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Larry O’Brien Legends, Part 7: The 2nd Greatest Comeback

At the risk of sounding like Bill Simmons, there were MANY options to pick from in Celtics history. However, in light of a certain recent event, I thought it would be fun to reminisce on a legendary Finals comeback. If you’ve been following the NBA for more than a year, you know the story of the 2008 Celtics. For those that don’t, here is the summary: The Celtics had gone from decent to horrible in the years since their conference finals appearance in 2002. After the 06-07 season, Paul Pierce was very frustrated, so general manager Danny Ainge executed arguably the best offseason in NBA history. He traded for Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett while retaining promising youngsters like Rajon Rondo and Tony Allen. The Celtics went from 24 wins to 66, the largest single season turnaround in NBA history. In the playoffs, the Celtics ran into their fair share of hurdles. The 37-win Hawks and LeBron carry-job Cavs both took the Celtics to 7 games in rounds 1 and 2 respectively. Boston then met the paragons of East dominance in the Detroit Pistons and beat them in 6, making it to the Finals. For the Celtics Big 3, their head coach Doc Rivers, and 90% of their teammates, it was their first ever finals appearance. This was a veteran team, but one that didn’t have much experience on this stage. The team they went on to face was far from lacking in that department. The LA Lakers had finally made it back to the Finals. Kobe Bryant was leading the way, coming off his first and only MVP alongside the return of head coach Phil Jackson. For context, the duo of Kobe and Phil had played/coached in more finals games than Garnett had in the playoffs entirely before arriving to Boston. The Celtics were the better team on paper, but there was some that believed that LA could use their experience to win this series. Boston managed to win both games 1 and 2 at home, but the Lakers counter punched with a win in game 3 thanks to a masterful 36-point performance from Kobe, which set us up for a game 4 that could shift the balance of power either way. The 1st quarter was just about as bad as it possibly could’ve been for Boston. The Lakers were up 35-14 after 12 minutes. To make matters worse, the Lakers continued the beat down in the 2nd. They built up a 24-point lead (45-21) with less than 5 minutes to go in the quarter. The Celtics did finish the half strong with a 19-10 run, only for Jordan Farmar to hit a last second 3 to give LA an 18-point lead at halftime (58-40). The Celtics started the 2nd half well with an 8-2 run, only for the Lakers to build their lead back up to 20 (68-48) with 7 minutes to go in the 3rd. Doc Rivers then called a timeout. I do not know what he said, but whatever it was, it’s the best idea he’s ever had because the Celtics went on a 23-5 run to end the quarter and cut the deficit to just 2 points (73-71). There was still a quarter to go and Boston made sure their incredible comeback wasn’t for nothing. After a tight 8 minutes, the Celtics finally took their first lead of the game with just 4 minutes remaining, never gave it up and completed, at the time, the greatest single-game comeback in NBA finals history to put themselves up 3-1 in the series. That game basically won them the championship. LA did manage to steal game 5, only to get OBLITERATED in game 6 by 39 points as the Celtics claimed their 17th championship. Paul Pierce, the same frustrated star in 2007, was named Finals MVP. It’s hard to pick an MVP of the comeback as it was truly a team effort. Each member of the big 3 put up 10+ points in the 2nd half while James Posey and Eddie House provided valuable 3-point shooting to add an extra punch. However, I’d pick Paul Pierce who led the way in both scoring and assists (14 and 5). This Big 3 Celtics never won another championship and are sadly remembered more for massively overrating themselves in every TV segment and podcast any of them are on. Ironically, I’ve never heard any of them brag about this, so of course the basketball gods punished them by letting the Knicks have the new greatest comeback in Finals history. Still, during that game and this season, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and most shocking of all, Doc Rivers, became Larry O’Brien Legends.

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Mike Conley To Become 14th Player to Reach 20 Seasons

Agreeing to a one-year deal with the Boston Celtics today gets Conley over the two decades mark in his NBA career. Alongside Al Horford, Conley will reach 20 seasons in this upcoming NBA season. The two veterans join 12 other players in NBA history to match or exceed their mark. They will match Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kobe Bryant, Jamal Crawford, Udonis Haslem, and Kyle Lowry with exactly 20 seasons played in the fall. Robert Parish, Kevin Willis, Kevin Garnett, Dirk Nowitzki, and Chris Paul all played 21 seasons, and Vince Carter reached 22. But the all-time leader in seasons played will be entering his 24th later this year. Of course, LeBron James holds yet another record.

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Did you know that the Celtics have the most titles in NBA history

Did you know that the Celtics have the most titles in NBA history.

@FlameRaptorRaven

Larry O’Brien Legends, Part 12: The Ankle Game

From 1980 to 2010, the Detroit Pistons were genuinely one of the NBA’s best franchises. You likely know about the 2 best eras in their franchise’s history that define that period of excellence. Of course there is the ‘Goin to Work’ era that is universally beloved, then there are the Bad Boys who are very much not beloved and in many cases not respected. At the start of the 80s, the Pistons were a dumpster fire with a promising point guard named Isiah Thomas. In the mid 80s, they became a pretty good team with an electric offense led by that aforementioned point guard. But by the late 80s, Thomas and the Pistons were sick of being pushed around, so they decided to push back. They became a defence-first, unselfish group that focussed on not just winning games, but breaking teams. If you ask the players today, they’d tell you that they wanted to break teams mentally and how that was their priority beyond all else. However, in my personal opinion, even if that is true, the Pistons did it by beating up everyone they came across. While some would argue the Bad Boys era began in 1986-87, I’d actually argue it truly started the next season. 87-88 was the first season Detroit finished as a top 3 defence (top 3 in defensive rating and opponent points per game). They won 54 games and entered the playoffs as a team that was a contender, but still believed to be a step behind the Larry Bird Celtics, who had eliminated them in 2 of the last 3 seasons. Well, in those playoffs, the Pistons avoided a historic collapse and beat the Bullets in 5, then beat the MJ-led Bulls in 5 and faced those Celtics in the conference finals. After a hard-fought series, it was the Pistons who came out victorious, led by Isiah Thomas who averaged 23 points, 8 assists and 3 steals. That included 2 separate 35-point games to help Detroit slay their demons. That victory set up a Finals matchup against the Showtime Lakers. Even though the Pistons were seen as underdogs going in, they had the Lakers on the ropes. Through 5 games, the Pistons had a 3-2 series lead. They were 1 win away from their first ever championship. Then game 6 happened. At halftime, the Lakers held just a 7-point lead. The game was certainly in their hands, but far from over. Isiah Thomas proved that with an incredible start to the 3rd quarter, putting up 14 points to lead a Pistons rally that ultimately gave them the lead. Just when it looked like he was going to lead them to victory, disaster struck. On a fast break, Thomas stepped on Michael Cooper’s foot and rolled his ankle. He went down immediately and it was clear he was writhing in pain. He needed help to get off the court and to the bench. His injury has since been described as a severe ankle sprain. That would make it a grade 3 sprain which means his ligament completely tore apart. The recovery on that injury is usually 1-2 months. Even if it was a grade 2, that is still a partial tear with a recovery timeline of up to a month. While Thomas was on the bench, the Lakers took the lead back. It seemed like they got a huge break. Detroit’s best player was off the floor and the Lakers would surely cruise to victory. Just when Detroit looked doomed, Isiah limped back onto the floor. It’s impressive he can even walk with that injury, but what he did next was nothing short of miraculous. With Michael Cooper hounding him, Isiah Thomas scored 11 of Detroit’s last 15 points, including a turnaround 3-pointer right before the buzzer. When he entered the game, the Pistons were down 8, at the end of the 3rd, Detroit had a 2-point lead. His 25 points in the 3rd is the Finals record for most points in a quarter. I highly recommend you watch the highlights for yourself. It’s so clear he can barely put any weight on his ankle. When there’s a stoppage in play, his limp becomes so obvious. It is simply one of the gutsiest and greatest performances in sports history. Isiah Thomas finished the game with 43 points, 8 assists and 6 steals. Thomas, Jerry West and Allen Iverson are the only players in NBA history to put up a 40-point and 5 steal performance in a Finals game. Sadly, this game did not clinch the championship as a controversial foul call in the final seconds gave Kareem free throws to win the game for LA, which he nailed. In game 7, Thomas wasn’t able to play the entire game and the Lakers won by 3. Isiah Thomas has called that injury and loss the most painful moment of his career. Thankfully, the Pistons returned in 1989 and destroyed the competition to win their first ever championship. They did it again in 1990 with Isiah Thomas winning Finals MVP. The Bad Boys Pistons are remembered for many reasons. Some of those reasons make people smile and others that make others frown. No matter what you think of the Bad Boys, this performance deserves to be immortalized. Even though it was the year before he finally won it all, Isiah Thomas became a Larry O’Brien Legend on a bad ankle.