Erving also received considerably more All-Star more votes than Bird.Atlanta Hawk forwards John Drew - JOHN DREW! Yes, this will hurt the Celtics.

Cornbread definitely had a nose for the offensive boards, but he also liked to leak out on the break and not do the dirty work on the defensive glass.By contrast, Bird snared a whopping 76 defensive rebounds (12.7 per game in the series) while Max pulled down just 23 (3.8 per game). On the other hand the wary, reticent Bird was not forthcoming with the major media and was a self-proclaimed hick who spoke in a southern Indiana drawl.Each forward was first team all-league and led their fiercely competitive clubs to a 62-20 record. The classy Doctor J made the playground style of basketball he brought from New York and the ABA mainstream because he did it well with style, elegance and without trash talk and poor actions.Larry did not jump, dunk or drive nearly as well, but he was a much superior shooter, passer and rebounder.

The crowd went nuts over Bird's shot, with general manager "Larry was able to make the play", said Russell, "because he not only knew where the ball was going to land, he knew that he knew." "In the anti-climactic 1981 Finals, a drained Bird averaged 15.3 points and team-high totals of 15.3 rebounds, seven assists and 2.3 steals per game. Bird shot 81.3 percent from the foul line compared to 75.9 by Cornbread.Bird did suffer through a shooting slump in the series, but he broke out when it mattered most. The 1981 NBA World Championship Series was the championship round of the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s 1980–81 season, and the culmination of the season's playoffs.

The center shot 52 percent from the floor and 76 percent at the line, and tried a whopping 10.3 foul shots per game. Late in the fourth period, with the Celtics trailing 87-84, Bird put up an 18-footer from the right side.

Johnson was in the center circle for the opening tip, but did not even jump.He guarded Bobby Jones, Maurice Cheeks, 7-1 non-scoring forward Caldwell Jones and Erving at times, but not Dawkins, the 6-11 low post Philly behemoth.

This despite the fact Boston finished well ahead of the Knicks, and Larry whipped King in every statistical category except ppg, which was close at 26.1-24.2 in favor of King. He shot 47.8 percent from the field, 86.3 percent from the foul line and 27 percent from three-point land.Erving averaged 24.6 points, eight rebounds, 4.4 assists and 2.1 steals per game. But Malone, who had averaged nearly 28 points and 15 rebounds over the season, would have none of the "Boston Curse". Not to mention that if Len Bias had lived, Boston may well have run off five or six more titles before Bird retired.Less speculative is that Larry was pretty clearly denied at least two season MVPs in 1981 and 1982 which he deserved, and the 1981 Finals MVP which he also earned. Jerry Sichting was acquired in a trade by the Boston Celtics from the Indiana Pacers on October 2, 1985. He gave a head fake to freeze the defense, and then crossed under the basket along the baseline where he banked in a pretty left-handed reverse layup. With such a mismatch, Bird would have easily averaged over 25 points and 15 rebounds a game, and probably more.In 1981-82, Bird again finished second in another close season MVP voting, this time to Malone (507-456). This site is operated jointly by NBA and WarnerMedia. Larry grabbed 10.9 rebounds a night, dished out 5.8 assists and added 1.9 steals and 0.9 blocks a game. His nine-point barrage had buried the Rockets and paced a 16-8 closing spurt.For good measure, he grabbed the final defensive rebound amid a crowd with great hands off an airball Dunleavy triple try to secure the title.

the NBA Privacy Center, it will apply to data controlled independently by the NBA. As soon as he turned it loose, he immediately rushed in for the rebound. Bird took a bad team with the same cast, including three over-30 starters in Archibald, Ford and When Johnson found out Bird had won the rookie award by a 63-3 landslide vote, he was angered and supremely motivated to play his best that night in the Jabbar-less upset over the 76ers, who clearly let down and did not know how to play the faster, smaller Lakers without Kareem.In fact, suspicious 76er head coach Billy Cunningham said later that he was still expecting Jabbar to take the court, a la the injured Willis Reed 10 years earlier in game 7 of the 1970 Finals, for game six until shortly before tip-off.In 1982, Johnson was again given a suspect Finals MVP award despite averaging 16.2 points per game in an anticlimactic six-game win over the 76ers. Bird drew a charging foul, later stole the ball and had another jumper from the circle nullified on a dubious palming call, something that would never be called today. Larry Bird became a star at Indiana State, but he became Larry Legend during the 1981 NBA Finals.

The truth is he was such a great team defender that the league coaches voted him to the NBA all-defense second team three straight seasons from 1981-84.Dr.

it will apply to data controlled jointly by the NBA and WarnerMedia as well as other data controlled by WarnerMedia. Robert Parish signed a multi-year extension with the Boston Celtics on April 9, 1981. Johnson merely helped make a good team great.

His lob pass feed into Max resulted in another big basket on a layup.Then Bird, already carving out his reputation as a clutch finisher in his second season, delivered the crushing blow that clinched the 13th Celtic championship by swishing a corner three-pointer.The usually-poker faced Bird, who had never won a championship at any level, swung his fist in the air after canning the backbreaker. They raised the level of competition like Duke does today.Erving was the league's most popular player with the fans, media and significantly, with the other players.