The CURIOUS case of Larry Bird and the 1983 Boston Celtics

The legend of Larry Bird is that he is one of the greatest, most intense, and most accomplished players of his time. However, there was one season when the Boston Celtics failed to meet expectations. In the 1982-83 season, the Boston Celtics were swept by the Milwaukee Bucks. The author of "The All-Time Greatest NBA Book" series discusses the story of this forgotten season.
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The All-Time Greatest NBA Book: Counting Down the 50 Greatest Teams, the 50 Greatest Playoff Runs by a Player, the 50 Greatest Playoff Moments, and the 100 Greatest Players: www.amazon.com/All-Time-Great...
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#larrybird #bostonceltics #nba

[@toddfrank3344]

It wasn't that they had too much talent..it's that they had too much MISPLACED talent. They had a glut of role players..they needed to subtract a few of them, and add another star quality player who could also fit in. (the fact that Fitch was constantly tinkering with the lineups and the playing time didn't help). Archibald's best years were behind him, and their guard rotation after him (Buckner, Carr, Henderson, and a not-yet-ready for-primetime Ainge) consisted of essentially a bunch of "third guards." Also there was a glut of big men, with Rick Robey becoming excess baggage, and Fitch dividing minutes between Maxwell and McHale. Then they brought in Wedman mid season. So in a sense the following season was "addition by subtraction and addition" in that they thinned out the glut of mid level talent (and traded the aging and injury-prone Archibald), and added an all star at guard in DJ (who was also one of the best defenders in the league). This gave the quality players on the team more playing time, which made them happier. And Fitch had flat out worn out his welcome. He was like Hubie Brown in that he was hard ass who was a good coach for turning his teams around, but his players would ultimately get sick of his browbeating and quit on him. Bird was the only exception. Based on what I've read, the rest of the team could not stand Fitch's constant criticism (which sometimes got personal and public) and his tinkering with the lineup, and they basically quit on him.

[@justanotherguy1794]

Thanks for this tf3344. Very good; from what I've been able to put together about this Bermuda Triangle season, I have to agree. From what I've read, Robey, too, was a problem for LB. Too many frat parties. The next year, after they dumped him, Bird started his MVP run. Most don't know, but '87 was his best year stats wise and proof probable (if not positive) that that player's team (a would-be 3X, shoulda-been 4X MVP) shouldn't have gotten swept by anybody.

[@CoreyT127]

The Celtics worse record Birds first nine years. And they still went 56-26! And the only time he didn’t reach at least the ECF his first 9 seasons! Thats insane unmatched dominance to begin a career.

[@Gregory-sm9pf]

Fucking "eh" right!

[@postaltraining]

Firth lost the team is what the problem was. They stopped listening to his yelling style- tuned him out.

[@chrisb3738]

I was an avid Celtics and Bird fan back then and watched almost every game. This video is pretty accurate. It was time for Tiny to retire abut they had no really good point guard to replace him until next year with Dennis Johnson. Even as a Celtics fan, I knew that 83 was the Sixers' year and if they met in the playoffs, the Sixers would probably win. Also, as others have talked about, that Bucks team with Johnson, Moncrief, and Lanier is as good as any team without a title ever.

[@scottodonnell7121]

I remember that season well. They lost games by playing terrible ball to lesser teams, missing 10-15 FTs, never really dominating anyone,. They did split the six games with Philly, had trouble with the Hawks in the first round and deserved to be swept by Milwaukee. It was the season of their discontent.

[@johnnoone4323]

The reason: Philadelphia 76ers and Moses Malone who were frustrated by losing in the 1980 and 1982 finals. Also, the 76ers blew a 3-1 game lead in the 1981 ECF. Boston was lucky to advance to the 1981 finals. I expected the 76ers and Celtics to play in the 1983 ECF and would have loved to see that series (that never happened). But what happened to the Celtics against the Bucks in 1983 I found inexplicable at the time.

[@spreewells4170]

My take is that although this team had a lot of talent, Larry Bird didn't have a legit second star. Tiny Archibald was old and banged up, and Robert Parish was better off being your third scoring option. They needed to make changes to their roster to allow Kevin McHale to have more playing time and they did exactly that the next season when they won the title.

[@cindyknudson2715]

If the talk is accurate, some of Bird's teammates let him and the others down because of their beef with the coach, whether for good reasons or not. In 1984, they had a new coach, their former asst coach, KC Jones replaced Fitch. Having McHale become a starter after Maxwell's injured his knee added another element. Didn't DJ join the team in 84 too?

[@bobturnley2787]

Moncrief, Marques Johnson, Junior Bridgeman, and Bob Lanier were all great players. They outperformed Bird, McHale, Parrish, and Maxwell. McHale only averaged 9 pts and 6 boards in that series. The Bucks had the edge in shooting %, rebounding and blocked shots.

[@cindyknudson2715]

McHale was still the 6th man at that point.

[@bobturnley2787]

@@cindyknudson2715 True. He played 105 minutes in the series and started game 2 when Bird was out. In roughly the same number of minutes, the Bucks Bob Lanier and Brian Winters both outscored McHale, 13 points each to McHale's 9. McHale taking the same number of shots in the series as starter Cedric Maxwell. McHale also only made 42% of his free throws. The biggest shock has to be that the Celtics were whistled for 13 more fouls than the Bucks over the course of the series.

[@cindyknudson2715]

Because the team mutinied. There were members of the team who wanted Fitch gone. The sweep accomplished that. Not Bird. But others. According to Dan Shaughnessy.

[@carolehall1000]

This is exactly the situation. Bird didn't hate Fitch like the others (or at least I've heard him say he learned some stuff from Fitch), but the others just absolutely couldn't stand his coaching style.

[@dutchtea8354]

Nail it! Led by Carr & Maxwell. Here is a Quinn Buckner quote, “It was a mutiny. I have never seen anything like this. We had guys who, literally, I think we were down 10 with 2 minutes, and we were walking the ball, intentionally walking the ball up the court. You could just see that lack of effort. First time the Celtics have ever been swept in a playoff series.”

[@Nok5Z]

@@dutchtea8354 Bird missed one game due to injuries ok but the real thing is that the team had no respect for their coach And in 84 86 and 87 Celtics got their revenge and showed the Bucks who was the better team poor Bucks without the Celtics they could have won a title in the 80s

[@cindyknudson2715]

​@carolehall1000 When Bird was inducted into the Hall of Fame, he had Walton and Fitch with him onstage. Bird honored him again at Bird's retirement ceremony in 1993. Fun fact: It was the Coach Fitch led Rockets that overcame the Lakers in 1986 to win the western conference and to play in the Finals against the Celtics.

[@realballers2013]

Bird not being able to win one game against that team is crazy to me, even if the Celtics were in shambles

[@jcf4074]

It shouldn't diminish his greatness, but I don't know why we just swept it under the rug

[@cindyknudson2715]

Because the team mutinied??? There were members of the team who wanted Fitch gone and the sweep accomplished that. Not Bird. But others on the team. According to Dan Shaughnessy.

[@phillipschuman4307]

@@jcf4074 If you were 20 years old in '83, you'd be 60 years old now. So you'd need to be relatively old to actually remember it, personally. People that old who are knowledgeable about Bird tend to be big fans, so they leave out the blemishes on his career. For example, in his first Finals, he had three consecutive games with 8 points, 8 points, and then 'exploding' in revenge fashion, all the way up to... 12 points. I've rarely heard his scoring just 8 points in a Finals game mentioned, and never heard the three game point totals mentioned. Reputation armor.

[@Sunny-jz3dy]

I think Cornbread started that mutiny....

[@carlnordstrom7533]

@@phillipschuman4307 Had to look it up (I admit!), you left out the other three games he played during those finals in which he scored well, and one of those 8 point games he got 10 assists and the other 7 assists. He was spectacular with rebounding in games 1 and 2, with 21 in each and never had less than 12 rebounds during the series. In fact, in game 1 he was one assist away from a triple double. Pretty good rookie.

[@patodonnell3981]

Roby was keeping Bird out late at night. So not only they acquired Dennis Johnson but they added by getting rid of Roby. Win, Win.

[@mikefernandez9551]

You lost me the minute you said Danny Ainge and Tiny Archibald were frontcourt players.

[@247drycleaners9]

they would have still lost to the 76er's. It was their year

[@acornsucks2111]

Bird started winning MVP's once DJ showed up. That never would have happened with tiny.

[@M3RRIH3W13]

These truths are not taught to the basketball fandom!! Team chemistry, ball IQ, and team offense and defense are more important than stats, crazy dunks, potential, and whatever ESPN "experts" want people to believe. Larry, Magic, and MJ had all the "stuff" together, and following the way those teams followed, they would win like them. Crazy NBA thought: I'm not a Clips fan, in fact, I thought they were awful. I've watched 2 games (it's a little early) and they are playing together well. Harden and Russ were playing D. They were selfishly playing and Big Z is a factor. I would say, that if they are not injured and continue to play team ball, they will be an outstanding team.

[@camoss3724]

Everyone naturally thought the Celtics would pick up where they left off in 1982. I remember Sports Illustrated's 1982-83 NBA preview quoting Bucks' coach Don Nelson on the Sixers and the newly-arrived Moses Malone. "The Sixers will be awesome," he said. "They might win 70 games." But, the article concluded, the Celtics may win 71. They didn't come close. Scott Wedman was cited as a trade that clearly didn't fit the Celtics' current needs, but the addition of Quinn Buckner didn't work out, either. His defensive skills appeared to shore up a shaky Boston backcourt, but the problem with Buckner was he couldn't shoot a lick. In the Boston offense at that time, much of the offense ran though the forwards, but the guards had to be able knock down the open jumper when defenses doubled down in the post. Buckner couldn't do that consistently and as the season went on and his playing time began to diminish, it was clear the Celtics had added a player they really couldn't use. Still, I agree that by this time the team had grown weary of Bill Fitch and his drill-sergeant approach. A number of players blamed him for Boston's shocking collapse in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals the year before, and it just carried over into the following season.

[@gturcott1]

They were done. The team fell apart hated Fitch and imploded.

[@CoreyT127]

Besides the Lakers. The western conference didn’t have a single 60 game winner. And only had two 55 win teams the entire decade of the 80s! The 85 nuggets and 89 suns both went 55-27. The Celtics, Sixers, and Bucks. All won 60 games in 1981 alone! Celtics would’ve made every finals in the 80s playing in the weak ass western conference!

[@Sunny-jz3dy]

Too true!

[@remnant8898]

The West was indeed weak, but the Lakers still beat the best EC team 5 out of 9 times.

[@Nok5Z]

⁠@@remnant8898The Lakers players nobody so no injuries (exception Worthy on 83) so they were not tired like the Eastern teams 87 Celtics or 82 Sixers are good exemples Lakers were great and deserved their titles but this factor played a role in that

[@cindyknudson2715]

​@@Nok5ZTrue. The eastern conference winners had run a gauntlet by the time they got to the Finals.

[@jcf4074]

Sidney Moncrief and Marques Johnson did something Magic, Kareem, Isiah, and MJ never did. They swept Bird and the Celtics! Lets not forget how great they were

[@bbrezzy6364]

One of the most underrated teams of all time. They were just an incredibly tough conference. They peaked at the wrong time

[@iamlegend3669]

They were great, but Bird didn't play the whole series and the only thing he played was hurt.

[@buckchile614]

Then they got swept by Philly

[@iamlegend3669]

@@buckchile614 Nobody could defeat Philly that year.

[@wisconsinlonnie4143]

I’m from Milwaukee.

[@KasFromMass]

The game simply passed Fitch, the 70s were over.

[@cindyknudson2715]

Fitch led Rockets beat the Lakers in 1986 to win the western conference and face the Celtics in the Finals.

[@KasFromMass]

@@cindyknudson2715 Rockets underachieved during his time, and they were stacked. They should have made the Championship at least two more times. Fitch got fired, and within 5 years…they had back to back Championships with Hakeem.

[@ronaldclatterbuck5953]

Behind the 86 celtics were best all time..period

[@charlesbronson4282]

This team should've won in '82 AND 83. BIG Dissapointment

[@scottodonnell7121]

No one was beating LA or Philly in those 2 seasons

[@centrist1008]

This guy didn’t know the difference between front court and back court. They underachieved because he sizers were dominant.

[@Nok5Z]

Literally had a chemistry issue between Bill Flitch and players like Maxwell why are you talking about the Sixers ?

[@ruminator3570]

Drill Sargent mentality doesn't work on grown men who are already frustrated. At some point you have to take a step back breathe and let the PLAYERS find THEIR rhythm. Bill Fitch Fitch had one ring KC Jones had two. How can a person expect the players to be mature when the coach is not. Bobby Knight had two rings Mike krzyzewski had more than that. Case closed.

[@kevinhouse4376]

@ruminator3570 Bobby Knight actually had three rings ('76, '81 and '87) and might have had more if not for key injuries (yes, I know other teams might have lost titles due to injuries as well).

[@thedagothexperience]

Bird was sick with the flu during that series & even missed a game I believe.

[@Alwaysavictim4367]

0:13 tiny wasnt dj

[@gturcott1]

So they went and got DJ and KC Jones

[@Gregory-sm9pf]

How were the Celtics lucky to make it to the 81 finals? Did the leauge back then put the teams in a hat and if their team got picked they went to the finals? No, they didn't, they won because the Celtics led by the legend were just at the start of being a dynasty in the eighties going to 5 finals winning three, luck, gtfoh!

[@MicroWave233]

Bird got swept and underperformed, its not a bad thing, it happens to alot of great players. You cant always be at the top in a league full of great talent.

[@joeyalston598]

the 1983 Sixers are the greatest team of all time.

[@homoerectus744]

That's why the first game the next year after the SIXERS won ,the CELTS jumped in that ass.and I'm a sixers fan.