In honor of both the Celtics 18th championship this year and the 40 year anniversary of their 15th banner, to fill these summer weeks before football season starts, I’m doing a rewatch of the 7 game Finals. (Technically this is a watch, because technically I wasn’t a live for the 1984 Finals, though my sister was born the same day as the game we are about to watch.)
Follow along if you’d like, I’m watching this 15-part youtube video of the broadcast.
1984 NBA Finals: Lakers at Celtics, Gm 2 part 1/15 - YouTube
There is another 4-hour video of the original broadcast complete with commercials, but I opted to skip that one, though it was interesting to note that Simon & Simon was pre-empted for the broadcast of this game. (in case you are curious, it will be seen next week at its regularly schedule time.) Without further ado, game 2 of the ’84 Finals.
- Notable during the pregame show, Pat O’Brien asks Magic Johnson if he agrees with Larry Bird’s statement that the series is going to become my physical. Magic Eurosteps around the question, but oh how prophetic the notion that this series would get more physical is. (No spoilers.)
- The Celtics get off to a hot start, they’re running the floor like the Lakers, except the C’s opt for open 12-footers in transition where the Lakers try to finish at the rim whenever possible.
- The Celtics jump out to a 7-0 lead and you can see the urgency in their game early. The only thing keeping the Laker’s afloat during this 1st quarter barrage is Magic Johnson shooting 4 for 4, with every basket coming from just off the right elbow. Magic’s jump shot as always been an enigma to me. He’s a tremendous player, one of the best of all time, but his jump shot is a cross between a shot put and a Denise Austin workout. There’s a lot of elbow and extending your reach towards the sky, plus he doesn’t really jump. Its like, have you ever tried to shoot a free throw from too far away? You go through your regular routine from the charity stripe (I used to dribble 3 times and move my feet in what coaches dubbed “The Elephant Stomp”, but I shot over 80% from the free throw line, so suck it!) but when you go to shoot a free throw from farther than 15-feet from the basket you realize your feet are tethered to the ground and you have to shove the ball as hard as you can skyward. It’s awkward as hell. But anyway, that’s what Magic Johnson’s jumper reminds me of. (Stay tuned next week for Sterling describes a weird shooter from the 80’s, right here in the Sterling Notebook!)
- Danny Ainge comes off the bench and is firing away in transition. It’s such an interesting time for the Celtics, you have the same starting five tonight as game one, Dennis Johnson, Gerald Henderson, Larry Bird, Cedric Maxwell and Robert Parish, but you see Ainge and McHale on the bench and you can see where this team is going. Both provide a spark off the bench and in this series McHale will ignite an inferno. In another bit of foreshadowing, during the pregame show it was reported Pat Riley said the Lakers have no answer for Kevin McHale.
- The Lakers are called for illegal defense 3-times, resulting in two technical fouls. It’s a call made because a player wasn’t near an offensive player and was in the paint for a 3-count. They never say who had the violation, but it was Kareem. He stayed in the Boston paint so long I think he voted for Dukakis.
- The Celtics end the first quarter with a 36-26 lead. It is staggering how many possessions the Celtics have where Larry Bird doesn’t touch the basketball. In the modern NBA it would be a rarity for the star small-forward not to touch the ball every time down the floor, but that’s a credit to the Celtics offense that with Cooper and help draped all over the league’s MVP that they stick to their offense and aren’t forcing the issue. Bird has seen the ball more in the first quarter than he did in most of game one, but 3-4 times down the floor in a row will go by and #33 doesn’t get a touch.
- CBS shows rookie commissioner David Stern who is about to finish his first season at the helm. He’s got dark hair, a mustache and he’s smiling. Its like when they show a side by side picture of the President the day of their inauguration and then on their last day of office. If only we could have warned 1984 David Stern about Dennis Rodman, JR Rider and the Portland Trailblazers.
- Jamaal Wilkes goes 1 of 2 from the line, both are line drives from his eardrum. The next trip down the floor Wilkes hits what Dick Stockton refers to as “his patented shot from the corner.” Heinsohn says “Wilkes is a guy who likes to take big shots.” With a stroke like that, why wouldn’t he!?!?!
- “There’s Robert Parish, who is called the Chief because of his wooden, solemn look. But off the court he is a laughing, smiling guy, but his hobby is watching horror movies of all things.” Dick Stockton reads the media guide.
- The Celtics go on a 6-0 run, which prompts Riley to call a time out. Coming up at the half, Brent Musburger is going to interview Bob Cousy and has a feature on Red Auerbach, plus Bulls’ Kevin Loughery is going to breakdown plays from the first half using some short of barroom shuffle board table.
- There are certain chestnuts that we grow up with and just take an immutable fact. One of those was that Kareem’s Sky Hook was undefendable and automatic. Kareem has missed at least 3 in this game and has yet to convert one. Meanwhile Wilkes just hit another from his patented corner spot. It has to be an aesthetic thing, because Wilkes spasm from the corner has been automatic and Kareem couldn’t hit a sky hook if he was throwing a Vienna Sausage (not a sponsor) down a hallway. (While I typed this last entry, Wilkes hit another from the base line and is 5 for 5 from the field in the first half. The 3rd A in Jamaal stands for automatic!)
- Speaking of spasmatic, the Celtics flail away their 10-point lead and the Lakers go into the half trailing by just 2-points. The double digit lead the Celtics had most of the first half has gone the way of tonight’s episode of Simon & Simon.
- The Lakers take their first lead of the game 66-65 when Kareem hits a Sky Hook. (Just 4 behind Wilkes.)
- Michael Cooper tries the first 3-pointer of the game and hits all backboard, no rim. The fashioned 3-point play is an inexact science in 1984.
- The camera pans to the Celtics bench where Parish is talking with team trainer Ray Melchiorre, who is wearing a full Celtics warm up suit with his name on the back of it. We used to be a proper country who stood for something.
- The clearest description of the different philosophies between the styles of these two teams: Dick Stockton refers to James Worthy as the Lakers not to secret weapon, and says Kevin McHale is the same for the Celtics. Has there ever been two players more different than James Worthy and Kevin McHale?
- Right on cue, the Lakers streak down the court on their 300th fast break of the 3rd quarter and Dennis Johnson fouls Worthy hard, sending him down in a heap under the basket support. It’s Johnson’s 5th. After writhing on the floor for an eternity, Worthy stays in the game and on the next possession throws down an uncontested dunk. “The Lakers are running the Celtics off the court” says Stockton. Even though they only have a 3-point lead, this feels accurate. Down 1-0 in the series and now trailing in game 2, the Celtics feel outmatched.
- Danny Ainge goes on a patented Danny Ainge scoring spree to end the quarter and give the Celtics back a 3-point lead heading into the final quarter of the ballgame. (Ainge is 6-9 from the floor for 12 points off the bench.)
- Jamaal Wilkes heads to the free throw line to shoot a pair and Stockton finally addresses the purple clad elephant in the room: “Very unorthodox style from Wilkes from the free throw line. When he was a youngster his sister Naomi was such a good player in her own right, she used to block his shots, so he had to come up with another way.” Naomi Wilkes used to block his free throws?
- Wedman attempts and misses the Celtics first fashioned 3-point play of the game. (Ultimately their only 3-point attempt of the game.)
- Kareem just airballed a Sky Hook. Should’ve passed off to Wilkes in the corner.
- CBS just tried to show Johnny Most “high above courtside” in the rafters of the Boston Garden and it was so dark, the CBS camera essentially blacks out completely. We’ve come a long way.
- The highlight of the series up until this point is Kareem and Gerald Henderson getting tied up and having to match up for a jump ball. Abdul-Jabbar, who is approximately 9 ½ feet taller, barely edges Henderson out for the tap.
- Michael Cooper fouls out with 4:28 left, Bird should be uncaged the rest of the night. If he doesn’t touch the ball on every possession, I want KC Jones retroactively fired. Wilkes is guarding Bird, the match up we have all been waiting for. This will be Jamaal’s toughest matchup since Naomi.
- Worthy drives to the basket and dunks over Maxwell, they call a blocking foul on Cedric and Worthy’s old fashioned 3-point play ties the game at 111 with 1:09 left in regulation. (foreshadowing)
- Down 2 with 20 seconds left, McHale misses a pair of free throws. The Celtics are 12-22 from the line tonight, the Lakers a perfect 12-12. The Lakers call time out and Worthy will in bound the ball with 18 seconds left. Worthy passed to Magic, back to Worthy, who throws it cross court to GERALD HENDERSON WHO PICKS OFF THE PASS AND TAKES IT IN FOR A LAYUP THAT TIES THE GAME AT 113!!!!!!! Though there is 13 second left and the Lakers have the ball at mid-court. Magic inexplicably dribbles for 13 seconds behind the arc and doesn’t get a shot off. Stockton has this one pegged when he says that was a 15 second play with 13 seconds left. Heinsohn can’t hide his glee.
- The NBA flagged part 15 of this game on Youtube so I’m forced to swap to the complete broadcast version and the quality is 10 times better than the one I’ve watched the first 4 quarters of this game on. Plus this one comes with 40-year old commercials. You live and learn.
- Kareem is called for a travel as he set up for the Sky Hook, which is smart because you can’t miss the hook if you don’t take the hook. The Lakers are then called for yet another illegal defense but Bird misses the technical free throw. Maybe the Celtics should start shooting free throws like Jamaal Wilkes, I don’t know at this point.
- Neither team can take control in overtime, Bird grabs a defensive rebound (he’s been a monster on the boards) and fires a pinpoint outlet to Henderson who scores an old fashioned 3-point play, tying the game at 118. Bird needs the ball more. Good things happen when he touches the ball.
- Up 1, with less than a minute to play Magic misses a jumper, but LA’s best player, Jamaal Wilkes comes up with the offensive rebound. The Lakers could put the game away with a bucket here, but they foolishly have Kareem attempt that cockamamy hook shot and the Celtics rebound the miss. 121-120 Lakers with 25 seconds left. The Celtics of course get the ball to Scott Wedman who drills a jumper from Jamaal Wilkes patented spot to give the Celtics a one-point lead with 14 seconds remaining.
- The Lakers turn the ball over on the in-bounds pass, but trying to foul Bird, the refs pack the whistle away and as the ball rolls out of bounds they call it Lakers Ball. Granted a reprieve the Lakers inbound the ball to McAdoo who has his pocket promptly picked by Parish. Bird is fouled and sinks both free throws. As the “BEAT LA” chants rain down, the Celtics upend the Lakers 124-121 in overtime to tie the series up at 1 game apiece.
Next week the series shifts to Los Angeles for game 3 of these NBA Finals.