Originally posted on sciy.org by Rich Carlson on Sat 19 Apr 2008 09:28 AM PDT
The NBA playoffs start today and my
prediction is that the Boston Celtics are on the cusp of a new
dynasty. They should win it all this year with perhaps the Detroit
Pistons posing the biggest threat along the way, although if they
face the Los Angeles Lakers in the finals that would be an
interesting match up as well. They reason for their success this year
is twofold they have the best defensive team in the league and a
healthy Kevin Garnett. Garnett deserves a championship and should
perhaps be the League MVP, as well as defensive player of the year,
and the latter award is what he may have to settle for in what has
truly been a remarkable season for him.
As my first memories of basketball are of Bill Russell and Celtics dynasty which stretched into the 1960s, I wanted to present a history of the Celtics previous dynasties here, while hoping to be proven right this year about the start of a new one this year:
1946-1956: The building of a
dynasty
The Celtics were formed in 1946 as a team in the Basketball Association of America, and became part of the National Basketball Association (NBA) after the merger of the BAA and the National Basketball League to form the NBA in the fall of 1949.[1] In 1950, the Celtics became the first franchise to draft an African American player, signing Chuck Cooper.[2]
The Celtics had struggled during their early years, until the hiring of Coach Red Auerbach. One of the first major players to join the Celtics was Bob Cousy, whom Auerbach initially refused to draft.[3] Cousy eventually became the property of the Chicago Stags.[4] When that franchise went bankrupt, Cousy was acquired by the Celtics in a dispersal draft. After the 1955-56 season, Auerbach made a stunning trade. He sent perennial All-Star and future Hall of Famer Ed Macauley to the St. Louis Hawks along with the draft rights to Cliff Hagan in exchange for the Hawks' first round draft pick, the second overall.[5] After negotiating with the Rochester Royals, Auerbach used the pick to select University of San Francisco center Bill Russell.[6] Auerbach also acquired Holy Cross standout, and 1957 NBA Rookie of the Year, Tommy Heinsohn.[7] Russell and Heinsohn worked extraordinarily well with Cousy, and they were the players around whom Auerbach would build the Celtics for more than a decade. Russell, who joined mid-season in order to play for the US olympic team, had an immediate impact during 1957.
1957-1969: The dynasty
Celtics center Bill Russell (#6) led the Celtics to 11 NBA Championships during his 13-year career.
Russell joined the Celtics in December of 1956[7] and went on to play most every game during which the Celtics advanced to the NBA Finals and defeated the St. Louis Hawks in seven games, giving the Celtics the first of their record 16 NBA Championships.[8] In 1958, the Celtics again advanced to the NBA Finals, this time losing to the Hawks in 6 games.[9] However, with the acquisition of K.C. Jones that year, the Celtics began a dynasty that would last for more than a decade.[10] In 1959, with Cousy at point guard, Russell at center and Heinsohn at forward, the Celtics won the NBA Championship after sweeping the Minneapolis Lakers.[11] Still coached by Auerbach, the Celtics won seven more
consecutive championships, extending their streak to eight in a row.[12] During that timespan, the Celtics met the Lakers in the Finals six times, starting an intense and often bitter rivalry. The Celtics would eventually meet the Lakers a total of 10 times in the NBA Finals. In 1964, Auerbach made the Celtics the first team to have an all African American starting lineup.[13]
After the 1966 championship, Auerbach retired as coach and Russell took over as player-coach.[14] With his appointment, Russell also became the first African American coach in the NBA.[15] Auerbach would remain the General Manager, a position he would hold well into the 1980s. However, that year the Celtics' string of NBA titles was broken as they lost to the Philadelphia 76ers in the Eastern Conference Finals. The aging team managed two more championships in 1968 and 1969, defeating the Lakers each time in the NBA Finals.[16] Russell retired after the 1969 season, effectively ending a dominant Celtics dynasty that had garnered 11 NBA titles in 13 seasons.[17] The streak of 8 consecutive NBA championships is the longest streak of consecutive championships in U.S. professional sports history.[18]
1970-1978: Rebuilding the dynasty
The 1970 season was a rebuilding year, as the Celtics had their first losing record since the 1949-50 season, the year prior to Auerbach's arrival.[19] However, with the acquisition of Dave Cowens, Paul Silas, and Jo Jo White, the Celtics soon became dominant again.[20] After losing in the Eastern Conference Finals in 1972, the Celtics regrouped and came out determined in 1973 and posted an excellent 68-14 regular season record. But the season ended in disappointment, as they were upset in 7 games by the New York Knicks in the Conference Finals and became the team with the best record ever to have failed to make the Finals.[21] The Celtics returned to the playoffs the next year, defeating the Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA Finals in 1974 for their 12th NBA Championship.[22] The teams split
the first four games, and after the Celtics won Game 5 in Milwaukee they headed back to Boston leading three games to two, with a chance to claim the title on their home court. However, the Bucks won Game 6 when Kareem Abdul-Jabbar nestled in a hook shot with three seconds left in the game's second overtime, and the series returned to Milwaukee. But Cowens was the hero in Game 7, scoring 28 points, as the Celtics brought the title back to Boston for the first time in five years. In 1976, the team won yet another championship, defeating the Phoenix Suns in 6 games. The Celtics advanced to the 1976 NBA Finals, which featured one of the greatest games in the history of the NBA. With the series tied at two games apiece, the Suns trailed early in the Boston Garden, but came back to force overtime. In double overtime, a Gar Heard turn-around jumper at the top of the key sent the game to an unprecedented third overtime, at which point the Celtics prevailed.[23] Tommy Heinsohn coached the team for those two championships. After the 1976 championship and a playoff appearance in 1977, Boston went into another phase of rebuilding.
In the 1977 NBA Draft, the Celtics drafted a young forward from the UNC Charlotte named Cedric Maxwell.[24] Maxwell did not contribute much in his rookie season, but he showed promise. Auerbach's job became even tougher following the 1977-78 in which they went 32-50 as John Havlicek, the Celtics All-Time leading scorer, retired after 16 seasons.[25]
Thanks to a trade and their poor record in 1977-78, the Celtics owned two of the top eight picks in the 1978 NBA Draft.[26] Since the Celtics had two draft choices, Auerbach took a risk and selected junior Larry Bird of Indiana State with the 6th pick, knowing that Bird would elect to remain in college for his senior year. The Celtics would retain his rights for one year, a rule that was later changed, and Auerbach believed that Bird's potential would make him worth the wait. Auerbach also felt that when the college season ended the Celtics would have a great chance to sign Bird. Auerbach was right and Bird signed soon after leading Indiana State to the NCAA Championship game, where they fell to a Michigan State University team that was led by Magic Johnson.[27]
The other important story of the Celtics' 1978-79 season was the ongoing dispute between Auerbach and new owner John Y. Brown.[28] The dispute nearly led Auerbach to resign as General Manager for a position with the New York Knicks. With public support strongly behind Auerbach, Brown elected to sell the team rather than face the wrath of the city for being the man who drove Red to a hated rival. During his short ownership, Brown orchestrated a trade for Bob McAdoo that Auerbach despised, and the team unraveled.[29] The Celtics would struggle through the season, going 29-53 without Bird.[30] Newcomers Chris Ford, Rick Robey, Cedric Maxwell and Tiny Archibald failed to reverse the team's momentum.[31]
Bird would debut for the Celtics during the 1979-80 season, a year after his selection.[32] With a new owner in place, Auerbach made a number of moves that would bring the team back to prominence. Auerbach traded the unhappy McAdoo, a former NBA scoring champion, to the Detroit Pistons in exchange for guard M.L. Carr, a defensive specialist, and two first-round picks in the 1980 NBA Draft.[33] He also picked up point guard Gerald Henderson from the CBA. Carr, Archibald, Henderson and Ford would form a highly competent backcourt, with their unique skills blending in perfectly with the talented frontcourt of Cowens, Maxwell and Bird, who would go on to win NBA Rookie of the Year honors. The Celtics improved by 32 games, the best single-season turnaround in NBA history, going 61-21 and losing to the Philadelphia 76ers in the Eastern Conference Finals.
After the season, Auerbach completed what may be the most lopsided trade in NBA history. Auerbach had always been a fan of stockpiling draft picks, so even after the success of 1979-80 the Celtics had both the 1st and 13th picks in the 1980 NBA Draft leftover from the M.L. Carr trade. Auerbach saw an opportunity to improve the team immediately, sending the two picks to the Golden State Warriors in exchange for center Robert Parish and the Warriors first round pick, the 3rd overall. With the draft pick, Auerbach selected University of Minnesota power forward Kevin McHale. With these three future Hall of Famers on the team the Celtics had a core in place to become a dominant team in the NBA.
The Celtics went 62-20 under coach Bill Fitch in 1980-81, despite losing center Dave Cowens to retirement late in training camp. Once again the Celtics matched up with the 76ers in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Celtics fell behind 3 games to 1 before coming back to win a classic 7th game, 91-90. The Celtics went on to capture the 1981 NBA Championship over the Houston Rockets, just two years after Bird had been drafted. Maxwell was named NBA Finals MVP.
In 1983-84 the Celtics would go 62-20 and finally get back to the NBA Finals after a three year hiatus. In the final, the Celtics came back from a 2-1 deficit to defeat the Los Angeles Lakers, winning their 15th championship. Bird renewed his college rivalry with Lakers star Magic Johnson during this series. After the series the Celtics traded Henderson, whose dramatic steal in game 2 altered the course of the series and gave the Celtics a chance, to the Seattle Supersonics in exchange for their first round pick in the 1986 NBA Draft.
In 1985, the Lakers and Celtics would meet again, but this time the Lakers would take the championship. During the following offseason the Celtics acquired Bill Walton from the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for Cedric Maxwell. Walton was a future Hall of Famer and had been a big star with the Portland Trailblazers, but injuries had kept him from living up to expectations. He was also a lifelong Celtics fan and willing to come off the bench, deferring to the three Hall of Famer big men already with the team. Walton would be a big part of the Celtics' success in 1986.
In 1985-86 the Celtics fielded one of the best teams in NBA history. The 1986 Celtics won 67 games, going 40-1 at their home, the Boston Garden. Bird won his third consecutive MVP award after having arguably his finest season, and Walton won the Sixth Man of the Year Award. They would win their 16th and last championship to date, easily defeating the Houston Rockets in the NBA Finals.
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