Larry Bird used to spare no one, including himself, in the name of winning. Roughly a year after criticizing his Boston Celtics teammates’ collective hearts, he went all out in criticizing his performance in Game 3 of the 1985 NBA finals against the Los Angeles Lakers.
“I can’t play any worse than I did today. You could play better than I did today. I don’t know what it is. I shoot well in practice and then…,” Bird told The Boston Globe’s Leigh Montville, per Dan Shaugnessy’s book “Wish it Lasted Forever.”
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After he was reminded of the fact that he ripped the team’s effort after Game 3 of the 1984 finals, Bird candidly stated: “I can’t say that now because I’m the only one playing like a sissy.”
Larry has not shot particularly well in the 1985 Eastern Conference finals, and his struggles spilled over to the biggest stage. Besides a decent 8-for-14 showing in a Game 1 blowout in Boston’s favor, Bird shot 17-for-42 in the next two games, a far cry from the standard he set for himself.
The Celtics faced challenges as defending champs
At that point, there was a reason why the NBA had not seen a back-to-back champion since the 1968 and 1969 Celtics led by Bill Russell. It takes a lot of luck and a different type of motivation to repeat, not to mention overcoming internal tussles and issues.
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The 1985 Celtics were no different. They won 63 games in the season, but something was off. For instance, everyone on the team could see and feel that Cedric Maxwell’s commitment was almost non-existent. “Cornbread” bagged MVP honors in 1981 and was starting for Green and White ever since he got there.
The historic franchise, however, was already pivoting towards making Kevin McHale the full-time starter. Maxwell had knee issues, causing him to miss 25 games. As a result, Max’s contributions towards the end of the 1984-85 regular season were hardly felt. By the time the playoffs rolled around, he had completely lost his starting job to McHale, who averaged over 22 points and shot nearly 57 percent in the postseason.
That said, the issue ran deeper than Maxwell being hurt and McHale was not. The Celtics knew what Ced was capable of, but he was zoning out in front of everyone’s eyes. He did not take his rehab seriously.
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Dr. Robert Leach, who performed the surgery, said, “The big problem was getting Max to do the work.”
It pissed off everyone in the organization from top to bottom, including the ever-vocal Bird. In Jackie MacMullan’s “When the Game was Ours,” Bird went guns ablaze on his teammate, accusing him of “taking his money and quitting,” probably referring to the lucrative pay of around $800,000 he received that year (according to Shaughnessy, the Celtics and Maxwell agreed to a four-year, $3.2 million contract after winning the ‘84 title).
For Bird, winning back-to-back was well within reach, two years after not accomplishing the feat, because of Bill Fitch. That all went down the drain when Maxwell allegedly acted up from losing his starting job and joking around like the team’s goal was not serious.
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Boston was not as invincible as they were a year ago without their feared frontline rotation. Imagine Maxwell averaging nearly 12 points per contest in 1983-84, and then an 18-PPG scorer like McHale coming off the bench. By 1985, “Bread” didn’t do much of anything: 3.8 points and 2.4 rebounds, seeing under 12 minutes of action.
That same summer, the Celtics traded him to the Clippers for the legendary, but oft-injured, big man, Bill Walton. He received the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year award in 1986.
Not just a Maxwell situation
Maxwell took the brunt of the heat within the organization, but the truth was, the Celtics started off the 1984-85 season on the wrong foot. Their regular-season and early-round success in the playoffs masked their bench issues, which the Purple and Gold later exposed (none of the Lakers’ starters averaged 40 minutes in the ‘85 finals, but the Celtics had three).
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Before the season began, Red Auerbach was already looking to undo what he saw as a mistake financially — re-signing starting guard Gerald Henderson. Henderson secured a hefty, four-year deal worth $325,000 a season, which should probably be around $19 million in today’s salary circumstances.
Red saw an opportunity present itself. He immediately dealt Henderson, who averaged 12 points and four assists in the 1984 finals, to the lowly Seattle SuperSonics for an unprotected first-round pick — that selection later became Len Bias.
In hindsight, it was smart, a move that practically set the Celtics up for a new era. However, in the short term, it gave the Celtics’ starters a small margin of error.
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That meant Danny Ainge moved to the opening lineup, leaving no other playmaking guard to spell for him. Bird’s beer buddy, Quinn Buckner, would be a choice, but his best days were clearly behind him. With the Lakers running around all day, Boston’s thin bench struggled to keep up with the pace and energy of the series.
Bird also experienced some discomfort of his own. Before Game 5, the Hick from French Lick practiced with a heavily bandaged right hand — ring and pinker fingers wrapped together, and so were his middle and index fingers.
As great as Larry was, there was no way he could shoot the way he always did. Moreover, the 2-3-2 format wasn’t doing the team any favors; in fact, both Auerbach and Bird saw it as a disadvantage.
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“We earn home court advantage and we got to play three of the first five out here. It ain’t right,” Bird quipped.
All those factors combined to create the perfect storm for Boston’s downfall. Between Maxwell’s detachment, a thin rotation, and Bird’s lingering hand issue, the Celtics weren’t the same battle-ready group that took down the Lakers a year earlier.
The hunger was still there, but the edge was gone. By the time the Lakers finished the job, the Celtics had run out of answers.
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This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Nov 1, 2025, where it first appeared in the Old School section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.