Surprised Walton didn't hurt his foot getting up like that.

Was the Chief really the only black man on the roster?

josh -- Actually, he probably did. Maybe that's why he missed most of the '87 season.

sturla -- No, but it was close. Dennis Johnson was black, although he was the only black man I've ever seen who had freckles. They also had Sam Vincent (who never played) and Darren Daye (who never played).

Well, you know... Daye got some playing time in the playoffs of that year.

He didn't actually show that he was any good, though. I distinctly remember a LOT of travel calls made to the guy. I'm guessing the whole concept of dribbling totally escaped him.

So yeah, my bad. He never played, well any GOOD really...:P

I would love to read what you have to say about this video:

http://slamonline.com/online/2007/07/the-stephon-marbury-video/

josh -- You know, I thought Daye had potential. But even though the C's had one of the worst benches of all time in '87 (due to injuries), K.C. Jones rarely played him. It's hard to get into any kind of groove when you play five minutes a game. If Jones had a weakness as a coach, it was the fact that he overworked his starters. It probably cost the Celtics one or two championships in the 80s.

steve -- Yeah. I'm definitely going to have to comment on that one...

My opinion was that the death of Len Bias just killed (no pun intended) that 86-87 squad. Didn't KC give up some good backup from Seattle to get that pick? I mean, besides Daye (Who I agree, had great potential. The kid just had to calm down...too excited out there.)

And really, who was there and ready on the bench for that squad? Just Ainge. Walton's foot was just falling apart that point (When WASN'T it fallng apart? :P). I mean, who was the backup for Parish? Greg Freakin' Kite?

Agreed 100% on KC overworking his guys. That 1987 Celtics team had the worst luck. Two seven game series in a row, then the Lakers? Ouch. That squad lucked out that the Pistons choked in that Conference Finals, the Pistons outplayed them in every way. The Celtic's were just exhausted. I just love how Seattle thought KC was going to do the same good job with how much crap that team had. A season and a half with a record of .500 ain't bad. So impatient...

josh -- The death of Len Bias was a big part of what began the downfall of the 86-87 Celtics. But there were plenty of other reasons. Walton got hurt and was essentially lost for the season. Scott Wedman, who had been so important during the previous season's championship run, had heel surgery and never really recovered. Losing those two guys killed their bench. To make matters worse, Ainge missed the first nine games of the season. Bird missed eight games. McHale broke his foot but kept playing. Parish had tendonitis in both arms and couldn't even make a fist, AND he suffered bad sprains in both ankles during the playoffs. Basically, just about everything that could have gone wrong did go wrong. And they still made the Finals.

So yeah, there was no bench in '87. But there were other years that K.C. had guys he could have gone to and didn't. '88 is the best (or rather, worst) example. He had Reggie Lewis on the bench and refused to play him. He had Artis Gilmore who could have been a steady veteren presence (much like James Edwards was for the Pistons that same year...which helped put them over the top).

I don't think it was a total choke job by the Pistons in '87. I mean, the C's won the first two games pretty handily. Their only real choke was Isiah's lob pass that led to Bird's famous steal. The Celtics actually stayed close until the late stages of Game 6 even without Parish (who was suspended for belting Laimbeer in Game 5).

...Still the funniest belting I've ever seen. They were battling for the rebound and he just knocks the shit out of him...so funny. I loved both teams, but Laimbeer was asking for it after Game 4's "Watch as I hit you and they call nothing".

Well of course, the first two games were in the Boston Garden. :P Did The Pistons beat them in the regular season at the garden? I don't remember.

Agreed slightly on the point with KC. His underplaying of Reggie Lewis I highly agree was ridiculous (In fact just last night I was watching the Celtics/Blazers double overtime fest, and Lewis was MAJOR help at many points). Artis Gilmore, though? Ehh...By the time he came there, all of his talent was forgotten on a plane with George Gervin in San Antonio.

When it came to that Boston bench for 86-87, who played? Was Jerry Sichting even healthy? I just checked the basketball-reference, and Sichting and Greg Kite played the most games...ouch.

Wow, I just remembered Parish playing hurt in that 1987 series. I remember Bob Neal saying "And KC is looking at his bench in desperation." That squad really didn't have anything...kudos for even making the finals!

Oh yes, the McHale injuries where he just got worse and worse. To the point where later in his career when they needed him most, he was hurt (1992 Playoffs...I STILL think the Celtics had a shot if McHale wasn't crippled, even if Bird did that thing where he played in the games randomly.)