Larry Bird-The Epitome of Celtics Basketball

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French Lick had a population of 2,, most of whom came out to watch Springs Valley High School's home games in a state that takes its schoolboy basketball very seriously. Attendance often reached 1, -- and they were all there to watch the blond-haired shooting whiz with a funny smile named Larry Joe Bird.

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Following a sophomore season that was shortened by a broken ankle, Bird emerged as a star during his junior year. Springs Valley went and young Larry became a local celebrity. Fans always seemed to be willing to give a ride to Bird's parents, who couldn't afford a car of their own.

As a senior, Bird became the school's all-time scoring champion and about 4, people attended his final home game.

Bird found the transition to college life difficult. He started out as an Indiana Hoosier but later left the school and team coached by the legendary Bobby Knight. Then he left the local junior college, Northwood Institute. Finally, Bird enrolled at Indiana State, which had posted records in each of the two previous years and where the pressure was not quite the same as at Indiana -- a perennial Big Ten power and national title contender. Home-game attendance hovered around 3, when Bird arrived at Indiana State, but as he had done in Springs Valley, Bird single-handedly packed the house and elevated his team to respectability and more.

He averaged better than 30 points and 10 rebounds for the Sycamores during his first campaign. TV stations showed film clips of Bird instead of commercials.

Students skipped class to line up for tickets eight hours before tipoff. The Sycamores went undefeated and reached No. The Sycamores went during Bird's three-year career. The Boston Celtics had selected him in the NBA Draft, hoping that Bird, who had become eligible for the NBA after his junior year, might forgo his senior season-but knowing he was worth the wait even if he didn't.

He's a winner

In the Celtics had compiled a record, their worst since When Bird elected to return to Indiana State for one more year, the Celtics dipped to But Bird finally came to Boston for the campaign and sparked one of the greatest single-season turnarounds in NBA history. The Celtics improved by 32 games to and returned to the top of their division.

Playing in all 82 contests, Bird led the team in scoring They teamed with Bird and veteran Cedric Maxwell in a frontcourt that carried the Celtics to the championship in Boston survived a memorable Eastern Conference finals against Philadelphia in which the Celtics bounced back from a deficit and posted come-from-behind victories in each of the last three games, then took the title over Moses Malone and the Houston Rockets in a six-game NBA Finals.

Bird once again led the team in points Fans were filling not only Boston Garden, which sold out the final games of Bird's career, but arenas all over the country to witness Bird's exploits. Bird's concentration and composure were unmatched. He was unflappable and virtually unstoppable. The hours he had spent working on his shot as a youngster paid big dividends in the NBA.

No other player in his era was as good or as consistent a shooter as Bird. In , Bird made the first of his three consecutive appearances on the NBA All-Defensive Second Team -- even though he was relatively slow and not the greatest one-on-one defender, his anticipation and court sense made him peerless as a team defender.

As many observed, he would see plays not as they were developing, but before they developed. By that time Bird's scoring average had reached the mids, and he was averaging upwards of seven assists. He also hit nearly 90 percent of his free-throw attempts. A crafty defensive player, Bird's most famous steal came in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals against Detroit.

With five seconds remaining and the Celtics trailing , Bird stole an Isiah Thomas inbounds pass and fed Dennis Johnson, whose layup gave Boston the win. The Celtics won the physical, bitter series in seven games and advanced to the NBA Finals for the fourth consecutive year, meeting the Lakers for the third time. But Los Angeles won the series in six games. Bird, now 30 years old and with worsening back condition and foot problems as well, would not win a fourth championship ring.

But there were plenty more heroics yet to come. In , Bird was the first Celtic ever to record a game, with a point, rebound effort against Indiana. He averaged a career-high Bird also won his third consecutive 3-point shootout title, a feat later matched by Chicago Bulls' Craig Hodges from In Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against Atlanta, Bird engaged in a memorable fourth-quarter shootout with the Hawks' Dominique Wilkins.

Bird poured in 20 points in the final period to outdo his counterpart and lead the Celtics to victory -- even though he had bronchial pneumonia. The Celtics, however, fell to the Pistons in the conference finals. Surgery to remove bone spurs from both heels limited Bird to only six games in The following year Bird posted the third-longest free-throw streak in NBA history, hitting 71 consecutive attempts. Bird missed 22 games in because of a compressed nerve root in his back, a condition that eventually forced his retirement.

In a first-round series that year, Bird badly bruised his face in a second-quarter fall in Game 5 against Indiana. His back was also hurting, but Bird came back in the third period to help lift the Celtics to an emotional victory. A disk was removed from his back after the season, but it didn't help all that much. The following year was Bird's last. In , Bird made the first of his three consecutive appearances on the NBA All-Defensive Second Team-even though he was relatively slow and not the greatest one-on-one defender, his anticipation and court sense made him peerless as a team defender.

As many observed, he would see plays not as they were developing, but before they developed.

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By that time Bird's scoring average had reached the mids, and he was averaging upwards of 7 assists. He also hit nearly 90 percent of his free-throw attempts. In Game 5, with the temperature inside Boston Garden approaching 97 degrees, Bird pumped in 34 points, leading the Celtics to a victory. In Game 7 a record TV basketball audience watched Bird score 20 points and gather 12 rebounds in Boston's win.

With series averages of Bird's scoring average soared to He boosted that average with a career-best 60 points against Atlanta. He also canned of three-point attempts for a. Injuries to Bird's elbow and fingers, however, contributed to the Celtics' six-game loss to the Lakers in the Finals.

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The following year, which saw Boston win its 16th championship, Bird attained living-legend status. He was showered with commendations: He led the league in three-pointers made 82 and in free throw percentage. He placed in the top 10 in three other categories. The Celtics finished the season with a record; their best under Bird. In the decisive Game 6 Bird tallied 29 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists. The next year brought yet another amazing Bird feat.

He became the first player ever to shoot at least. In classic Bird fashion, he proved that was no fluke by doing it again the following season. And he still managed to average more than nine rebounds and six assists both seasons. A crafty defensive player, Bird's most famous steal came in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals against Detroit. With five seconds remaining and the Celtics trailing , Bird stole an Isiah Thomas inbounds pass and fed Dennis Johnson, whose layup gave Boston the win. The Celtics won the physical, bitter series in seven games and advanced to the NBA Finals for the fourth consecutive year, meeting the Lakers for the third time.

But Los Angeles won the series in six games. Bird, now 30 years old and with worsening back condition and foot problems as well, would not win a fourth championship ring. But there were plenty more heroics yet to come. In , Bird was the first Celtic ever to record a game, with a point, rebound effort against Indiana. He averaged a career-high Bird poured in 20 points in the final period to outdo his counterpart and lead the Celtics to victory -- even though he had bronchial pneumonia. The Celtics, however, fell to the Pistons in the conference finals.

Surgery to remove bone spurs from both heels limited Bird to only six games in The following year Bird posted the third-longest free-throw streak in NBA history, hitting 71 consecutive attempts. Bird missed 22 games in because of a compressed nerve root in his back, a condition that eventually forced his retirement. In a first-round series that year, Bird badly bruised his face in a second-quarter fall in Game 5 against Indiana. His back was also hurting, but Bird came back in the third period to help lift the Celtics to an emotional victory.

A disk was removed from his back after the season, but it didn't help all that much. The following year was Bird's last. He missed 37 games because of the continuing back problems. In a nationally televised game against Portland in March, Bird pulled off one final miracle performance -- he scored 16 points in the fourth quarter, including the Celtics' last nine points and a game-tying three-pointer with two seconds left. Boston won, , in double overtime.

Bird finished with 49 points, 14 rebounds, 12 assists and 4 steals. In one of the only noteworthy gaffes of his career, Bird missed a routine layup in overtime that would have tied Game 4 of a playoff series with Cleveland that spring. The Cavaliers won in seven games; Boston lost three of the four games couldn't play because of his back. The end of Bird's career was at hand, but not before one last achievement: Olympic Dream Team, which dominated the competition at Barcelona and won millions of fans for the sport with its brilliance.

As the NBA season approached, Bird decided he could not continue. After games Bird retired with 21, points During his career he shot. Bird was named a special assistant in the Celtics' front office, with limited duties that included some scouting and player evaluation.

In reality, he spent most of the next five years in Florida, playing golf and taking it easy.

He did some commercials and appeared in a few films, including Michael Jordan's Space Jam. But mostly he was bored. He missed the competition, and with each passing year the urge grew to get back into the NBA in a more active capacity.

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Finally, with the Celtics in a decline that hit bottom in , Bird decided to take the plunge. So he cut the ties and went home. On May 12, , Bird was named head coach of the Indiana Pacers. Even though he had never coached a game in his life, the Pacers had no qualms about turning over the reins to Bird. I also really believe he can be a heck of a coach. When he talks, you come into his world.

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