“We feel we’re still the team to beat” – Larry Bird believed the Celtics would win it all in 1987 after dropping 43 points against the Blazers.
Larry Bird believed that the Celtics’ fearsome frontline made them the team to defeat in 1986-87.
Given that the Boston Celtics had won the NBA championship in 1986, expectations were high as the next season began. Defending the crown and maybe winning back-to-back titles was within reach, but they needed to play well for the squad to do so.
Boston displayed hints of this at one time during the 1986-87 season. The Celtics’ confidence was at an all-time high after winning six of their eight away games. Toward the end of that span, they won three consecutive and maintained their momentum in two home games.
Riding the momentum
They beat the New Jersey Nets 116-103 on February 23 and the Portland Trail Blazers 122-116 on February 25. Larry Bird scored 43 points against the Blazers. With Boston on a roll, the Indiana State product anointed Boston the team to beat for the 1987 NBA championship.
“It brought us together as a club and we feel we’re still the team to beat,” Bird said after that win over the Trail Blazers through UPI.
Bird wasn’t the only one completing tasks for the Cs. Kevin McHale and Robert Parish also formed a formidable frontline that would be difficult to overcome for any other squad. Double-teaming Bird gave either McHale or Parish more area to operate, making it difficult for opposing teams to match up with them.
Cruising towards playoffs
The Celtics were the best club in the Eastern Conference that season. They finished with a 59-23 record, securing home-court advantage throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs.
After easily defeating the Chicago Bulls in the first round, Boston faced stiff competition from other Eastern Conference clubs. The Celtics had to overcome a tenacious Milwaukee Bucks team in seven games. Things didn’t get any easier in the Eastern Conference Finals, as the Detroit Pistons pushed them to their limits in another seven-game series.
Regardless, their goal of reaching the NBA Finals was met. Unfortunately, Bird and company had to deal with another equally difficult squad, their archrival, the Los Angeles Lakers.
Bird fought through the final, but falling behind 3-1 in the series proved too much for the defending champions. The decisive Game 4, in which Magic Johnson lifted the purple and gold with a game-winning hook jumper, proved to be the turning point of the series.
The Celtics returned to Los Angeles in Game 5 and came within one game of tying the series. However, the Lakers proved too strong for the Celtics, with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson leading the charge. KAJ finished with 32 points and 6 rebounds, while Johnson contributed 16 points and 19 assists, giving the Lakers their tenth NBA title that season.
