Im Still Ballin
06-14-2022, 07:39 PM
A few months back I was watching some old '80s Celtics playoff series. I decided to watch the '88 first-round matchup against New York. They had Young Ewing and Rick Pitino, who played a full-court press. It was a relatively close game going into the final quarter.
I unknowingly came across one of the more insane two-way playoff performances in a single quarter. Kevin McHale scored 10 points, had 1 assist, blocked 4 shots, and deflected a pass to the post. He also successfully contested a shot right at the rim in a chest-to-chest fashion.
It might not seem like much, but he basically created 6 turnovers by himself on the defensive end. When added to his 10 points and 1 assist, I thought it was an extremely impressive display of two-way dominance. I'd also add that a couple of those defensive stops immediately led to scores in transition/semi-transition.
A 7-point playoff game ballooned to a 26-point blowout before McHale and the starters sat. Quite remarkable for an era when they rarely if ever shot the three-pointer.
Box Score: https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/198804290BOS.html
Analytics experts tend to agree that there's no statistical measure that can accurately calculate an individual's defensive impact. The games must be watched to truly understand the totality of one's defensive contributions to a team's success. This may be true for offense as well, but it's infinitely more so for defense.
I'll get around to creating GIFs of all plays. I created a game log of sorts with timestamps; it can help visualize the performance.
1988 Eastern Conference 1st Round: New York Knicks vs. Boston Celtics
SCORE: 77-84 Boston Celtics
1:15:57 - Kevin McHale 2pt basket (post-up goaltend)
1:16:08 - Kevin McHale block
1:16:28 - Robert Parish 2pt basket (pick-and-roll)
SCORE: 77-88 Boston Celtics
1:17:04 - Dennis Johnson steal
1:17:16 - Kevin McHale 2pt basket (post-up)
SCORE: 77-90 Boston Celtics
1:17:42 - Larry Bird 2pt basket (cut)
SCORE: 77-92 Boston Celtics
1:18:40 - Kevin McHale block
1:19:52 - Knicks 2pt basket (jump-shot)
1:20:04 - Kevin McHale 2pt basket (cut)
1:20:18 - Kevin McHale block
1:20:24 - Kevin McHale 2pt basket (tip-in)
SCORE: 79-96
1:21:09 - Kevin McHale deflection (causes turnover)
1:22:19 - Dennis Johnson 1pt from free-throw
1:22:32 - Knicks 2pt basket (jump-shot)
1:22:55 - Larry Bird 2pt basket (jump-shot) (McHale assist)
1:24:16 - Knicks 2pt basket (jump-shot)
1:24:29 - Kevin McHale 2pt basket (post-up)
1:24:45 - Kevin McHale block
1:25:46 - Jim Paxson 2pt basket (cut)
1:26:04 - Knicks 2pt basket (lay-up)
1:26:58 - Knicks 2pt basket (lay-up)
1:27:22 - Knicks 1pt from free-throw
1:28:05 - Artis Gilmore 1pt from free-throw
SCORE: 88-104 Boston Celtics
1:28:28 - Kevin McHale successfully contests shot at the rim
1:29:08 - Artis Gilmore 1pt from free-throw
1:30:20 - Jim Paxson 2pt basket (cut)
1:31:04 - Knicks 3pt basket (jump-shot)
SCORE 91-107 Boston Celtics
1:32:02 - Larry Bird 2pts from free-throws
1:33:24 - Boston Celtics 1pt from free-throw
1:33:54 - Boston Celtics 2pt basket (alley-oop)
1:34:52 - Knicks 1pt from free-throw
FINAL SCORE: 92-112 Boston Celtics
https://i.imgflip.com/6jp2xa.gif
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKbavUphO38
I unknowingly came across one of the more insane two-way playoff performances in a single quarter. Kevin McHale scored 10 points, had 1 assist, blocked 4 shots, and deflected a pass to the post. He also successfully contested a shot right at the rim in a chest-to-chest fashion.
It might not seem like much, but he basically created 6 turnovers by himself on the defensive end. When added to his 10 points and 1 assist, I thought it was an extremely impressive display of two-way dominance. I'd also add that a couple of those defensive stops immediately led to scores in transition/semi-transition.
A 7-point playoff game ballooned to a 26-point blowout before McHale and the starters sat. Quite remarkable for an era when they rarely if ever shot the three-pointer.
Box Score: https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/198804290BOS.html
Analytics experts tend to agree that there's no statistical measure that can accurately calculate an individual's defensive impact. The games must be watched to truly understand the totality of one's defensive contributions to a team's success. This may be true for offense as well, but it's infinitely more so for defense.
I'll get around to creating GIFs of all plays. I created a game log of sorts with timestamps; it can help visualize the performance.
1988 Eastern Conference 1st Round: New York Knicks vs. Boston Celtics
SCORE: 77-84 Boston Celtics
1:15:57 - Kevin McHale 2pt basket (post-up goaltend)
1:16:08 - Kevin McHale block
1:16:28 - Robert Parish 2pt basket (pick-and-roll)
SCORE: 77-88 Boston Celtics
1:17:04 - Dennis Johnson steal
1:17:16 - Kevin McHale 2pt basket (post-up)
SCORE: 77-90 Boston Celtics
1:17:42 - Larry Bird 2pt basket (cut)
SCORE: 77-92 Boston Celtics
1:18:40 - Kevin McHale block
1:19:52 - Knicks 2pt basket (jump-shot)
1:20:04 - Kevin McHale 2pt basket (cut)
1:20:18 - Kevin McHale block
1:20:24 - Kevin McHale 2pt basket (tip-in)
SCORE: 79-96
1:21:09 - Kevin McHale deflection (causes turnover)
1:22:19 - Dennis Johnson 1pt from free-throw
1:22:32 - Knicks 2pt basket (jump-shot)
1:22:55 - Larry Bird 2pt basket (jump-shot) (McHale assist)
1:24:16 - Knicks 2pt basket (jump-shot)
1:24:29 - Kevin McHale 2pt basket (post-up)
1:24:45 - Kevin McHale block
1:25:46 - Jim Paxson 2pt basket (cut)
1:26:04 - Knicks 2pt basket (lay-up)
1:26:58 - Knicks 2pt basket (lay-up)
1:27:22 - Knicks 1pt from free-throw
1:28:05 - Artis Gilmore 1pt from free-throw
SCORE: 88-104 Boston Celtics
1:28:28 - Kevin McHale successfully contests shot at the rim
1:29:08 - Artis Gilmore 1pt from free-throw
1:30:20 - Jim Paxson 2pt basket (cut)
1:31:04 - Knicks 3pt basket (jump-shot)
SCORE 91-107 Boston Celtics
1:32:02 - Larry Bird 2pts from free-throws
1:33:24 - Boston Celtics 1pt from free-throw
1:33:54 - Boston Celtics 2pt basket (alley-oop)
1:34:52 - Knicks 1pt from free-throw
FINAL SCORE: 92-112 Boston Celtics
https://i.imgflip.com/6jp2xa.gif
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKbavUphO38