Bill Simmons Celtics City Documentary

[perks-a-beast]

This doc would be a lot better if it didnt frame through the lens of race. I am dead tired of how much identity politics plays into everything these days.

Talking about race relations during the Bill Russell 1960's civil rights movement was justified and necessary - nearly all other 900 times after that seemed forced.

[tenn_smoothie]

This doc would be a lot better if it didnt frame through the lens of race. I am dead tired of how much identity politics plays into everything these days.

Talking about race relations during the Bill Russell 1960's civil rights movement was justified and necessary - nearly all other 900 times after that seemed forced.

It was forced .......... ad nauseam.

[tenn_smoothie]

To this day, I have never watched the 4th quarter of game 7 from the 2010 finals. I watched the first 3 quarters and saw the lead start to slip and turned to something else. I kept track of the score on the espn gamecast. I recorded it but never could bear to watch. When that part of the documentary showed the game, I just hit the fast forward. I still cannot watch that travesty. Lakers 4th quarter free throws 24-6.

Ironic how in my younger days, I sat through the most gut-wrenching playoff games throughout Celtics history, play by play, including 1969 finals game 7, 1973 ECF game 7, 1974 finals games 6 & 7, 1976 game 5, the entire 80's playoff games, 2008 game 4 comeback in Los Angeles.

My tolerance for Boston Celtics emotional pain has apparently become lower with age. Same for Tennessee Football.

[Goldstar88]

Maxwell on the docuseries:

Cedric Maxwell said his issues aren?t with the adulation for Larry Bird. The two have had their issues in the past, when Bird said Maxwell?s lack of focus cost them the 85 title. But they have reconciled and there is a healthy respect on both sides. I don?t really have anything to say [negatively] about Larry, I like Larry, Maxwell said. We are totally different people. Larry likes beer. I like sodas. Larry likes to hunt. I like to go to the zoo. He goes to fish, I go to the fish market. Being on the stage with great teams and great players, you can always feel slighted. I understand that but I?m just speaking out on it. A lot of people don?t like me, they always think I?m complaining or I?m jealous of Larry. I?m not. Larry Bird is one of the greatest players to ever play the game and I appreciate that I played with him. But I?m sure he appreciates the fact he played with me too. But for [the documentary] to paint that picture about what happened and not put this in or that in, it bothered me.via Boston Globe

If you going to portray me, I get it, but just do the whole story, he told the Globe. You cannot mention me in your story and not say I was the Finals MVP. You can?t mention me in your story and then don?t say in 1984, climb on my back. Maxwell told his teammates he would lead them to the promised land in Game 7 of the 1984 NBA Finals, telling them to climb on my back, boys. Maxwell scored 24 points on 14-for-17 shooting from the free throw line in Boston?s 111-102 win over the Lakers. Those things were omitted and it wasn?t cool, said Maxwell, a longtime Celtics radio analyst and still a wildly popular figure. They edited it the way they wanted to edit it. They wrote their own story. It doesn?t depict my whole story. And I know the story isn?t totally about me. But if you do the Celtics City and you don?t mention that.. via Boston Globe

[tenn_smoothie]

Cedric Maxwell has always been one of my top 5 favorite Celtics of all time. I just love the way he played the game, absolutely beautiful footwork, tough as nails defender and fought like hell to win games and as unselfish as they come. He was a 20ppg scorer before Bird arrived and sacrificed his own stats and noteriety without complaint for the good of the team and in the best interests of winning. I believe he was a huge reason we won the impossible game 6 in Philly in 1981 when he went after the heckler behind the basket. No fear. He won the '81 finals for us and after Bird took back the series from LA in games 4 & 5, Max and Parish won game 7 in the '84 finals.

I have been bothered by the the differing versions of his recovery efforts from his 1985 knee injury.
What is the truth ? Was he lazy about his recovery efforts or did he do everything he could ?
Doesn't seem in his character not to care about getting healthy and getting back to playing shape for the playoffs, if that was possible. We have never heard the true story about his recovery. It now seems that Bird was equally culpable for our failure to repeat in '85 because he badly injured his shooting hand in a bar fight in the middle of the playoffs. This was confirmed in Dan Shaughhnessy's book about the 80's Celtics. That's about as irresponsible as you can get, Larry. Was your manhood reputation in the bars of Boston more important than the title ?

[Neurotic Guy]

Been slowly watching this documentary.  Enjoying it.  Episodes 4 and 5 which cover 81, 84, and 86 were terrific.  Enjoyed every minute I suppose until the last minute. Watching clips of Len Bias including post-draft interviews really tough to watch, tough to believe.  Goes without saying that the tragedy was the loss of a man far too young who should have had a life. But impossible not to consider that he was a superstar level talent coming onto what may have been the best team of all time in the 86 Celtics.  I was 27 and it hit hard at the time - so hard to believe.  Was a surreal period of time - just shake your head, could not be possible.

[Birdman]

Bird didn?t hurt his back & Bias lived, Celtics probably when 3 more titles..had some young guy ask me what player was Bias like & I said he was like LeBron

[hardlyyardley]

While in line at the BBQ on a beach In San Martin in 1986,I ended up in back of Coach K....I asked him about Bias, knowing the C's had the second pick

He raved about him