1986 Boston Celtics' Basketball Clinic vs Milwaukee Bucks (1986 ECF Game 1)

[Round Mound]

A Thing of Beuty! This is How Basketball Should Be Played!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzvY679LcE8

[mr4speed]

A Thing of Beuty! This is How Basketball Should Be Played!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzvY679LcE8

The best team I have ever seen. The ball movement was unreal. So many weapons, everyone stayed healthy and no team was going to beat them. The front line of Bird, McHale, Parrish and Walton is the greatest ever assembled.

[Round Mound]

The best team I have ever seen. The ball movement was unreal. So many weapons, everyone stayed healthy and no team was going to beat them. The front line of Bird, McHale, Parrish and Walton is the greatest ever assembled.

[72-10]

did you guys actually see their season unfold?

[1987_Lakers]

Ya, I don't think we will ever see a frontcourt like that again.

Bird - MVP, best player in the league
McHale - Arguably a top 5 player in the league at that point. Best PF in the league.
Parish - All-Star Center
Walton - 6MOY, probably the greatest center ever to come off the bench

[72-10]

has to be the second greatest team after those 90s Bulls teams

then you have all-world defender Dennis Johnson

quite a defense as a whole

and still got shredded by someone

[72-10]

there's also this:

http://www.amazon.com/BOSTON-CELTICS...Boston+Celtics

It should have all of the 1986 NBA Finals in it

[1987_Lakers]

has to be the second greatest team after those 90s Bulls teams

then you have all-world defender Dennis Johnson

quite a defense as a whole

and still got shredded by someone

Many people believe they are the greatest team ever.

[Pushxx]

That team was just a bunch of pure basketball players.

The smartest, cleanest basketball ever.

[72-10]

i don't know about clean

they liked to get away with illegal defenses

[72-10]

Many people believe they are the greatest team ever.

[mr4speed]

I will take the word of Robert Parrish who won his 4th ring with the bulls and practiced with and saw first hand the entire Bulls season. When asked who was better, Parrish didn't hesitate for an instance. His answer was the Celtics. When asked why, he answered that the Celtics were deeper and had a superior front line.

[72-10]

Parish didn't play on the 95-96 Bulls, he played on the 96-97 Bulls.

The Celtics didn't win as many games and they didn't win them by as many points. They were not as good on the road as the Bulls.

I think the 85-86 Celtics are #2 though.

[SHAQisGOAT]

Just ****in ridiculous... I mean, you got dudes killing it in the 1on1, turn around and they display some of the very best team play ever... What could you do, really?

Those Bucks were a great team, even with Moncrief injured they had Cummings, Pressey, Lister, Breuer and Hodges, coached by Nellie... Yet they were getting handled like a bottom seeded team. Just watch them in the 2nd half there, they look just completely broken.
Celtics swept them, averaging 118 PPG on .537 eFG% to Milwaukee's 103 on .457 eFG%... What a ****ing beatdown!

GOAT team, in my book.

Ya, I don't think we will ever see a frontcourt like that again.

Bird - MVP, best player in the league
McHale - Arguably a top 5 player in the league at that point. Best PF in the league.
Parish - All-Star Center
Walton - 6MOY, probably the greatest center ever to come off the bench

You forgot to say that Bird was at his VERY best in 1986, a top5 GOAT peak at that.
That "description" for McHale is a bit of an overstatement though... That goes perfectly well for Kevin in the 1986-87 regular-season, when he was at his peak... He was close to that in 1986 though.
Parish was Mr Consistency... Tremendous longevity and you knew what you were getting in his play, never much more, never much less.
Yea, Walton was big for them, look at him bringing some of his old magic in games like this.
That backcourt was also very good and all-around with DJ and Ainge.
Sichting and Wedman did their thing off the bench.
KC did a very good job, mostly at managing egos.

Parish didn't play on the 95-96 Bulls, he played on the 96-97 Bulls.

The Celtics didn't win as many games and they didn't win them by as many points. They were not as good on the road as the Bulls.

I think the 85-86 Celtics are #2 though.

Can't be judged quite like that... Competition not the same, so on...

Regardless... I'll just say this, if the '86 Celtics went against the '96 Bulls in 7-games series, the C's would've won more often than not.

[mr4speed]

Parish didn't play on the 95-96 Bulls, he played on the 96-97 Bulls.

The Celtics didn't win as many games and they didn't win them by as many points. They were not as good on the road as the Bulls.

I think the 85-86 Celtics are #2 though.

Yes, Parish saw the 96-97 Bulls win 69 games but the question really was an easy answer for him. No disrespect to the Bulls, and this will be debated over and over, but expansion weakened the league. Dennis Rodman even said no way the Bulls win 72 games playing against the 80's teams. In 86 there were 23 teams and in 96 there were 29 teams. In 96 the Grizzlies and Raptors (brand new teams) together won a total of only 36 games!