1988 ECF Game 6: Kevin McHale 33 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists on 60% FG + 63.1% TS

[Im Still Ballin]

Post-broken foot Kevin McHale was still a beast and an absolute problem down low. He absolutely carried Boston in this game and the entire '88 ECF. Larry was 4/17 FG; Robert only played six minutes and went 0/1 FG; Danny was 1/11 FG; Dennis was 6/16 FG. Here's the box score:

https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/198806030DET.html

He carried Boston the entire '88 ECF, putting up 26.8 ppg on 56.3% FG and 62.9% TS while Larry, Robert, Dennis, and Danny had one of their worst series ever. Here are the stats from the series:

https://i.ibb.co/hCP6M5Q/FZ8HXuA.png

People don't realize just how good he was. He sacrificed and bent himself so much for the good of the team. Put him in the early to mid '00s and he'd be right there with Duncan, KG, and Dirk.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKUI_7a70Wc

[Micku]

Mchale was unreal.

I don't know if you showed it, but McHale had the footwork to keep up with Wilkins too. He didn't stop him, but he could keep up. He did the same thing with Worthy too.

He did it on both ends.

But he wasn't a good passer tho. Duncan and KG were. You didn't put Chris Webber, but Webber was a great passer. But he was up there with the bests PFs. But when it comes to footwork and touch, he is one of the few. Him and Hakeem had the best post-moves I have ever seen.

[Im Still Ballin]

Mchale was unreal.

I don't know if you showed it, but McHale had the footwork to keep up with Wilkins too. He didn't stop him, but he could keep up. He did the same thing with Worthy too.

He did it on both ends.

But he wasn't a good passer tho. Duncan and KG were. You didn't put Chris Webber, but Webber was a great passer. But he was up there with the bests PFs. But when it comes to footwork and touch, he is one of the few. Him and Hakeem had the best post-moves I have ever seen.

He shutdown Wilkins in '86, holding him to 39% FG. McHale wasn't the same defender after breaking his foot late in the 1987 regular season.

I disagree with Duncan being a better passer. Based on the game footage I've seen, he was no worse than Timmy and Hakeem. Definitely better than Dirk and Moses Malone. Obviously, passing can't be judged purely on assists per game. The personnel, system, and role matter.

McHale had a very low usage rate and time of possession compared to Duncan, so naturally he'd generate fewer assists. And it doesn't make Kevin a worse passer if he passes less, as he was a better scorer than Timmy.

The black hole thing was a meme started by Danny Ainge. McHale's passing was fine once he began starting from '85-'86 onwards. His mentality was to be a 6th man scorer prior to that. He was actually really good at high-low passes later in his career when he began shooting more jumpers.

[Micku]

He shutdown Wilkins in '86, holding him to 39% FG. McHale wasn't the same defender after breaking his foot late in the 1987 regular season.

I disagree with Duncan being a better passer. Based on the game footage I've seen, he was no worse than Timmy and Hakeem. Definitely better than Dirk and Moses Malone. Obviously, passing can't be judged purely on assists per game. The personnel, system, and role matter.

McHale had a very low usage rate and time of possession compared to Duncan, so naturally he'd generate fewer assists. And it doesn't make Kevin a worse passer if he passes less, as he was a better scorer than Timmy.

The black hole thing was a meme started by Danny Ainge. McHale's passing was fine once he began starting from '85-'86 onwards. His mentality was to be a 6th man scorer prior to that. He was actually really good at high-low passes later in his career when he began shooting more jumpers.

Yup, yup. Agree on almost everything.

But we would have to agree to disagree on Duncan not being a better passer. But I would probably have to rewatch some Duncan games again to be sure and then watch some Mchale games. But that's going to have to wait for a while.

I do agree with you that the black hole thing was an over-exaggeration. At least by 85-86, he would pass. He was actually pretty solid at running the floor too to my shock when I first watched some games.

And how do we know Mchale time of possession? I don't doubt it tho. Usage means how much the offense goes through you than actually holding the ball. Like CP3 and Mchale have similar usage rate, but cp3 holds the ball more. But Duncan definitely had the ball more than Mchale.

Mchale was amazing. He had crazy moves and the shooting touch was great. I think he one of the few players in nba history to score 26 ppg on 60% shooting. Zion is the other. Shaq you could argue for it if you round up. Barkley had 60%, but he was 25 ppg. Mchale did that in the playoffs that year in 88. Dude was unstoppable.

[HoopologyPhD]

McHale and The Dream by far best post moves in history