After the New York Knicks eliminated him from the playoffs, Bird took things very hard.
The Boston Celtics had injury problems at the start of the 1990s, which hinted at a downturn in their legendary basketball history. The players could also sense the team’s waning prominence, and when the Bean Town squad lost to the New York Knicks in the opening round, Larry Bird was forced to acknowledge that it was the lowest point of his career with the team.
It reached its zenith during the 1990 playoffs.
The Celtics were eager to have some success in the postseason after previously losing handily to the Detroit Pistons in the first round of the 1989 playoffs.
Thanks to the heroics of Patrick Ewing, the Knicks were able to tie the series despite winning the first two games. He recorded a game-high 33 points and 19 rebounds in Game 3, and he carried over his domination into Game 4, finishing with a game-high 44 points and 13 rebounds.
Bird & Co. had the home crowd rooting for them after the deciding Game 5 in Boston. They led by six points going into the half. All of the starters scored at least 17 points, but the Celtics lost 121-114 after being outscored 71-60 in the second half.
“I made some real bonehead plays down the stretch,” Bird stated. “I share everyone else’s shock. Since coming here, I have never felt worse than I do now.”
Bird refrained from insulting coach Jimmy Rodgers.
It was evident that Boston lacked depth on the bench as they only managed four points against the Knicks in Game 5. It was also clear that the Celtics were headed in the wrong direction since Reggie Lewis was the only youthful player in the starting lineup and the elderly superstars had to play big minutes every week.
The 12-time All-Star declined to play the blame game at the time, even though some media outlets were attributing the Celtics’ failure to go past the first round in Jimmy Rodgers’ two seasons as coach. Rather, he highlighted how well he got along with Rodgers.
“It all started with some press. I honor the individual. “I hold all of my coaches in high regard,” continued Bird. “Of course, I don’t agree with everything, I agree with 95% of it.”
