“Celtics City” is now officially past the midway point with Episode 5 releasing Monday night, “(Expletive) the Celtics.” After the series didn’t touch too much on the Celtics-Lakers rivalry in Episode 4, that was no longer the case this time around.
Episode 5 dove deeper into the 1980s Celtics and some of their triumphs and shortcomings. Bird elevated his game to MVP status, plus, there were a lot more details with Bird’s longtime rivalry with Earvin “Magic” Johnson.
Here are four takeaways from Episode 5:
Finally, the first meeting: While the Celtics and Lakers kept making the NBA Finals ever since Bird and Johnson were in the league, they didn’t meet on the great stage until 1984. While the Lakers held an early 2-1 series lead, including a blowout Game 3, the Celtics came back in a grueling series. Game 5 was also well-known for being the “heat game” as there was no air conditioning in the Boston Garden back then. After the C’s beat the Lakers, Bird said “that one was for Terre Haute,” referencing the 1979 national championship when his Indiana State team fell to Johnson’s Michigan State squad.
Race and the rivalry: In what is a theme throughout the documentary, it again tackled the racial aspect of the Celtics vs. Lakers rivalry in the 1980s. It showed how Black fans cheered for the Lakers throughout the country while white fans rooted for the Celtics. But on the flip side, the doc highlighted how there were Black Bostonians who didn’t necessarily feel the same way. Cedric Maxwell also spoke about how they had several Black starters, but “it’s the stereotypes that people put in, and they deal with those stereotypes accordingly,” he said. The documentary, though, does go into how the Celtics had several white players in a league that was 80% Black at the time.
A slump: Similar to earlier in the decade, the Celtics found themselves at a crossroads after the 1985 NBA Finals. Up to that point, the Lakers had gone up against the Celtics eight times in the Finals — and eight times the Lakers lost to the Celtics. But in 1985, the Lakers finally got over the hump. The C’s had been worn down by that point as they lost in six games to their hated rivals. The documentary also went into the scrutiny Maxwell faced as he played through a knee injury. Maxwell said his knee felt like a “noodle,” but ultimately, his play received criticism anyway that series.
A spark: With the Celtics needing new life going forward, that’s when they traded for former MVP Bill Walton in exchange for Maxwell. While Walton had injury issues, Red Auerbach decided he was healthy enough to play. The move worked as Walton won the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year award, playing in a career-high 80 games, plus Bird won his third straight MVP. The 1985-86 Celtics, of course, are considered one of the best teams of all-time. While they didn’t meet up against the Lakers in the 1986 NBA Finals in order to get revenge, they dispatched the Rockets in six games. On a sad note, the doc ends with the tragic death of Len Bias, the No. 2 overall pick in the 1986 draft.
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