Author Topic: Larry Bird had 2 consecutive 8 point performances in the 1981 NBA Finals  (Read 3240 times)

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Offline IllalwayslikeHavlicek

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I found that Cedric Maxwell was the fmvp of that year

What happened in the game?

What did Houston do to Larry? It's hard to imagine him scoring eight consecutive points in the playoffs.

Offline IllalwayslikeHavlicek

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Offline bdm860

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The thing I always find most interesting is that they were facing a team with a losing record in the Finals, Houston was 40-42!  And it took the C's 6 games to beat them.



Also interesting looking at the stats was the minutes played.  I understand minutes have gone down, but even in blowouts, Bird was playing 40+ minutes.

29 point win, Bird playing 38 minutes.
23 point win, Biird playing 44 minutes

In '82 playoffs:
40 point win, Bird played 41 minutes.
29 point win, Bird played 42 minutes.

Bird didn't mess around in the playoffs back then I guess.



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Offline Moranis

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That is a lot more common than fans remember.  The internet age and the fact that Jordan was really only in the Finals in his prime (and thus didn't have very many stinkers) have made it seem like it is rare for a star to not play well on the biggest stage and that just isn't reality. 

That was Bird's first finals and his point totals were

18, 19, 8, 8, 12, 27

Imagine how much Giannis would be getting killed if he did that in the Finals. 

Also for a comparison, Lebron against the Mavericks

24, 20, 17, 8, 17, 21

Obviously that was not Lebron's 1st time in the Finals and the Heat lost as opposed to winning like the C's, but Lebron outperformed Bird, yet Lebron is often thought of as the worst Finals ever from a great player, while Bird is never mentioned.  This media era is just so much different.
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Offline Roy H.

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Imagine how much Giannis would be getting killed if he did that in the Finals.

In his second season?

He averaged 15.3 / 15.3 / 7.0 in the Finals.  I’d take that.


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Offline celticsclay

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That is a lot more common than fans remember.  The internet age and the fact that Jordan was really only in the Finals in his prime (and thus didn't have very many stinkers) have made it seem like it is rare for a star to not play well on the biggest stage and that just isn't reality. 

That was Bird's first finals and his point totals were

18, 19, 8, 8, 12, 27

Imagine how much Giannis would be getting killed if he did that in the Finals. 

Also for a comparison, Lebron against the Mavericks

24, 20, 17, 8, 17, 21

Obviously that was not Lebron's 1st time in the Finals and the Heat lost as opposed to winning like the C's, but Lebron outperformed Bird, yet Lebron is often thought of as the worst Finals ever from a great player, while Bird is never mentioned.  This media era is just so much different.

If Bird lost a finals with Parish and Mchale to do a team who had a second best player that was Jason Terry it would be talked about as one of the worst performances ever. If anything Lebron probably does not get enough flack for that performance.

Offline Vermont Green

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I found that Cedric Maxwell was the fmvp of that year

What happened in the game?

What did Houston do to Larry? It's hard to imagine him scoring eight consecutive points in the playoffs.

Houston had a game plan to not let Larry beat them.  That left the ball in Maxwell's hands a lot.   Max made them pay.

The same kind of thing often happened with Dennis Johnson.  He would get good looks because the other team was working so hard to stop Bird and McHale.

Offline liam

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Bird wasn't a stats guy. He was a winner. Bird didn't care if he scored a point if his team won. Bird's team won.

Offline footey

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I was at Game 1 of this finals in 1981. Was sitting behind the basket that Larry made that incredible put back lefty shot at the end of the game.

That's all.

Offline Big333223

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He only attempted 11 shots in each of those 8-point performance, too, which is odd. 10 and then 7 assists, though.

That Maxwell FMVP always struck me (as someone born in '88) as weird. Max averaged 2 more ppg than Bird that series but Bird averaged twice as many rebounds as anyone else on the team and also led the team in assists and steals.

It just seems like Larry was clearly that teams' best player, even in the Finals with subpar shooting.
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Offline liam

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He only attempted 11 shots in each of those 8-point performance, too, which is odd. 10 and then 7 assists, though.

That Maxwell FMVP always struck me (as someone born in '88) as weird. Max averaged 2 more ppg than Bird that series but Bird averaged twice as many rebounds as anyone else on the team and also led the team in assists and steals.

It just seems like Larry was clearly that teams' best player, even in the Finals with subpar shooting.

Bird could always affect the game in so many different ways. He was always the best player on the floor in his prime.

Offline gouki88

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Imagine how much Giannis would be getting killed if he did that in the Finals.

In his second season?

He averaged 15.3 / 15.3 / 7.0 in the Finals.  I’d take that.
Yeah, a sophomore doing that is pretty fine by me. Especially because we were bad prior to Larry's arrival
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