![]() McHale missed time during the season with a right foot injury. He wasn’t Boston’s only frontcourt player with foot problems. After missing just two games the previous year, Walton appeared in just 10 regular-season games in the 1986-87 season and hobbled his way through the postseason. The biggest issue for the Celtics in the 1987 postseason was their health. The Los Angeles Lakers Never Trusted the Boston Celtics During the 1984 NBA Finals: ‘We Didn’t Know Who Was Watching’ The Celtics battled through injuries against the hungry Lakers in the 1987 Finals The Celtics made quick work of the Rockets and were looking for a title repeat in ’87. The Lakers failed to reach the NBA Finals in 86, as the Houston Rockets pulled off the upset. They squared off against the Lakers in the NBA Finals for the third time of the decade. They knocked off the Milwaukee Bucks and Detroit Pistons, outlasting them both in seven games. The Celtics swept the Chicago Bulls in the opening round of the playoffs but the had a pair of grueling series. He was named the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year. In his first year in Boston, Walton played 80 games, the most in any season of his 10-year career. When the Celtics acquired him, it was to provide a spark off the bench and spell center Robert Parish and forward Kevin McHale. Walton missed three full seasons of his NBA because of feet problems. A former MVP and NBA champion, he just didn’t have the feet. Walton had the talent and the experience. Walton was a key piece to that team, coming over in an offseason trade from the Los Angeles Clippers in a deal for veteran forward Cedric Maxwell. | Focus on Sport/Getty Images.īird said he would put that 1985-86 Celtics team against any other. ![]() Green of the Los Angeles Lakers fights for position with Kevin McHale of the Boston Celtics during the 1987 NBA Finals at the Boston Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. The 1986-87 Boston Celtics looked to build off a championship season A.C. ![]() Although they collected 59 victory and made a return trip to the NBA Finals, injuries, questionable commitment, and the hungry Lakers put a damper on Boston’s attempt at a fourth championship in the ’80s. With few changes to the roster for the 1986-87 season, the Celtics were prime for a repeat. The team racked up 67 regular-season wins en route to their third championship of the decade. Led by the legendary Larry Bird, the Celtics had four future Hall of Famers in the starting lineup and another coming off the bench. The 1985-86 Boston Celtics go down as one of the best teams in NBA history. ![]()
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