1986 Celtics vs. 1987 Lakers

[1987_Lakers]

Good post.

And no doubt the 86 Celtics were better than in 84 but the 87 Lakers were also the best Lakers team of the 80's.

Depends on who you ask. The '85 team is right there, Kareem felt that was their best team. I've heard Magic & Worthy say their '87 team was their best. '85 had better depth and a better Kareem, '87 had a peak Magic & Worthy.

I would personally go with '87 because they had better bigs. A.C. Green was an upgrade over Rambis & Mychal Thompson provided better defense and was a better overall player than '85 McAdoo/Kupchak, that somewhat made up for Kareem's decline while Magic, Worthy, & Scott all improved as players.

[dankok8]

Depends on who you ask. The '85 team is right there, Kareem felt that was their best team. I've heard Magic & Worthy say their '87 team was their best. '85 had better depth and a better Kareem, '87 had a peak Magic & Worthy.

I would personally go with '87 because they had better bigs. A.C. Green was an upgrade over Rambis & Mychal Thompson provided better defense and was a better overall player than '85 McAdoo/Kupchak, that somewhat made up for Kareem's decline while Magic, Worthy, & Scott all improved as players.

What you said it true and...

The 85 team is only close on paper. If you look at performance metrics, the 87 team clears them by a significant margin.

[mr4speed]

Good post.

And no doubt the 86 Celtics were better than in 84 but the 87 Lakers were also the best Lakers team of the 80's.

I agree. I think Magic has said the 87 team was their best. LA added Mychal Thompson that year and I believe LA won both regular season games vs Boston. Walton only played in like 10 games in the regular season. Walton did not play vs LA in either regular season game and Walton always got pumped up to play vs Kareem. I think a healthy Walton had a big impact. Too bad we missed out on what could have been a great career if his feet had been healthy. Big Bill was fun to watch play!

[Xiao Yao You]

I agree. I think Magic has said the 87 team was their best. LA added Mychal Thompson that year and I believe LA won both regular season games vs Boston. Walton only played in like 10 games in the regular season. Walton did not play vs LA in either regular season game and Walton always got pumped up to play vs Kareem. I think a healthy Walton had a big impact. Too bad we missed out on what could have been a great career if his feet had been healthy. Big Bill was fun to watch play!

if they hadn't shot him up with pain killers to play on broken feet. No load management in those days

[mr4speed]

if they hadn't shot him up with pain killers to play on broken feet. No load management in those days

Yes!!! Walton finally caved to all the pressure and regretted it forever. I highly recommend reading "The Breaks of the Game" by David Halberstam. Terrific insight into Walton and the Portland team in Walton's early years!!

[kawhileonard2]

87 Lakers didn't play a team that good until the finals. 37 wins, 42 wins, 39 wins.

[dankok8]

I agree. I think Magic has said the 87 team was their best. LA added Mychal Thompson that year and I believe LA won both regular season games vs Boston. Walton only played in like 10 games in the regular season. Walton did not play vs LA in either regular season game and Walton always got pumped up to play vs Kareem. I think a healthy Walton had a big impact. Too bad we missed out on what could have been a great career if his feet had been healthy. Big Bill was fun to watch play!

Yea Walton was on a top 20 trajectory maybe even higher. I got a hold of quite a few 1977 Blazers games so will watch these days.

Walton and Kareem had a great rivalry. Kareem hated Walton because both went to UCLA and some thought Walton was the best UCLA center ever and it drove Kareem mad. Their first head to head, Kareem dropped a 50-point triple double on him!