1987 ECF Pistons vs Celtics

[Da_Realist]

Game 1 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NM8iZJjXixg)

http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/198705190BOS.html

[Da_Realist]

Game 2 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4xM4v82E2w)

http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/198705210BOS.html

[Thorpesaurous]

I was at both of those games.

[Da_Realist]

I was at both of those games.

NICE. Always wanted to visit the old Boston Garden. Such an iconic stadium. It was sort of like baseball stadiums in that the venue itself was a destination.

[Da_Realist]

Game 3 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDs5KZ8jk0Y)

http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/198705230DET.html

From ESPN
A defining moment for Bill Laimbeer, the versatile big man whose game was similar to Rasheed Wallace's, except for a difference in the direction they cast their wrath (opponents versus referees). In this one, Laimbeer sends Larry Bird to the floor with authority in the Pistons' 122-104 victory.

Laimbeer, called "the dirtiest player in the league" by Michael Jordan, gets the heave-ho along with Bird. "It's like Michael said, and I think everybody knows it," Bird said. "I wish they would have parted the sea, cleared the court for about 15 minutes and just let us go at each other. We would have seen who the real man is. He was backing away from me and didn't want any part of me." Think Bill got under Larry's skin much?

[magnax1]

I watched some of these games and then watched some of there finals apearances. After that I felt that the teams before they traded away dantley were better even though they lost those years. The fact that they won probably has as much to do with the celts and lakers getting older than the pistons getting better. I always felt sorry for Dantley. Doesn't get the recognition he deserves.

[Da_Realist]

I watched some of these games and then watched some of there finals apearances. After that I felt that the teams before they traded away dantley were better even though they lost those years. The fact that they won probably has as much to do with the celts and lakers getting older than the pistons getting better. I always felt sorry for Dantley. Doesn't get the recognition he deserves.

That 88 team was good. Isiah calmed down a bit, Rodman and Salley matured a little more, their defense was even better and Dantley was still a very good low post player. Everybody's roles were better defined as it took them a few years to transform themselves from a purely offensive team to a defensive one. I think 88 was their best team overall.

[magnax1]

That 88 team was good. Isiah calmed down a bit, Rodman and Salley matured a little more, their defense was even better and Dantley was still a very good low post player. Everybody's roles were better defined as it took them a few years to transform themselves from a purely offensive team to a defensive one. I think 88 was their best team overall.
I just wish they won over the lakers. Dantley Deserved a title. And the team winning after he left made him look bad and seemed to hurt his image pretty bad. How is it that he took so long to get into the hall of fame? Why is it that the Jazz retired his jersey only last year? That guy is a top five 80's player to me.

[Shep]

That guy is a top five 80's player to me.
:roll: ahead of larry bird, magic johnson, michael jordan, kareem abdul-jabbar, or julius erving? :lol dantley isn't even a top 5 small forward of the 80s

[Rekindled]

:roll: ahead of larry bird, magic johnson, michael jordan, kareem abdul-jabbar, or julius erving? :lol dantley isn't even a top 5 small forward of the 80s
:banghead:

[Shep]

:banghead:
:confusedshrug:

[Fatal9]

That 88 team was good. Isiah calmed down a bit, Rodman and Salley matured a little more, their defense was even better and Dantley was still a very good low post player. Everybody's roles were better defined as it took them a few years to transform themselves from a purely offensive team to a defensive one. I think 88 was their best team overall.
Thanks for the games. Do you know if there was a reason behind Bird's horrible series in 1988? It seems unbelievable. The game logs aren't up on any website, but I have him at the following shooting numbers:

game 1 - 8/20
game 2 - 6/20
game 3 - 6/17
game 4 - 7/15
game 5 - 9/25
game 6 - 4/17

I've watched all six games, and it is just unbelievable to see Larry f*cking Bird shoot that poorly over a 6 game playoff stretch. The defense was good, but he still got the shots he wanted (kinda like MJ vs. Sonics). Everything just fell apart for Boston in that series. Ainge and DJ were injured (Ainge shot 1-11 in the final game). Parish got injured in the elimination game (maybe game 5). Team was old and tired. And that's really the only thing I can think of. Bird just being exhausted as he came off a 7 game series, and then game 1 and 2 were on back to back nights. Here's a quote from Isiah: ''I haven't seen Larry shoot this badly since he had that bad elbow in the 1985 championship series against the Lakers,'' Thomas said. ''True, we're putting a little extra defensive pressure but that never has stopped Larry before. I would be curious to know if his elbow was bothering him again. But you never know with Larry, he never lets on about injuries.''

[magnax1]

:roll: ahead of larry bird, magic johnson, michael jordan, kareem abdul-jabbar, or julius erving? :lol dantley isn't even a top 5 small forward of the 80s
Ok, so I didn't count how many better players there were in the 80's. Though I'd put Dr. J in 70's and MJ and 90's. And you must be smoking something if you think hes not a top five Small forward. Hes a top five small forward of all time.

[chitownsfinest]

Man you are spoiling us NBA fans with all these games you have been uploading. I can't thank you enough for all this.

[Shep]

Ok, so I didn't count how many better players there were in the 80's. Though I'd put Dr. J in 70's and MJ and 90's. And you must be smoking something if you think hes not a top five Small forward. Hes a top five small forward of all time.
if he is a top 5 small forward of all time surely he'd be in the top 5 small forwards in the decade he played in, but he isn't, infact he wasn't even top 6.

[Da_Realist]

Thanks for the games. Do you know if there was a reason behind Bird's horrible series in 1988? It seems unbelievable. The game logs aren't up on any website, but I have him at the following shooting numbers:

game 1 - 8/20
game 2 - 6/20
game 3 - 6/17
game 4 - 7/15
game 5 - 9/25
game 6 - 4/17

I've watched all six games, and it is just unbelievable to see Larry f*cking Bird shoot that poorly over a 6 game playoff stretch. The defense was good, but he still got the shots he wanted (kinda like MJ vs. Sonics). Everything just fell apart for Boston in that series. Ainge and DJ were injured (Ainge shot 1-11 in the final game). Parish got injured in the elimination game (maybe game 5). Team was old and tired. And that's really the only thing I can think of. Bird just being exhausted as he came off a 7 game series, and then game 1 and 2 were on back to back nights. Here's a quote from Isiah: ''I haven't seen Larry shoot this badly since he had that bad elbow in the 1985 championship series against the Lakers,'' Thomas said. ''True, we're putting a little extra defensive pressure but that never has stopped Larry before. I would be curious to know if his elbow was bothering him again. But you never know with Larry, he never lets on about injuries.''

Those stats seem about right. As to why he struggled...probably all of the above. Detroit was younger and hungrier while Boston was on it's last legs. They were in the Finals the previous 4 years. That was going to catch up with them at some point.

This is an interesting point.

After the Lakers went to the Finals 4 straight years (82-85), they were upset by Houston in the conference finals the next year (86) by losing 4 straight games.

Boston went to the Finals 4 straight years (84-87), then lost to Detroit with Bird only shooting 35%.

After going to the NBA Finals for 3 straight years (87-89), LA was upset by Phoenix in 90. They lost the last 4 games.

Detroit dealt with injuries and were eventually swept by Chicago (91) after going to the Finals 3 straight years (88-90).

After Chicago went 3 straight years (91-93), Jordan retired citing fatigue -- emotional and physical.

Chicago disbanded after the 2nd 3peat (96-98).

LA lost to San Antonio in the conference finals (03) in 6 games after going to the Finals 3 straight years (00-02).

Clearly, recent history suggests that pay a price by going deep into the playoffs for 3+ years consecutively.

But mostly, Detroit was ready and they were a better team at this point.

[Da_Realist]

Game 4 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhOTPrammwk)

http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/198705240DET.html

[D.J.]

Game 4 (http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=1BB2EACA72E31DB0)

Boston Celtics 119
Detroit Pistons 145

Boston Celtics
Larry Bird 16 pts (8-16), 7 rebs, 4 asts

Detroit Pistons
Adrian Dantley 32 pts (11-15 fgs), 4 rebs


This was the game where Bird and Laimbeer got into that fight. Also, Robert Parish got back at Laimbeer the following game. This was a great series.

[Da_Realist]

Game 5 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epwtkibaue8)

Bird steals the ball!

http://www.celtic-nation.com/history/celtic_lore/bird_steals_the_ball.htm

http://www.nba.com/history/birdsteal_moments.html

http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/198705260BOS.html

[TheAnchorman]

Game 5 (http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=055667C3C46111E1)

Bird steals the ball!

http://www.celtic-nation.com/history/celtic_lore/bird_steals_the_ball.htm

http://www.nba.com/history/birdsteal_moments.html

Detroit Pistons 107
Boston Celtics 108

Detroit Pistons
Isiah Thomas 17 pts, 10 asts
Adrian Dantley 25 pts

Boston Celtics
Larry Bird 36 pts (12-25), 12 rebs, 9 asts, 1 stl, 3 blks
Woah, all I know about that game was the steal... I didn't know he almost had a triple double. Damn he is fantastic lol. And I like how that 1 stl is in his statline, it speaks volumes more about his genius than the rest of his stats did that game it seems.

[Da_Realist]

Woah, all I know about that game was the steal... I didn't know he almost had a triple double. Damn he is fantastic lol. And I like how that 1 stl is in his statline, it speaks volumes more about his genius than the rest of his stats did that game it seems.

Good point. Maybe I should have put the "1 stl" in bold :bowdown:

[CB4GOATPF]

Larry Bird
Kevin McHale
Robert Parish
DJ
Ainge
Walton
etc

Dantley
Isiah
Dumars
Laimbeer
Aguirre
Rodman
Mahorn
Salley
etc

How Better can the NBA Get? :bowdown: GOLDEN 80s

[Da_Realist]

Game 6 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jx2cDhg2KGM)

http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/198705280DET.html

[Fatal9]

Thanks for game 6. Favoriting it now but will watch it when I have time. Rare to see Bird have a 1 assist game though. Do you have the games from the '85 Pistons-Celtics series too? There was a game where Bird dropped 40+ points and something like 20 in the fourth quarter after he got elbowed by Laimbeer (game 1 or 2).

[Da_Realist]

Game 7 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahI-hNQXryo)

The forgotten classic game in this series. Most people think the series ended in Game 5, but Game 6 was close and Game 7 was a classic that went down to the wire. Both teams gave it all they had but Detroit suffered a huge injury to Adrian Dantley (their best player this series by far) when he collided with Vinnie Johnson at the end of the 3rd quarter. McHale played on one leg and I'm still not sure how Parish was able to walk on those ankles, let alone play. Dumars came up big time, but Larry wouldn't let the Celtics lose this game.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/198705300BOS.html

[Fatal9]

You're on fire :bowdown:

[Da_Realist]

Larry Bird's stats

Game 1 -- 17 pts (7-22), 15 rebs, 10 asts
Game 2 -- 33 pts (10-21), 11 rebs, 14 asts
Game 3 -- 17 pts (6-15), 10 rebs, 6 asts
Game 4 -- 16 pts (8-16), 7 rebs, 4 asts
Game 5 -- 36 pts (12-25), 12 rebs, 9 asts
Game 6 -- 35 pts (14-19), 7 rebs, 1 ast
Game 7 -- 37 pts (13-24), 9 rebs, 9 asts

Total -- 27 pts, 10 rebs, 8 asts on 49%

The last 4 games (after the Laimbeer fight) --
31 pts, 9 rebs, 6 asts on 56% :eek:

This...against a team that used Dennis Rodman, Adrian Dantley, Rick Mahorn and sometimes John Salley to defend him. Very impressive performance by the Legend that should be highlighted up there with the 84 and 86 Finals.

[Da_Realist]

Larry Bird's stats

Game 1 -- 17 pts (7-22), 15 rebs, 10 asts
Game 2 -- 33 pts (10-21), 11 rebs, 14 asts
Game 3 -- 17 pts (6-15), 10 rebs, 6 asts
Game 4 -- 16 pts (8-16), 7 rebs, 4 asts
Game 5 -- 36 pts (12-25), 12 rebs, 9 asts
Game 6 -- 35 pts (14-19), 7 rebs, 1 ast
Game 7 -- 37 pts (13-24), 9 rebs, 9 asts

Total -- 27 pts, 10 rebs, 8 asts on 49%

The last 4 games (after the Laimbeer fight) --
31 pts, 9 rebs, 6 asts on 56% :eek:

This...against a team that used Dennis Rodman, Adrian Dantley, Rick Mahorn and sometimes John Salley to defend him. Very impressive performance by the Legend that should be highlighted up there with the 84 and 86 Finals.

bump just in case there are some that didn't realize I posted the whole series. :pimp:

[chitownsfinest]

What do you plan on posting next since it seems you have covered most of the memorable games/series of the 87 playoffs?

[Da_Realist]

What do you plan on posting next since it seems you have covered most of the memorable games/series of the 87 playoffs?

I need to re-do a Bulls Pistons game from 91 (the sound cuts off for some reason) and probably add a couple of games here and there (83 Lakers Spurs, 84 Lakers Suns, 85 Pistons Celtics, etc). After that, I'll jump back where I left off (1994 and on...)

[chitownsfinest]

I need to re-do a Bulls Pistons game from 91 (the sound cuts off for some reason) and probably add a couple of games here and there (83 Lakers Spurs, 84 Lakers Suns, 85 Pistons Celtics, etc). After that, I'll jump back where I left off (1994 and on...)
Sounds good. Can't wait to see the Bulls-Knicks series in 94

[Da_Realist]

Sounds good. Can't wait to see the Bulls-Knicks series in 94

That's gonna get posted. And Knicks/Rockets. A couple of other games from that year's playoffs too.

[Fatal9]

I need to re-do a Bulls Pistons game from 91 (the sound cuts off for some reason) and probably add a couple of games here and there (83 Lakers Spurs, 84 Lakers Suns, 85 Pistons Celtics, etc). After that, I'll jump back where I left off (1994 and on...)
Thank you :bowdown:

Bird dropped a career playoff high 42 points in game 2 and then came back with 43 in game 5. I haven't seen game 2 but have read about his big fourth quarter in that game after taking a shot from Laimbeer. No need to post the 1988 series though :D

[Da_Realist]

Thank you :bowdown:

Bird dropped a career playoff high 42 points in game 2 and then came back with 43 in game 5. I haven't seen game 2 but have read about his big fourth quarter in that game after taking a shot from Laimbeer. No need to post the 1988 series though :D

I'm not sure which game(s) I have from that series. I just know I have it(them) somewhere. edit -- I know I have the one where Vinnie Johnson goes off in the 2nd half. Don't know which one that is off-hand.

1988 is already posted. The only reason I re-posted the 87 series is because at the time, I didn't think anyone had the patience to sit through a game with 10+ parts to it. So I condensed these games into 1 or 2 parts. Of course, that's a piss poor way to represent a game but I didn't think anyone would watch. It was one of the first series I did.

By the time I posted the 88 series (much later), I knew better. When I went back to check the 87 series, I was almost floored at how little of it I posted originally so it became a priority. And then I thought, "what the hell, why not post these other games from the 87 playoffs as well?".

[Fatal9]

I'm not sure which game(s) I have from that series. I just know I have it(them) somewhere. edit -- I know I have the one where Vinnie Johnson goes off in the 2nd half. Don't know which one that is off-hand.

Didn't that happen like every game? :oldlol:

It would be one of the games the Pistons won I am assuming. Bird struggled in those two games though. I would love to see game 2, maybe Vinnie J went off in that one too.

[CB4GOATPF]

Just finished watching game 6....man what a game :bowdown: :applause:

Dude do you happen to have The 85 ECF Celtics vs Sixers: love to see Rookie Barkley, Moses and old Doc go up against The Only and Real Big 3

More 80s Classics Please...

If you can also put in Regular Season Games from the 80s

Your Youtube Site is Unreal :bowdown:

[TheAnchorman]

I'm going to watcha ll of these games in a marathon tomorrow. You are the best youtube basketball poster ever, tjhunt :-P

[Da_Realist]

I'm going to watcha ll of these games in a marathon tomorrow. You are the best youtube basketball poster ever, tjhunt :-P

:cheers:

[Da_Realist]

Updated the links.

*Game 3 is unlisted because I didn't edit out the fight. You have to know the url to view the game.

[1987_Lakers]

Also noticed you uploaded the '86 Finals. Good stuff.

[JohnnySic]

Celtics bench was utter crap in '87...

[Champ]

Game 7 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahI-hNQXryo)

The forgotten classic game in this series. Most people think the series ended in Game 5, but Game 6 was close and Game 7 was a classic that went down to the wire. Both teams gave it all they had but Detroit suffered a huge injury to Adrian Dantley (their best player this series by far) when he collided with Vinnie Johnson at the end of the 3rd quarter. McHale played on one leg and I'm still not sure how Parish was able to walk on those ankles, let alone play. Dumars came up big time, but Larry wouldn't let the Celtics lose this game.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/198705300BOS.html

The fourth quarter of that game was one of the best, most intense periods of basketball I've ever seen.