lead-off selection by virture of the leadge's worst record - but long ago traded the right to K.C. Meanwhile the Kings' own first pick had been swapped to Golden State. Okay. Indiana tied the Kings for last in the Western Conference (31-51), giving it equal priority to K.C. 's "earned" spot - and won a draw with the Warriors, since they owned same. The left Pacers and Kings facing off by conference call, and the toss in New York GHQ came up tails for Indiana.

The pacers would like to telepathize 6-9 Indiana State forward Larry Bird into forgoing his senior year - as U. of San Francisco's 6-6 1/2 Winford Boynes will - and hope if he does, he has a better rookie season than last years' No. 1 from the same state, the Bucks' Kent Benson.

The Kings followed in '77 by taking Otis Birdsong who has come through nicely - and, of course, the Bucks covered their tracks in a hurry with the very next selection in the one (via an old trade): marques Johnson.

This year Pacers and Kings agree it doesn't much difference. Jerry Oliver, Indiana assistance coach: "There's really no No. 1 player graduating everbody wants. We might consider a player and trade. We have all kinds of options." Joe Axelson, Kansas City general manager: "There's no turnaround player out there. There are two players to choose from Phil Ford and MYchai Thompson). There are also a couple of underclassmen who would really excite us if they came out" . . .

Bird Reups

September 28, 1983 BIRD SAID TO GET A $15 MILLION PACT
Larry Bird, Boston's all-star forward, is apparently on the verge of signing a contract with the Celtics for more than $15 million.

Bird and the Celtics' new owners yesterday had reportedly reached general agreement on a multiyear contract that would guarantee Bird more than $2 million a year and bring him more than $15 million over the life of the pact.

Neither the Celtics nor Bird's agent, Bob Woolf, would verify the figures, but Woolf acknowledged yesterday that ''we are very close to agreement with the Celtics,'' and made clear that he had been pressing for a contract that would exceed the $13.2 million, six-year contract that Moses Malone signed with the Philadelphia 76ers last year. 

''A number of top experts tell me that Bird is the best basketball player ever to play the game, and I believe the new owners concur,'' Woolf said, expressing hope that the Celtics would be rewarding Bird ''with a contract commensurate with his skill.''

Unlike the Malone contract, which reportedly included $350,000 a year in incentive bonuses, the Bird negotiations are said to have focused on a fully guaranteed contractwithout such bonuses.

Camp Opens This Week

Woolf said he expected a final agreement before the opening of the Celtics' training camp this week, the deadline Bird has set for concluding a new agreement with the Celtics. He is entering the last year of a five-year, $650,000-a-year contract and has said that he would not negotiate with the Celtics once training camp begins but would instead pursue free agency next year.

Meanwhile, Robert Parish, the Celtics' center, threatened to stay out of training camp, which begins Friday, unless the club renegotiates his $650,000-a-year contract.

Parish's new agent, Wayne Traynham, met with Celtic officials yesterday but neither side was immediately available for comment. Parish has three years remaining on his currentcontract.

First Forward in NBA History to win Consecutive MVPs

He's a certified local treasure, like Sam Adams, James Michael Curley and Arthur Fiedler. It's conceivable that you might someday find yourself walking across the Larry Bird Footbridge to the Esplanade, or that you'll hear Officer Bill report that traffic is backed-up all the way to Larry Bird Boulevard.

Unlike Magic, Bird is Carrying his Team

February 25, 1980

It is becoming difficult to exaggerate the effect that Larry Bird has had on the Celtics. As the club travels around the country, rivals are becoming more explicit in their praise. And just this week Utah Jazz coach Tom Nissalke uttered the most powerful endorsement yet of the Celtics' rookie.

Celtics Big Three Outscore Pistons Frontline 74-18, Outrebound them 38-11

Celtics Big Three Outscore Pistons Frontline 74-18, Outrebound them 38-11

April 29, 1985

After the Boston Celtics had struggled to eliminate the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round of the playoffs, their real front line reappeared today and helped overwhelm the Detroit Pistons, 133-99, at Boston Garden.

Bird Turning Heads

February 9, 1979 Indiana Stater Master of All He Surveys
One Look at Bird's Act Starts Heads Shaking

Larry Bird plays the No. 1 city game with such panache that you'd swear he was weaned on the playgrounds of New York City, Washington, D.C., or Philadelphia.

Uh, uh.

Bird Rebounds from Bad Texas Trip

1990-91 Boston Celtics

There was nothing magical or mystical about Larry Bird's offensive rejuvenation last night at Boston Garden, where he set the tone early for the Celtics ' 129-111 romp over the Bucks.

Bird had a grand total of 38 points over a very long three-game weekend in Texas while hitting just 15 of 51 shots and only 2 (albeit important) of 8 3-pointers.

The Mchale-Ainge-Bird Dynamic

 

Jackie Mac

During the time I covered Ainge in the '80s, I always saw him as a little brother to Bird and McHale. (He was two years younger than the former and 15 months younger than the latter.) In effect, he took on the same position he held in his own family under Doug (four years older) and Dave (three years older). McHale could goof off with the best of them—from time to time he would sneak a snack on the bench—but it was Ainge who acted as if he were 10, showing up at practice wearing goofy headbands and adhesive-taped names on his jersey. Lamar Mundane, a fictional playground legend who was the subject of a Reebok commercial at the time, was one of Ainge's favorites. Bird and McHale ragged him for his boyish enthusiasm and I-got-screwed whining during games. Only when Bill Walton came to the Celtics in 1985, giving Bird and McHale a new target, did Ainge slither off the hook.

Still, Ainge was the player most plugged into the complex Bird-McHale dynamic. "Larry would always come to me and say, 'Hey, go tell Kevin this,' and Kevin would come to me and say, 'Go tell Larry that.' They were such great players, but sometimes they didn't know how to talk to each other and how to yell at each other. But they knew how to yell at me."