7. 1987 EAST CHAMP BOSTON CELTICS v. 10. 1975 EAST CHAMP WASH BULLETS
Celtics: 59-23, 1st Atl Div, 3rd Off, 9th Def
d. Bulls East 1st Rnd 3-0
d. Bucks East Semis 4-3
d. Pistons East Finals 4-3
Lost Lakers NBA Finals 4-2
#104 overall seed
Coach: KC Jones
Starters
C Robert Parish 33-Centenary 17.5 PPG 17.7 PER 9.2 WS
F Kevin McHale 29-Minnesota 26.1 24 14.8
F Larry Bird 30-Indiana St 28.1 26.4 15.2
G Dennis Johnson 32-Pepperdine 13.4 13.2 5.2
G Danny Ainge 27-BYU 14.8 15.2 6.7
Rotation Reserves
C Greg Kite 25-BYU 1.7 6 .7
F Fred Roberts 26-BYU 5.5 10.7 1.8
F Darren Daye 26-UCLA 3.9 9.6 .6
G Sam Vincent 23-Mich St 3.7 12.8 .5
G Jerry Sichting 30-Purdue 5.7 9.4 2.3
Leaders: Bird 4th PPG, 1st FT%, 3rd PER, 3rd WS, 3rd WS/48, 2nd +/-, 2nd VORP, 3rd Trip-Doub
McHale 1st FG%, 2nd Eff FG%, 3rd TS%, 5th PER, 4th WS, 4th WS/48, 2nd Off Rtng
Ainge 2nd FT%, 3rd 3Pt%
It's the East Champ Celtics, lost the NBA Finals to the Lakers; 29 year old McHale and 30 year old Bird are two of the 5 best players in the league; PER around 25, WS around 15. 3rd best offense in the NBA - this is probably the worst bench in the entire tournament. Wait until you see who the Bullets coach is.
Bullets: 60-22, 1st Cen Div, 8th Off, 1st Def
d. Braves East Semis 4-3
d. Celtics East Finals 4-2
Lost Warriors NBA Finals 4-0
#153 overall seed
Coach: KC Jones
Starters:
C Wes Unseld 28- Louisville 9.2 PPG 15 PER 10.6 WS
F Elvin Hayes 29-Houston 23 19 12.5
F Mike Riordan 29-Providence 15.4 15.1 6.1
G Kevin Porter 24-St Francis 11.6 16 6.5
G Phil Chenier 24- Cal 21.8 17.7 8.8
Rotation Reserves
C Truck Robinson 23- Tenn St 5.8 15.1 2.7
F Nick Weatherspoon 24- Illinois 7.5 14.5 3.6
F Dick Gibbs 26- UTEP 3.3 11 .4
G Jimmy Jones 30- Grambling 7.1 13.2 4.1
G Clem Haskins 31-W Kentucky 4 11.8 1
Leaders: Unseld 3rd Reb, 1st Reb/Gm, 2nd Def WS, 5th +/- 2nd Def Rtng, 4th Reb%,
Hayes 5th Reb, 4th Blocks, 4th Blocks/Gm, 4th WS, 1st Def Rtng
Porter 1st Assts, 1st Assts/Gm, 1st Asst%
A dozen years before coaching the Celtics to an Eastern Conference title - KC Jones coached these Bullets to the same destination, they got swept by the Warriors in the NBA Finals. KC Jones v. KC Jones in this one. Elvin Hayes is 29, Wes Unseld 28, they both have double digit WS. The Bullets were the top defense in 1975.
Matchup
C Push
F McHale (Celtics)
F Bird (Celtics)
G Porter (Bullets)
G Chenier (Bullets)
Bench: Bullets
Game One
1st
9 Celtics 8 Bullets 6
Celtics Ainge, Ainge(3) Bird(3)
Bullets Hayes, Riordan, Unseld
6 Celtics 10 Bullets 8
Celtics Bird
Bullets Hayes
Tight start to the series; both sides grinding out possessions.
3 Celtics 23 Bullets 15
Celtics Bird(3) Parish, McHale, Vincent, Vincent, Parish
Bullets Chenier, Chenier, Chenier(3)
1st Qtr Score Celtics 25 Bullets 19
Celtics Parish
Bullets Porter, Haskins
Bird's got 8 and the Celtics lead by 6.
2nd
9 Celtics 31 Bullets 24
Celtics Roberts, Sichting, McHale
Bullets Unseld, Robinson, Unseld(1)
6 Celtics 41 Bullets 31
Celtics DJ, DJ, Parish, Bird, Bird
Bullets Chenier, Riordan, Robinson
Bird's now got a dozen and the Celtics lead is double digits.
3 Celtics 53 Bullets 39
Celtics DJ, Ainge(3) Ainge(3) Ainge, DJ
Bullets Robinson, Hayes, Jones, Robinson
Halftime Score Celtics 58 Bullets 39
Celtics Ainge(3) Ainge
Bullets
Danny Ainge ends game one; 13 points in the last 6 minutes of the half; this game's out of reach.
3rd
9 Celtics 67 Bullets 39
Celtics Sichting, Parish, McHale, Parish, DJ(1)
Bullets
6 Celtics 73 Bullets 41
Celtics Ainge, Bird, Bird
Bullets Robinson
The Bullets have two points in the last 9 minutes of play and Boston's got an enormous lead.
3 Celtics 80 Bullets 47
Celtics Bird, Vincent(1) McHale
Bullets Hayes, Porter, Jones
3rd Qtr Score Celtics 91 Bullets 50
Celtics McHale, Parish(3) McHale, McHale, McHale, Parish
Bullets Hayes(3)
10 points for McHale to end the 3rd and Boston's got a 41 point lead through 3.
4th
9 Celtics 99 Bullets 58
Celtics McHale, Parish, Daye, McHale
Bullets Hayes, Porter, Chenier, Riordan
6 Celtics 105 Bullets 66
Celtics Vincent, McHale, Bird
Bullets Unseld, Chenier, Hayes, Weatherspoon
3 Celtics 116 Bullets 74
Celtics Parish, Parish, Bird, Bird, Turner(3)
Bullets Porter, Porter, Chenier(3) Riordan(1)
Final Score Celtics 122 Bullets 85
Celtics Wedman, Walton, Turner
Bullets Gibbs, Duval(3) Kozelko(3) Duval(3)
Boston just mashes the Bullets here in game one
Bird: 24 pts/11 boards/7 assists/6 steals-Player of the Game
Parish: 21 pts/16 boards
McHale: 22 pts/12 boards
Ainge: 20 pts
Hayes: 15 pts/9 boards
Porter: 10 pts/7 assists
Chenier: 16 pts
Unseld: 7 pts/12 boards/4 steals
Robinson: 11 pts/5 boards
Game Two
1st
9 Celtics 10 Bullets 4
Celtics Parish, DJ, DJ, Parish, DJ
Bullets Hayes, Chenier
6 Celtics 14 Bullets 9
Celtics Bird, Bird
Bullets Riordan(3) Porter
Bullets have a pretty signficant gap to try to close to stay in this series.
3 Celtics 21 Bullets 13
Celtics Ainge(3) Ainge, McHale
Bullets Porter, Hayes
1st Qtr Score Celtics 21 Bullets 14
Celtics
Bullets Hayes(1)
Boston just not letting the Bullets anywhere near the basket.
2nd
9 Celtics 28 Bullets 19
Celtics Sichting, Vincent, Bird, McHale(1)
Bullets Robinson, Robinson, Robinson(1)
6 Celtics 35 Bullets 23
Celtics DJ, Bird(3) Parish
Bullets Robinson, Robinson
3 Celtics 40 Bullets 29
Celtics Parish(1) Parish, Ainge
Bullets Chenier, Gibbs, Chenier(3)
Halftime Score Celtics 47 Bullets 40
Celtics McHale, Parish, Daye(1) Bird
Bullets Unseld, Unseld, Chenier, Weatherspoon(3) Weatherspoon
Nick Weatherspoon scores the last 5 points of the half to narrow the deficit to single digits.
3rd
9 Celtics 51 Bullets 43
Celtics Ainge, Bird
Bullets Hayes, Porter(1)
6 Celtics 55 Bullets 47
Celtics Ainge, Parish
Bullets Hayes, Porter
Bullets hanging around. Very low scoring game. Defensive struggle.
3 Celtics 59 Bullets 54
Celtics McHale, Sichting
Bullets Chenier, Porter(3) Porter
3rd Qtr Score Celtics 70 Bullets 61
Celtics Parish, DJ(3) Bird, Ainge, Bird
Bullets Riordan, Hayes(3) Chenier
12 minutes to go - Bullets really game in defense in this one but it's just hard to see them going on the kind of offensive run needed to take this game.
4th
9 Celtics 79 Bullets 61
Celtics McHale, Ainge(3) Bird, McHale
Bullets
6 Celtics 83 Bullets 63
Celtics Parish, Parish
Bullets Hayes
And that's the series.
3 Celtics 89 Bullets 70
Celtics Parish, Bird, Sichting
Bullets Riordan(3) Weatherspoon, Riordan
Final Score Celtics 94 Bullets 76
Celtics Roberts, Thirdkill(1) Turner
Bullets Duval(3) Kozelko
The last Washington time in the field is gone; just throttled by the Boston defense.
Bird: 21 pts/12 boards/8 assists - Player of the Game
Parish: 21 pts/16 boards
McHale: 11 pts/13 boards
Ainge: 16 pts/6 boards
Johnson: 11 pts/6 assists
2. 2002 NBA CHAMP LOS ANGELES LAKERS v. 15. 1975 NEW YORK NETS
Lakers: 58-24, 2nd Pac Div, 2nd Off, 7th Def
d. Blazers West 1st Rnd 3-0
d. Spurs West Semis 4-1
d. Kings West Finals 4-3
d. Nets NBA Finals 4-0
#25 overall seed
Coach: Phil Jackson, Asst Kurt Rambis, GM Mitch Kupchak
Starters
C Shaquille O'Neal 29-LSU 27.2 PPG 29.7 PER 13.2 WS
F Robert Horry 31-Alabama 6.8 14.5 6.9
F Rick Fox 32-UNC 7.9 11.3 4.3
G Derek Fisher 27-Little Rock 11.2 14 5.5
G Kobe Bryant 23 25.2 23.2 12.7
Rotation Reserves
C Stanislav Medvenenko 22 4.7 15.6 1.8
F Samaki Walker 25-Louisville 6.7 14.5 5.3
F Devean George 24-Augsburg 7.1 12.6 4.2
G Brian Shaw 35-UCSB 2.9 11.8 1.2
G Mitch Richmond 36-Kansas St 4.1 10.7 .9
Leaders: Shaq 2nd PPG, 1st FG%, 2nd Eff FG%, 1st PER, 4th WS, 1st WS/48, 1st +/-, 5th VORP
Horry 3rd Def +/-
Fisher 4th TO%
The 2nd best offense in 2002 belonged to the World Champion Lakers, Shaq's 29, clipping 30 PER with double digit WS. Kobe's 23, 23 PER and double digit WS.
Nets: 58-26, 2nd ABA East Div, 4th Off, 2nd Def
Lost Spirits East Semis 4-1
#232 overall seed
Coach: Kevin Loughery
Starters
C Billy Paultz 26 St Johns 15.8 PPG 16.3 PER 9 WS
F Larry Kenon 22-Memphis 18.7 17 10
F Julius Erving 24-UMass 27.9 26.2 17.6
G Brian Taylor 23-Princeton 14 16 8.3
G John Williamson 23-NMex St 11.5 12.6 3.3
Rotation Reservers
C Willie Sojourner 26-Weber 4.6 11.9 2.4
F Ed Manning 31-Jackson St 3.4 8.1 1.5
F Al Skinner 22-UMass 6.5 14.7 2.1
G Mike Gale 24-Eliz Cty St 7.4 12.7 3.4
G Bill Melchionni 30- Nova 6.1 13.9 3.3
Leaders: Erving 2nd PPG, 4th Assts, 3rd Assts, 4th Stls/Gm, 4th Blocks, 4th Blocks/Gm, 1st PER, 1st WS, 1st WS/48, 1st +/-, 1st VORP, 2nd Det Rtng
Taylor 1st Stls, 1st Stls/Gm, 1st Def +/-, 1st St%
Kenon 3rd Def WS
Paultz 4th Def WS, 5th Def Rtng
The best player in the ABA in 1975 is the 24 year old Julius Erving, 1st in PER, Win Shares and VORP. Larry Kenon has double digit WS and there's Danny Manning's father in the rotation.
Matchup
C Shaq (Lakers)
F Kenon (Nets)
F Erving (Nets)
G Taylor (Nets)
G Kobe (Lakers)
Bench: Push
Game One
1st
9 Lakers 10 Nets 6
Lakers Horry, Shaq, Shaq, Kobe, Horry
Nets Erving, Williamson, Williamson
6 Lakers 16 Nets 16
Lakers Shaq, Kobe, Fox
Nets Williamson, Kenon, Paultz, Erving, Williamson
John Williamson scores 8 in the first 6 - Nets/Lakers all tied up.
3 Lakers 25 Nets 23
Lakers George(3) Kobe, Shaq, Shaq
Nets Erving, Melchionni, Taylor, Erving(1)
1st Qtr Score Lakers 33 Nets 29
Lakers Kobe, Horry(3) Fisher(3)
Nets Gale, Erving, Kenon
Lakers use the 3 ball to take the narrow lead.
2nd
9 Lakers 41 Nets 31
Lakers Medvedenko, Medvedenko, Medvedenko, Richmond
Nets Melchionni
6 Lakers 43 Nets 37
Lakers Shaq
Nets Sojourner, Williamson(3) Paultz(1)
Medvedenko scores the first 6 points of the quarter; Lakers by 6.
3 Lakers 52 Nets 43
Lakers Kobe, Fox(1) Shaq, Walker, Shaq
Nets Taylor, Manning, Taylor,
Halftime Score Lakers 54 Nets 50
Lakers Fisher
Nets Kenon(3) Erving, Erving
The Doctor scores two buckets in the last 28 seconds and the Laker lead is down to 4 at the half.
3rd
9 Lakers 59 Nets 56
Lakers Fisher(3) Kobe
Nets Erving, Taylor, Erving
6 Lakers 63 Nets 60
Lakers Medvedenko, Richmond
Nets Gale, Paultz
The Nets have never led, but they trail by just 4.
3 Lakers 67 Nets 62
Lakers George, Shaq
Nets Williamson
3rd Qtr Score Lakers 74 Nets 69
Lakers Shaw(3) Kobe, Kobe
Nets Kenon, Erving(3) Taylor
Strong defensive effort in game one; Nets still in this one.
4th
11:34: NY: Erving missed, but got his own board and found Taylor cutting to the bucket for the layup.
11:26: LA: Samaki Walker from the foul line.
11:00: LA: Nets turnover leads to another Walker midrange J.
9:52: NY: Empty trips both ways, Erving crashes the goal to get the deficit back to 5.
9:04: NY: Shaq missed 2 FT, Melchionni hits a long 2 and the deficit is 3.
8:15: NY: Fox misses and it's Melchionni again, cutting the deficit to a point.
8:06: LA: Fox from the wing.
7:57: NY: Melchionni is feeling it - another J.
7:24: LA: Kobe misses, but Medvedenko is there with the board and he will get the bucket.
6:43: LA: Gale misses, Fox rebound - Horry finds Medvenenko from the block and the lead is back to 5.
6:22: NY: Erving goes iso ball and drills a 2.
Nets: Paultz/Kenon/Erving/Williamson/Taylor
Lakers: Shaq/Walker/George/Kobe/Fisher
3:23: NY: It takes 3 minutes - 3 whoke minutes without scoring, but Larry Kenon drives and scores. 84-83 Lakers.
3:13: LA: Kobe spins on the baseline and scores.
2:46: NY: Williamson in the lane.
2:23: NY: Fisher misses - Erving gets the monster dunk the other way and the Nets have their first lead of the game at 2:23 to go.
1:42: NY: Fox misses - Williamson hits a 15 footer and the Nets are up 3.
:59: NY: Horry misses and Erving scores in traffic and just like that, New York has a 5 point lead!
:52: LA: Kobe
:37: NY: Lakers don't foul - and they pay for it - Brian Taylor off glass.
:24: LA: Shaq
:20: NY: Erving hits 2 FT
:16: LA: Shaq.
:13: NY: Erving hits 2 FT and that's the dagger.
Erving hits 2 more. Final. Nets 99 Lakers 92
LA had the lead every minute until 2:23 to go and then lost by 7; Dr J scores 10 points in that final stretch and the 15th seeded ABA Nets are a game away from bouncing out the 2 seeded Lakers.
Erving: 34 pts/16 boards-Player of the Game
Kenon: 11 pts/15 boards
Williamson: 17 pts
Taylor: 14 pts/4 steals
Paultz: 5 pts/16 boards
Melchionni 10 pts/6 assists
Shaq: 22 pts/12 boards
Kobe: 20 pts/7 assists
Medvedenko: 10 pts
Walker: 6 pts/10 boards
Game Two
1st
9 Lakers 8 Nets 4
Lakers Kobe(3) Fox, Kobe(3)
Nets Williamson, Erving
6 Lakers 12 Nets 10
Lakers Fox, Shaq
Nets Kenon, Kenon, Erving
Kobe comes out with 2 triples, looking to set the tone.
3 Nets 20 Lakers 16
Lakers Bryant, Walker
Nets Erving, Taylor, Paultz, Paultz, Gale
1st Qtr Score Nets 22 Lakers 22
Lakers Walker, Walker, Kobe
Nets Skinner
The Nets didn't lead in game one until the last 2 minutes, they take a late lead here and it is tied as we go to the 2nd.
2nd
9 Lakers 31 Nets 24
Lakers George, Shaw, Shaq, Fisher(3)
Nets Manning
6 Lakers 37 Nets 32
Lakers Shaq, Shaq, Shaq
Nets Kenon, Erving, Melchionni, Melchionni
Shaq gets 8 to open the quarter, Lakers up 5.
3 Lakers 46 Nets 38
Lakers Richmond, Shaw, Shaw(3) Fisher
Nets Manning, Kenon, Williamson
Halftime Score Lakers 52 Nets 46
Lakers Shaq, Kobe, Shaq
Nets Erving, Kenon, Kenon, Taylor(1)
6 for Larry Kenon to end the quarter; the Nets, much like game one, are hanging around.
3rd
9 Lakers 60 Nets 48
Lakers Fisher, Fisher, Kobe, Shaq
Nets Erving
6 Lakers 66 Nets 59
Lakers Kobe, Horry, Kobe
Nets Erving, Paultz, Paultz, Gale, Erving(3)
The Lakers build their largest lead - but New York comes right back and is still within striking distance.
3 Lakers 71 Nets 65
Lakers Richmond, Kobe(3)
Nets Skinner, Taylor, Kenon(1) Melchionni(1)
3rd Qtr Score Lakers 77 Nets 71
Lakers Kobe, Fox, Shaq
Nets Taylor, Taylor, Williamson
Just right about where we were in game one; Lakers in control, but the Nets able to hang around - in game one, New York passed them by - 12 minutes to go in game 2.
4th
9 Lakers 84 Nets 73
Lakers Fox(3) Fisher Shaq
Nets Paultz
6 Lakers 93 Nets 80
Lakers Fox, George(3) Shaq, Shaq
Nets Erving, Melchionni(3) Taylor
Doesn't look like we get that Nets run today; Lakers with their biggest lead.
3 Lakers 100 Nets 87
Lakers Fox, Fox, Shaq, Madsen
Nets Erving, Kenon, Williamson(3)
Final Score Lakers 109 Nets 96
Lakers Fox(3) Shaq, Kobe, Penberthy
Nets Schaeffer, Erving (3) Paulz, Ladner
New York never was able to get over that hump as this time the Lakers steadily pull away.
Shaq: 27 pts/13 boards/6 assists-Player of the Game
Kobe: 25 pts/9 boards/6 assists
Fox: 18 pts/7 boards/6 assists
Fisher: 11 pts/5 assists
Erving: 25 pts/10 boards
Kenon: 15 pts/13 boards
Paultz: 12 pts/7 boards
Taylor: 11 pts
Game Three
1st
9 Lakers 7 Nets 5
Lakers Shaq, Shaq, Fisher(3)
Nets Kenon, Kenon(3)
6 Lakers 11 Nets 9
Lakers Fox, Shaq
Nets Erving, Taylor
The end of Region 8, the end of the first half of round one - Shaq comes out with 6.
3 Nets 18 Lakers 15
Lakers Fox, Kobe
Nets Williamson, Erving, Kenon(1) Erving, Paultz
1st Qtr Score Lakers 23 Nets 22
Lakers Shaq, Kobe, Shaw, Walker
Nets Paultz, Paultz
Alright - tight yet again; the Whopper Billy Paultz goes for 6 in the back half of the quarter and we have a ballgame.
2nd
9 Lakers 31 Nets 27
Lakers Richmond, Walker, Medvedenko, George
Nets Gale(1) Sojourner, Manning
6 Lakers 41 Nets 35
Lakers Kobe, Shaq, Shaq, Walker, Kobe
Nets Erving, Melchionni, Paultz, Erving,
A little daylight here for LA - can they grab game 3?
3 Lakers 45 Nets 42
Lakers Kobe, Kobe
Nets Taylor, Williamson(3) Kenon
Halftime Score Lakers 49 Nets 44
Lakers Shaq, Shaq
Nets Sojourner
Each game, very similar - Lakers lead, but the Nets hanging around.
3rd
9 Lakers 56 Nets 48
Lakers Fox, Shaq(3) Fox
Nets Kenon
6 Lakers 65 Nets 56
Lakers Horry, Kobe(1) Shaq, George, Shaq
Nets Erving, Paultz, Erving, Taylor
A little more daylight now; 7 for Shaq to start the half and they might be about to deliver the knockout.
3 Lakers 71 Nets 64
Lakers Kobe, Walker, Kobe
Nets Kenon, Erving, Kenon, Erving
3rd Qtr Score Lakers 87 Nets 69
Lakers Fox(3) Fox(3) Horry, Fox, Fisher, Kobe, Walker
Nets Williamson, Erving(3)
It's over - the Lakers have finally grabbed this series; Rick Fox scores 8 points in the last 3 minutes of the quarter to put this one away.
4th
9 Lakers 97 Nets 82
Lakers Shaq, Kobe, Shaq, Kobe, Horry
Nets Taylor, Taylor, Melchionni(3) Taylor, Paultz, Gale
6 Lakers 103 Nets 85
Lakers Kobe, Kobe, Kobe
Nets Erving, Williamson(1)
Laker offense has finally broken the Nets totally down, 10 for Kobe to start the 4th - like a prizefight, LA is just landing blows deep in the bout
3 Lakers 110 Nets 94
Lakers Fox, Walker, Shaq(3)
Nets Paultz(3) Erving, Paultz, Manning
Final Score Lakers 115 Nets 107
Lakers Pebernethy(1) Horry, Shaq
Nets Schaeffer(3) Schaeffer, Sojourner(1) Erving, Taylor(3) Manning
The Nets score enough in garbage time that the Lakers bring the starters back on the floor to close the game - but close it they do. 29/15 for Erving, just a great series for the Doctor.
Shaq: 32 pts/14 boards/6 blocks - Player of the Game
Kobe: 29 pts/9 boards/6 assists
Fox: 18 pts
Walker: 12 pts
All Region Team
C Shaq ('02 Lakers - 2 PotG)
F Giannis ('19 Bucks-2 PotG)
F Webber ('03 Kings- 2 PotG)
G Jordan ('91 Bulls - 2 PotG)
G Magic ('82 Lakers - 1 PotG)
