NBA Bad Guys - Kevin McHale

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[@eddiehaskell1957]

I was 28 yrs. old watching the game on tv. The result was a clothes line, but that's not what Kevin intended to do. He was trying to get his arm across Rambis's arms and chest stop him from getting a layup. Not to clothes line Rambis. Watch the video you see Rambis's arms pushing Kevins arm up towards Rambis throat. Kevin is NOT a dirty player.

[@andybilakshow260]

Right. One instance in his entire career.

[@betsyross2.065]

100% Correct, absolutely....

[@JAWrightonline]

It was a cheap shot.

[@andybilakshow260]

@@JAWrightonline Rambis shouldn't have had his neck in the way. I mean way back in the day, When we seen a "clothes line" coming up, We did what every normal redneck kid would do. *DUCK*

[@JAWrightonline]

@@andybilakshow260 Rambis didn't see the clothesline coming. McHale caught him from behind. Cowardly, bitch move.

[@jlolson53]

I remember watching that clothesline move live. Of course, being a Celtic fan and a McHale -lover, it was difficult to be incensed. Still, there was absolutely no question that I had witnessed a dirty foul. Definitely unusual for Kevin, whose honest defense was extraordinary and frustrated so many premier players.

[@slchambers1]

Different era of basketball.

[@dwightlyon3643]

Not Kevin's fault that Kurt ran full speed into his arm!!!!

[@johnnyb4927]

It's a real stretch (almost click baity) to say McHale was a "Bad Guy" or "Dirty" player...I am fairly sure you wouldn't find anyone in the NBA (not even Kurt Rambis) who would say that about him. This play which was really not considered much more than a hard foul in those days literally turned the tide of the series.

[@cballbball]

I tried to express I didn’t think McHale was a bad guy in the video. The actual reason I made this video was because I saw the bleacher report article saying he was a dirty player and I thought it was ridiculous to say. I even started defending McHale mid video by saying this was the only dirty play from him that you could find.

[@betsyross2.065]

Exactly, click bait ...

[@Amick44]

Exactly. Click bait and nothing else.

[@db3467]

BILL Lambieer should have been clothes lined too. Instead he was decked by Robert Parrish.

[@andybilakshow260]

Haha "Chief" Those were the days. Boston was never known for hard fouls at any time I can remember. Except for 2. That's not bad for a time of "battle for a basket" era.

[@joebikeguy6669]

I saw that play . . . not typical McHale MO. Having watched a lot of panel discussions with former NBA players it is my impression that McHale was well liked and not considered a dirty player.

[@artboston4787]

Robert Parish punching Bill Laimbeer from behind a few years later in the eastern conference finals was worse but since it was against Bill Laimbeer the refs let it go with no foul call.

[@DavidChen322]

Parish was getting revenge on Laimbeer stepping on his foot and twisting his ankle.

[@alzinn8231]

Nzinn73 Larry said Bill kept elbowing Robert. He got him in the throat just before Robert hit him.

[@antenanashi]

I don't see how punching Laimbeer is a foul. It's justice for all of the players he tried to seriously hurt

[@linusromey561]

It was Danny Ainge who told Kevin that he needed to fowl someone to shake up the Lakers.

[@cballbball]

You’re right, mistake on my part.

[@stevedem76]

That sounds like Ainge, he was an instigator back then. He played super aggressive defense, always real close with a hand in your face, even if you were outside your range. He was such a pest, players would want to fight him all the time.

[@diggingmystyle]

The man with a thousand moves. Truly special talent.

[@nissan1580sx]

Out of character for McHale to do that. Probably the only thing he did dirty during his career

[@rockbottom4909]

Ive never heard a human being swear louder than Kevin McHale at the Garden. Asbestos was knocked loose from the rafters

[@MrBaboon1212]

Not replaying the incident so we could see in slowmo what happened is weak. I grew up playing hockey in boston, and I love that McHale checked a bitch!

[@stephenlnoe]

Dirty player means you're dirty all the time and that's your game. I'd call McHale's foul 'gamesmanship'. McHale didn't go out of his way to do dirty plays ever.

[@seansimms8503]

That's how a message got sent back then and the message went through loud and clear.

[@aramhamparian9641]

Uhhhh no.... That was not the dirtiest play ever. LOL.

[@cballbball]

Definitely agree, just played it up for the video a lil. Off the top of my head, Rudy Tomjanovich getting almost killed by Kermit Washington would definitely rank higher than this play.

[@radar0412]

James Worthy would later regret stopping Rambis from going after McHale. And it's Dishonest to say that Rambis was a Laimbeer type player who played dirty. Rambis was tough, but by no means an enforcer or a goon.

[@toker53]

I looked at it at the time as a message that needed to be sent. The play was far more physical than today, there is no doubt about that.

[@alzinn8231]

Nzinn73 Kevin did mean to foul Rambis but he did not mean to foul him so hard, and was not trying to injure him. He tried to apologize shortly after. Kevin played in the eastern conference, which was more physical, but he was not a dirty player. It is a famous play, certainly, it affected the whole series bcuz the Lakers couldn't respond yet. They did the following year after Riley toughened them up.

[@cballbball]

I agree, I don’t think McHale is a dirty player at all.

[@alzinn8231]

@@cballbball in reality, Kevin was one of the more affable guys in the league. Boston played tough, sure. So did a lot of other teams. Philly played tough. I don't know if every team played as tough as Boston or Philly, and I am sure Kevin played physically, but I don't think he was dirty.

[@cballbball]

@@alzinn8231 Statistics also show Kevin wasn’t very dirty. He hardly got fouls considering his physicality on defense.

[@alzinn8231]

@@cballbball Nzinn73. Yep. You know what's funny is how everybody says what a nice guy Bill Laimbeer is in everyday life. He tips people well, stuff like that, speaking of people with certain reputations. Lol

[@marykuettner752]

@@alzinn8231 They don't say that in Detroit. My cousin owns sports bars there. Laimbeer is not known as a good guy. Huge jerk.

[@roxydejaneiro5640]

There were a handful of fouls as hard or harder every game back then.

[@NicholasRamos]

It's called basketball in the 80's when the NBA played basketball. Definitely wasn't the 2000's lovefest games you see now on the floor.

[@garylarson2515]

Kevin is a hero.

[@JamesWilliams-eu5mn]

Best foul of all time

[@sugarnads]

Get on with you. He hit him harder than he meant to.

[@michaeln.2383]

I thought that Rick Mahorn elbowing Mark Price in the head was the dirtiest foul in NBA history. The Karl Malone elbow on Isiah Thomas was the 2nd dirtiest. The Bill Laimbeer foul on Larry Bird was dirtier than the Keven McHale clothesline. I think we should all give McHale a pardon just this one time since he was trying to stop Rambis from getting an easy layup.

[@linusromey561]

This play is a topic of discussion, not because it was particularly egregious for the era, but because it was so out of character for Kevin. Danny urged Kevin to step up and "take one for the team" to throw the Lakers of their game. It worked. The Lakers started fighting instead of playing the game. As Magic said "we found out we (Lakers) were not as mentally tough as the Celtics."

[@andybilakshow260]

It's not kevins fault Rambis neck got in the way.

[@jeffruland2176]

Was that even a foul ??? Lol😂

[@Grim1son]

I always thought Karl Malone ko'ing David Robinson with an elbow was the dirtiest foul in nba history, should have gotten him arrested.

[@jeffelmore5614]

I like this series, keep up the creativity.

[@dalegriffin6768]

Ask Chuck? He will tell u real quick that Kevin was unstoppable in the post

[@bryanmiller6110]

No McHale was not a Bad Guy. That is ridiculous. That is how the game was played in 1980s.

[@cballbball]

Agreed

[@bryanmiller6110]

The play, by both teams admission, changed the series. I do think everyone was shocked that it was McHale of all people who did it.

[@makgeoff]

Good pt on Rambis' reputation. It's the only dirty play I've seen from McHale all the yrs.

[@michaelbonnett4347]

Keep it up! Cant wait to see more from your channel 😊

[@eggsmann594]

They only called Kevin dirty because of his GOAT armpits 😁

[@leeaugustine8985]

No, not a bad guy at all, not even in the top 30. It was a hard foul and you failed to mention that it was in response to Larry Bird scolding the Celtics, saying they/we were playing like sissies - he may as well have said "Kevin, take Rambis head off!"

[@cballbball]

I find it interesting how the whole situation was the perfect storm for a foul this hard. Larry was agitated, the coach was disappointed, and they were coming off of a bad loss. I almost look at Kevin’s foul as a tactical move and if anything it should help his legacy instead of leaving a mark on it.

[@alzinn8231]

Nzinn73 if you watch the whole thing, Kevin tries to apologize shortly after. They don't show that. I have copies of When the game was ours and Showtime. As I recall, in when the game was ours, after getting mauled in game 3, KC Jones told his team during film that there would be no more lay ups. And I think Kevin said that " we've got to foul somebody hard" He was friends with Danny Singe, who said Kevin had never fouled anybody. Kevin was known as a fun loving sort. He fouled Rambis for a couple of reasons, one of which was to show he was capable of a hard foul. All he meant to do was give a hard, 80s basketball foul. Nothing more, nothing less. It morphed into a series altering play. I rooted for Boston, and I freely admit that if they hadn't have had some of the weird stuff happen, Magic calling time out in game 2, and this foul etc. They would have lost the series most likely. La players say they had the better team which is what you say when you should have won but you didn't.

[@alzinn8231]

Nzinn73 yep. Larry was tough for real.

[@alzinn8231]

Danny Ainge. Took me 3 times to fix autospell.

[@alzinn8231]

@@cballbball perfect storm is an apt description. What a amazing, dramatic series this was, how many like it? No way Boston can win, wait a minute.....

[@kermitefrog64]

That's the way we played even in the back yards and playgrounds of the time. I had a guy under cut me on a jump shot and broke my ankle 🙃.

[@justinmunson1412]

It was a real fight that series literally

[@anthonydandrea2069]

The narrators words about McHale are not accurate if you hear Kevin's explanation of what transpired on the Celtic bench prior to the foul. He claims he was motivated by ML Carr who was talking trash on the bench. So if you believe McHale's own words then the back story is different from this videos commentary. It's on Utube Kevin talking about the foul.

[@cballbball]

The ML Carr thing doesn’t conflict with the story I told and everything I said has also been told by Kevin himself

[@randyobrien2836]

It worked. It is what it is. Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy. Lol.

[@lazengerotibas]

80s 90s they dont known defense only way is to hurt your opponent,

[@mikewhite6288]

Kevin McHale wasn't a dirty player. He played hard but not to the point of being dirty.

[@nevadadesertrat267]

First go find Larry Birds supposed dirty play against Bill Laimbeer. Some times you have to fight fire with fire and if Rambis can dish it out he had better be able to take it. As you say in the video they played very physical back then and they were tough. Once you put the dirty players in there place then things change. This video is not about a dirty player but about a dirty play that put a dirty player in his place.

[@cballbball]

Agreed, Kurt was consistently getting dirty but Kevin was a one time thing.

[@JAWrightonline]

Rambis wasn't a dirty player, just physical. You Smeltic crybabies are soft. Whenever the Smeltics beat a team through physical play, it was "part of the game." If a someone (1985 Lakers, Kurt Rambis, Mitch Kupchack, Detroit Pistons, Bill Laimbeer, Dennis Rodman) beat the Smeltics through physical play, it was "dirty" and "bad for the game." GTFOH.

[@direkramseychikboy9102]

No! Rambis bumped himself into Mchale's arm. Its Rambis fault not to slow down

[@defconsupply3990]

Way less of a dirty play than many from the era of men playing ball vs the feminine players of today

[@bbodinefan11]

Oh well.

[@huckleberry12]

hahaha, you just watched that made for tv series about the lakers & celtics didn't you? hahah, that whole series was physical in the era of physical play. You're a kid.

[@cballbball]

I said the series was physical and at no point did I hate on Kevin for what he did. And no, I did not watch the made for tv series.

[@friaslegalservicesaplc6250]

(Alex) that wasn't a hit, punch, intentional body check. I don't think that is a real dirt play even comparing with other plays.

[@oldmanballer5088]

That wasn’t considered anything but a hard foul! That wasn’t dirty, that’s how you’re taught in the 1980s if your coach said no layups that’s how you fouled. Bird also called the team out in the national media.. he said they played like a bunch of sissies in the game before this one. That’s the only time he ever did that, it’s BS.

[@oliverjacobson3371]

McHale was just as dirty as Bill laimbeer, I mean ask kev he'll tell you he was elbowing guys, watch open court. I think the Celtics were the pistons before the bad boys, i dont think it was dirty though, it was the rules, you come in and you get hit. Plus I mean laimbeer wasn't a post offensive player, he played farther up, so where kmac is giving guys bows in the paint(don't get me wrong he's one of the most underrated players in NBA history, ungaurdable) but parish, kmac, laimbeer, chuck all those guys fouled like that in the 80s on defense. Not like this play, but Especially in the playoffs, I mean why wouldn't they. He didn't get tossed, he sent them a message and he got in their head and won. That's why basketball isn't what it used to be and you can't compare today's game to this Era. It's like what the euro league vs the NBA use to be.

[@kenneth9874]

That's bs

[@kylenickelberry1602]

Kurt Rambis was not a dirty player. You should talk with more older fans about who was dirty and who played hard.

[@johnnyb4927]

Lol....yah. He was pretty vocal....I remember one of his favorite words to scream was "Oh s**t" nearly every time he went up for and missed a rebound, trying to get a foul called. :)

[@kylenickelberry1602]

@@johnnyb4927 That's not dirty basketball. This doesn't put anyone at risk physically.

[@Lola23339]

McHale is not a bad guy at all.

[@jorgemontefusco650]

That wasn’t dirty at all.

[@terryfont9468]

Total BS