The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 359 - 94 The Overlord
Ramsay made a mistake with his player rotation, Walton came on the court a bit too early.
This led to Walton having to leave the court for a rest shortly after the start of the second quarter, as he couldn’t play for too long because his knee couldn’t take it.
After the Western Conference Finals ended, Walton’s knee and ankle both had varying degrees of swelling, the seven-game series had taken a toll on him.
Therapist Calvin spent two hours daily providing physical therapy to Walton, helping to relax and alleviate the pain and discomfort in his legs.
Clearly, for Walton, an old machine, to have played a full 82-game regular season and then perform the way he had during the playoffs was nearly at his limit.
On the other hand, the Celtics, who had the Best Sixth Man, Marques Johnson, were still able to maintain a high level of intensity during their second-quarter rotations.
KC Jones was known for his short rotations in important games; for instance, in the pivotal game of last year’s finals, the Celtics had a seven-man rotation, and Dennis Johnson played all 48 minutes.
McHale, Bird, and Parrish all played over 44 minutes, and among the substitutes only Scott Wedman got 19 minutes of play.
Their previously important sixth man, Maxwell, due to a knee injury, played only five minutes; the Celtics ultimately lost this crucial game and the championship.
Auerbach attributed the team’s failure to Maxwell’s lax attitude, who after knee arthroscopy surgery did not properly recover and re-engage in the game, so they traded him away to the Los Angeles Clippers along with a draft pick for Marques Johnson.
Marques Johnson, a versatile player, could fill in for Bird, Johnson, and McHale in three positions on the court, and aside from a slight deficiency in height and strength in the post, he did his job very well in other aspects.
Other substitutes like Greg Kite, Sam Vincent, and the like, would not see more than 5 minutes of play, they were there just to fill in temporarily or contribute a foul.
Therefore, unlike the Lakers with a deep bench, the Celtics’ roster depth had been declining ever since a batch of veterans like Tiny Archibald, ML Carr, Gerald Henderson, and Chris Ford had retired or left, with fewer usable players left on the bench.
However, their starting lineup was becoming stronger, Bird had grown into an MVP, Kevin McHale had become a post monster, An Ji increasingly sharp and astute, and Parrish and Johnson were both at their prime.
With just one capable Sixth Man to ensure the basic rotation, they could be unbeatable across the league.
Marques Johnson fit this role perfectly; he was highly versatile and had better physical conditioning than Bird, making him a suitable finisher for fast breaks.
In some games, he even outshined Bird, his dunks provided many exciting moments at the Boston Garden, and his unpredictable and successful shots always brought surprises to the fans.
His defense was equally outstanding, his shoulders were almost as broad as Kevin McHale’s, and at his peak, he could average 1.3 blocks per game.
He also had a very strong offensive rebounding ability; at his best, he could grab 3.7 offensive rebounds per game, making him a powerful force under the basket.
Of course, Marques had his issues, or else he wouldn’t have been traded by the Bucks to the Clippers at the prime of his career.
As a player who grew up in Los Angeles and made a name for himself at UCLA, he had a strong attachment to Los Angeles.
During his years with the Bucks, even though he achieved great success, he never really considered himself a part of Milwaukee.
He would return to Los Angeles every offseason to spend the whole summer with friends, and eventually, he was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers.
However, his time with the Clippers was not pleasant; he lost his versatility, focusing too much on scoring—his mid and long-range shooting accuracy was not good.
Moreover, he developed a habit of taking a lot of shots, often with only a single-digit number of successful attempts in games, and the 84-85 season was his worst.
His rebounding and blocking stats were at their peak when he started, and they slid downhill from there, indicating that his focus on defense diminished after becoming a star.
Coming to Boston was not his preference; he understood what it meant for a black player, a Los Angeleno to come to Boston.
But Auerbach still gave him promises and confidence, telling Marques Johnson, "The greatest player in Boston is a black man, from California, San Francisco."
He managed to integrate well into the atmosphere of the Celtics, which reminded him of UCLA, a basketball team where everyone played for the victory.
The difference was that, as an NBA team, there were privileged characters here, namely Larry Bird, who told Marques Johnson on the first day of training camp, "This is my team, you’re here to help us, be a member of the team, but you can’t take away my shooting rights, not ever."
This irritated Marques Johnson, but he had to bow his head under the eaves; the Celtics was Bird’s team, and Bird was always harsh with newcomers.
No wonder Bird and Kevin McHale didn’t get along; when the team rebelled against Bill Fitch the previous year, Bird didn’t think Fitch did anything wrong.
Because he was the same kind of person as Fitch, obsessed with winning and also very demanding and even sometimes mean.
