Larry Bird struggled in the first three games of the 1988 Eastern Conference Finals against the Detroit Pistons. Still, Chuck Daly knew the Boston Celtics legend could turn things around at any given moment. That’s why, with the Pistons up 2-1 going into Game 4, the legendary head coach was careful with his words.
“Bird has just misplaced his touch but you never know when it will come back,” Daly said via New York Times. “You saw that in the Atlanta series when he scored 24 points in the first quarter and what he did to the Hawks in the fourth quarter of the deciding game. He just took over the game. We know what his capabilities are and we respect them.”
Bird never flew against the Pistons in ECF
In a 104-96 Game 1 loss, Bird had 20 points, nine rebounds and six assists on 8-for-20 from the field. The C’s bounced back in Game 2, winning a double-overtime thriller 119-115. But despite playing 54 minutes, “Larry Legend” still struggled — he finished with 18 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists on 6-for-20 shooting.
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With the Pistons holding the homecourt advantage, they took a 2-1 series lead with a 98-94 victory at Pontiac Silverdome, led by Joe Dumars’ 29-point display. Bird, meanwhile, was still far from his best, finishing the night with 18 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists on 6-for-17 from the floor.
Still, the Celtics were optimistic about reclaiming the homecourt advantage despite going winless in Detroit during the 1987-88 regular season. Ultimately, they managed to tie the series with a narrow 79-78 victory, with Bird leading the team with 20 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists on 7-for-15 shooting.
Despite his struggles, Daly knew better than to poke the bear, especially since “Larry Legend” showed he could still play at an all-time great level during Boston’s second-round matchup against the Atlanta Hawks.
The C’s eliminated Dominique Wilkins and Co. after an iconic Game 7 duel, with Bird scoring 20 of his team-high 34 points in the fourth quarter of their 118-116 victory. He also had 38 in the series opener.
But looking back, those performances were anomalies. In the next two games against the Pistons, Bird averaged 21.5 points but only shot 30.9 percent from the field. Detroit won both times, eliminating the C’s in six games.
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“You could definitely sense that our team was on the decline,” Danny Ainge said about the 1988 Celtics. “Kevin and Larry weren’t the same players in 1988 that they had been in all of the 1980s before then. You could see some decline in their games.
The three-time MVP finished the series averaging 19.8 points, shooting a dismal 35.1 percent from the field and 28.6 percent from the 3-point line. He was still the Celtics’ second-best scorer behind Kevin McHale, who put up 26.8 points per night.
Beginning of the end for Bird
After getting booted out by the Pistons, things only got worse for the Indiana State product. He played only six games the following season, undergoing surgery to remove bone spurs on both heels.
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At that point, Bird even pondered retirement, knowing he would miss the whole year. Nevertheless, he returned and played for three more years, averaging 21.6 points, 9.2 rebounds and 7.2 assists on 46.6 percent from the field. The Celtics, however, couldn’t get past the second round of the playoffs.
By 1992, Bird opted for retirement as the rigors of over a decade of playing were too much for him to bear.