When the Game Was Ours - Larry Bird [63]
Scott made some early overtures to Magic, who at 24 was the closest to him in age, but the reception was tepid at best. In the ensuing years, Scott would become one of Johnson's most valued friends, but in 1983–84 he was just another rookie who was going to have to prove to Magic that he belonged.
The Lakers' nucleus of Magic, Kareem, Worthy, Bob McAdoo, Cooper, and Wilkes (who was stricken with an intestinal infection that restricted him to limited duty in the postseason) represented the optimal personnel for playing an up-tempo style. The Lakers averaged 115.6 points a night and shot 53.2 percent from the floor. Magic, who led the league in assists that season with 13.1 a game, distributed the ball with alarming ease.
"Sometimes," Wilkes said, "I think he knew where I was cutting before I did."
Boston relied on a half-court game that pounded the ball inside to Maxwell, Bird, Parish, and McHale. The Celtics steeled themselves for a long, grueling season in the rugged Eastern Conference, hoping they could slug their way past physical teams like New York, Milwaukee, and Philadelphia.
"I always said the problem with our rivalry was the Lakers could be out there playing at 80 percent and still get to the Finals, but we had to bang and scratch and beat our way to get there," Bird said. "It was just a fact the East was stronger and more physical. We were taking a huge beating on our way to the Finals, and the Lakers were just sitting back, waiting for us to arrive."
Although each roster was loaded with future Hall of Famers, both coaches found themselves obsessing over the two young stars. Magic's size and his exceptional passing skills were only half the reason he was so dangerous, according to K. C. Jones.
"Magic pulled everybody in," said the Celtics coach. "He grabbed them, held them close, and made everybody a part of it. He was so much fun to watch, he even got Kareem to smile once in a while. And when the big fella was happy, the Lakers won games."
Riley pored over tapes of Bird, pointing out specific tendencies to his team, such as Bird's preference to bring the ball up left-handed and his ability to split double teams by positioning his feet in between the trap. Yet all the technical tips, Riley knew, would not offset the true strength of Bird's game: his mental tenacity.
"You had to deal with his psyche first before you could even discuss the basketball aspect of it," Riley explained. "I always told my guys, 'You will never be able to beat Bird until you understand how much he wants to win and what he'll do to make sure he wins.'
"We had to be above and beyond him mentally, and I wasn't always sure it was possible."
Riley did have one unshakable weapon in his arsenal: Michael Cooper, the slender Lakers forward whose commitment to the defensive side of the game bordered on the obsessive. Cooper watched tapes of Bird while lying in bed with his wife Wanda before he went to sleep. He watched tapes of Bird in the morning while he was brushing his teeth. The tapes went everywhere with him, even on vacation.
"My goal was simply to make every single thing he did more difficult," Cooper said.
While Cooper was analyzing Bird, the Celtics forward was playing and rewinding and playing films of Cooper, looking for clues as to why this one player had been so successful in disrupting his offensive flow.
As Bird watched the film again and again, he looked to see where Cooper was when he got the ball. Was he trying to shade Bird in one particular direction? Who did the Lakers have coming up behind him to double-team? What other defensive shifts were they using?
Bird consulted with D.J., who believed Bird should rely on his backdoor cuts a little more. He also suggested using quicker pick-and-rolls to keep Cooper off balance.
"But the key," D.J. told Bird, "is to get him in the post. He can't do anything once you've posted him up."
Magic's ability to see over the defense and connect with Abdul-Jabbar for easy baskets made him the focus of Boston's defensive schemes. His superior rebounding skills were also a major concern.