The year 1987 didn’t end too well in Celtic Nation, at least when you compare it to 1986. And since the 2009 basketball season was compared to the 1987 basketball season by more than a few Celtics fans, including Bob Ryan, who wrote a famous article entitled “The Year of the Purple Heart” to commemorate the 1987 gang, it might be worthwhile to see if we can now expect 2010 to be like 1988.
Let’s hope not, as 1988 marked another year in what would become slow and painful death march into NBA oblivion by the local hardwooders.
Despite ending on a sour note, the 1987 NBA season left many Celtics fans optimistic about the future. Kevin McHale, who had been playing on a broken foot in the Finals, was expected to back at full strength the next season (and remember that McHale was an MVP candidate before he got injured during the spring of 1987). The Celtics had a first round draft pick, which they used to snare promising guard-forward Reggie Lewis. With their second pick, seven-foot center Brad Lohaus fell into their laps. The Celtics also used the offseason to add veteran big Mark Acres.
By mid-season, the Celtics were on track to win at least 55 games, and had acquired sharp-shooting guard Jim Paxson and seven-two behemoth Artis Gilmore. Best of all, old #5, Bill Walton, one of the best big men to ever play the game, was scheduled to return to action, full of vim and vigor. Oh yeah, they also had this guy named Bird. Along with McHale, Parish, DJ, and Ainge, the Celtics were widely considered to have the best starting five in basketball.
Ah, but that’s where the problems started.
KC Jones, always in search of the next win, even if it was against the Kings on the road in February, played those five starters an ungodly number of minutes during the regular season, running them into the ground as if each of them had a past-due expiration date. By season’s end, the starters were pooped, injured, or both. The bench, which played only spotty minutes during the regular season, rarely removed their warm-ups during the playoffs.
And that Walton guy? Well, he never did make it back. Not in 1988 or ever again.
And so the Celtics scratched and clawed their way through the playoffs, determined to either win or die trying. Thankfully, no one died. But the Celtics did lose, falling to the Pistons in the ECFs (much better than giving the Lakers the pleasure of beating us in the Finals. But that’s a topic for a different post). At the end of 1988, Bob Ryan wrote another post-mortem, this time blaming KC for not playing Reggie, Brad, Mark, and Jim a little bit more, and thereby giving the starters some rest.
Can we expect much of the same from the Celtics in 2010?
While it is too early to tell and I’m keeping my fingers crossed, let’s just say the warning signs are there. As much as I love Doc Rivers, the 2009 NBA playoffs proved that Doc Rivers likes to win just as much as KC Jones did, and will use his best players until they can walk no more (and as I understand it, Pierce and Allen barely could walk). This is understandable. Coaches are paid to win, especially when your paychecks say “BOSTON CELTICS” at the top. But it is also troubling. Remember, no one knew what to think about Reggie Lewis after his first year in the league.
Next we have the bench. Even if Powe and Davis return, they are short. The Celtics need some height. Sure, I’d rather have Powe and Davis than nothing, but we need a taller upgrade off the bench. We need to turn those to capable subs into one much taller, more intimidating big man who can play inside or outside. If his name rhymes with WEED, all the better.
Continuing on with the bench, I am reminded of a Laker beat writer who asked, what bench? The rest of the team consists of a bunch of guys that have played well for the Celtics at times. But other than maybe Eddie House, there is no one on the bench the Celtics couldn’t afford to lose, unless, again, they got nothing in return except for a second round pick or a CBA-type talent.
Speaking of which, I don’t think it’s an understatement to say that the fortunes of the 2009-2010 Boston Celtics rest on what Danny Ainge can accomplish between June 15th and July 15th. If we don’t make a major acquisition (free agent or otherwise) before July 15th, consider that strike one. If we start hearing Danny temper our expectations with “we are exploring a couple of different moves, but nothing major,” consider that strike two. If our biggest accomplishments heading into camp are bringing back the existing roster “as is,” consider our fate next May largely determined.
All of this, of course, assumes KG will return to full strength next fall. I don’t believe he will, and note that both local fish-wraps were careful to say that the surgery KG just had will NOT cure the problem that kept him out of the playoffs. If KG in 2009 becomes Bill Walton in 1988, meaning the subject of constant WILL-HE-OR-WON’T-HE-BE-ABLE-TO-PLAY-AGAIN rumors, the season is kaput right now.
I hate to say it, but this KG thing makes me think somewhere between August 1 and December 1, some genius over at Waltham will say, “the knee injury is far more serious than we initially thought. As it turns out, the injury is a FILL-IN-THE-BLANK injury that requires season ending surgery—season-ending as in 2009-2010.” That would mean another year of KG on the books, but unable to suit up.
I love KG, and will always be thankful for #17.
But I’m starting to wonder if we need to retire the #5, not because KG and Walton wore it, but because the [dang] thing is cursed.
Topic: 1988: Back to the Future? (Read 802 times)