Today we’ll look at the Celtics of the 1980s, the other dynasty of the 1980s.
Categories
Rings
Boston won the title in 1981, 1984, and 1986, for three championships in six years (14/20)
Non-Championship Years
The Celtics lost to the Lakers in the 1985 and 1987 Finals. They lost the 1980 and 1982 Eastern Conference Finals to the 76ers and the 1988 Eastern Conference Finals to the Pistons. 1983 was the only year between 1980 and 1983 when they didn’t make the conference finals. (9/10)
Peak Performance
Bill Simmons has sung the praises of the 1985-1986 Celtics. They went 67-15 in the regular season, 15-3 in the playoffs, losing only one game at home all year. (9/10)
Star Power
Larry Bird is one of the top 10 players of all time. Oddly, the stars otherwise were a bit limited. Tiny Archibald was on the 1981 team. Kevin McHale was brilliant, but was a sixth man until the mid 1980s. Bill Walton took on this role in the 1986 team.
I was watching a game on YouTube where the commentary was discussing Robert Parish as an MVP candidate, but he never finished higher than fourth. (7/10)
Coaching/Innovation
Bill Fitch coached the 1981 team; K.C. Jones took over in 1984. The real driving force of the organization was GM and former coach Red Auerbach.
It’s hard to think of any real innovation for coaching tactic they pioneered. I suppose Bird, McHale, and Parish formed the first Big Three. (3/5)
Legacy
This team will always be tied to the Lakers. I think it’s a bit unfortunate that this has evolved into a bit of a race war, being the last team led by white American stars.
The Celtics were already a legendary franchise, and this team kept that alive. (4/5)
The Competition
The Celtics faced stiffer competition in the East than their rivals did in the West. The 76ers pushed them in the first part of this run, and the Pistons eventually caught them at the end. In between, the Bucks and Hawks presented challenges, and then the Bulls drafted this shooting guard from North Carolina.
In the Finals, the Lakers obviously presented a challenge. Oddly, the 1981 and 1986 titles were won against the Rockets, the first being a bit of a fluke, the second a tough young team that fell self-destructed. (4/5)
Achilles Heel
I don’t know. They couldn’t quite keep up with the Lakers when they were running, but neither could anyone else. Everyone knew Bird would take any big shot, but that may be more a function of his excellence than the quality of the other options. (4/5)
Bias Check
I am a 76er fan and grew up hating the Celtics. (+1)
Summary
55 points. Well below the Lakers (who won 2 more championships and won 2/3 Finals over the Celtics) but ahead of the NFL teams we’ve looked at recently other than the 49ers. Feels about right.
Would they have ranked higher without the Lakers in their way? Who knows?