Boston Celtics Team Wristband Pair at Amazon
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The 83-84 season was a crucial one for both the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers. It being the year in which they became the class teams of the NBA who would basically with very few exclusions dominate basketball for the next 5 seasons; the Celtics winning 2 titles to the Lakers 3. The 76ers not being challengers after 83 or at least for the rest of 80s. It was that year that I likewise met somebody who would become a close friend of mine, who in fact was as strong of a Laker fan as I was a Celtic fan which led to endless arguments amid us as to who was better yet both of us admired each other’s team nevertheless I leaned toward the Celtics while he did so for the Lakers. That year was likewise special in being the firstborn time Larry Bird’s Celtics would play “Magic” Johnson’s Lakers in the final in what would turn out to be a fiercely contended seven games in which the Celtics would emerge Victorious by 4 games to 3. Naturally, I was cheering for the Celtics while my friend did so for the Lakers yet not only for the gratification of seeing our respective teams win but the 100 dollars we had bet on who would win the series. Game one in Boston went to the Lakers and just as it appeared that game two would also go to the Lakers as they had both a two point lead and the ball with only 18 seconds in the game yet failed to run out the clock when James Worthy’s pass was intercepted by Henderson; who took it in for two points to tie up the score and send the game in to overtime. This being a play that I will never forget as in all reality, I could already see the Celtics being down by 2 games to 0 yet it was when all appeared lost that Henderson came out of nowhere to steal an ill-advised pass by Worthy to tie the game and fetch a big cheer in to the Boston Garden. The Celtics had dogged a bullet. As the fabled Celtic leprechaun had formulated another outstanding moment yet they were still not out of the woods as they would have to beat the Lakers in overtime. Overtime staring with a score of 113 a piece as tensions were high in the Boston Garden while my friend and I were turning to prayer to support our teams to victory. The Celtics nevertheless prevailed by a score of 124 to 121 to tie up the series at one a piece. After which the series went to the Forum in Inglewood, California; where the Lakers and their fans which included Jack Nicholson would surely be waiting and cheering them on. As for my friend, it was the following day that he did not wish to talk regarding the game yet all things considered. I do not fault him for this was one of those games which one hates to see one’s team loose in particular when they practically let it slip out of their hands. The series as expected went back to the Forum for game three in which the Lakers beat the Celtics by a score of 137 to 104 and therefore handed the Celtics their worse play off defeat ever. This game giving me very little to cheer when it comes to as Magic Johnson dished out 21 helps while Larry Bird later remarked that his team “played like sissies”. Game four nonetheless put me in better spirits as the Celtics, once again necessitated overtime to beat the Lakers which they did so by a score of 129-125 to tie up the series at 2 a piece yet this game was marred by bad blood and rough play. It being largely remembered for a foul by Kevin McHale on Kurt Rambis which perchance looked worse then it was giving how fast Rambis was going when McHale kept him. Regarding other incidents in this game which would lead to it being remembered for rough play, was the incident in which Larry Bird went after Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in the third quarter; who in fact would foul out in overtime. Bird, for his percentage would go on to hit a crucial jump shot with time running out to give Boston the victory. As for another incident, Maxwell infuriated Laker fans when he put his hands on his neck to ridicule Worthy for choking when Worthy missed a free throw. As for Magic Johnson, it was after this game that Celtic fans took to calling him “tragic” Johnson. This because of the way in which the Lakers lost the game in spite of having a 5 point lead with less than a minute left due to a bad pass by Johnson to Robert Parrish. Johnson would even go on to miss two foul shots in overtime which was unquestionably a change from the game he had had in game 3. I, nevertheless was sentiment delighted and even fortunate not to have lost the bet as the Celtics could have just as without apparent effort lost all four games yet were still hanging in there tied at two a piece. Game five was played in the Boston Garden which in fact was the last time, the team with the home court vantage would get to play this game at home. This due to the formula being changed for the following year from 2-2-1-1-1 to 2-3-2. It being Red Auerbach (president of the Boston Celtics) who complained in regards to the costs of traveling. The game itself was played in 97 degree heat with oxygen being available for the aging Kareem Abdul-Jabbar while Larry Bird scored 34 points in Boston’s 121 to 103 victory which put me ever closer to wining my the bet as well as seeing my favored team; the Boston Celtics beat their greatest rival. Game six went back to the Forum in Inglewood, California where Jack Nicholson was known not only for his aid of the Lakers but for dancing when ever his team was doing well. The Lakers would win this game by a score of 119 to 102 to tie the series at 3 a piece and send it back to the Boston Garden though not before James Worthy pushed Cedric Maxwell in to the basket support. This being a dirty foul in my opinion which went beyond playing rough. It perhaps due to Maxwell’s having made fun of Worthy in game four. This game would also be remembered for M.L. Carr having beer thrown in his face as he was leaving the floor which even hurt his eyes to the extent that he would have to wear protective goggles for game seven. All of which leading one to believe that perhaps there was more than beer in the liquid which was thrown in his eyes by a Laker fan. Carr for his part would call the series “the all out war” as there in truth was a sentiment that there was a lot more at stake than met the eye. Game seven, the one to determine all and for what concerned me; I was closely sure the Celtics would not loose a game seven at home. Specially since they had played the Lakers seven times in the finals before and in fact had won all seven times. The days were tense in waiting for game seven yet I was sure that when the smoke cleared Boston would beat the Lakers for the eighth time in a final yet this was not automatic. The Lakers, after all did have a man who was not called magic without reason. The game was played in air which was more or less cooler than game five (due to fans being brought in to cool the air) altho not so much that it would make a huge difference. The game itself was won by the Celtics by a score of 111 to 102 with the Celtics leading almost all the way and altho the Lakers managed to get the deficit at one point down to three points; it was the Celtics who proved to be the more inviolable team down the stretch. It being with great joy that I watched this match as each shot seemed to carry enormous importance with me wishing each play to go for the Celtics while I am sure my friend, who by then was in LA; did the same for his Lakers. Larry Bird and Magic Johnson would go on to play each other in the finals again and win more titles and finish their careers with 3 MVPs a piece yet this closely does not matter, who won more titles or made it to more finals yet what does is that these two players in huge part helped to not only save the game of basketball but make it in to a international success. Naturally, as may be expected Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Doctor J at long last retired with enormous fanfare. It being the primary of these two players to leave the game as the most eminent scorer of all time while the second only left it as the fifth most eminent scorer of all time which is not all together bad. Also as may be expected, at long last other outstanding players came in to NBA such as Karl Malone (second most eminent scorer of all time and perhaps the greatest player never to win an NBA title) along with Isiah Thomas and Michael Jordan. It being these last two who likewise led their respective teams to NBA titles and thence cemented the sport of basketball as one of the most usual through out the world yet galore wonder if these two players along with a good deal of to follow would have enjoyed so much success if it had not been for Larry Bird and Magic Johnson. This perhaps being disputable yet for sure it may be said that Bird and Johnson made the sport of basketball the phenomenon it is thanks to not only their talent on the court which changed the game from everyone attempting to score for themselves to one where plays in truth generated excitement and were a sheer delight to watch but their personalities. Bird and Johnson in a lot of ways being to the NBA what “The Beatles” and “The Rolling Stones” were to rock and roll music when they gave it the boost it necessitated as it appeared that it had seen it is best days go by or perchance to a sure extent what Ronald Reagan and Gorbachov were to Soviet American relationships. Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, looking back on their time, in a way it was strange because neither of them were outstanding athletes nor overly fast runners nor high jumpers for that matter. Johnson even state emphatically and authoritatively once that he could jump high sufficient yet they had talent where it counted the most to make them great basketball players as well great contenders in spite of being friends off the court. I would also like to add to this article something a Polish friend of mine said (who at 6′ 5″ not surprising plays professional basketball) which went something like this “Larry Bird on the court looked like a looser, who dribbled funny and ran amusive and even had a strange form of shooting. He shot the ball from behind his back yet in spite of it all, he was one of the greatest who ever played the game and along with Johnson saved basketball to make it the sport it is today.” |
