Repeat as NBA Champions : Larry Bird’s Vow Spurs On the Celtics

On Oct. 31, 1984, Larry Bird formally announced his team’s acceptance of a 15-year-old challenge.

Moments before the Celtics hoisted their latest championship banner to the rafters of Boston Garden, Bird promised the 14,890 in attendance, “This year should be no different than last year. We are going to win back-to-back titles.”

In the spring of 1969, Bill Russell coached and centered the Celtics to the last consecutive crowns in league history. The inability of teams to repeat has been named the Russell curse, but one of his former teammates thinks that the Bird-led Celtics will be the team to finally pull the sword from the stone.

“I think this unit is an exceptional one,” said former Celtics guard Bob Cousy. “Unless three people break legs, they’ll repeat, and I think they’ll do it fairly easily.

“Los Angeles has had things so easy in their conference, they just aren’t being honed and it doesn’t help their preparation.”

Los Angeles coach Pat Riley took his team to the title in 1982 but Philadelphia axed all repeat hopes with a four-game shutout in the 1983 final.

“It’s more difficult the second time because the expectations are so much higher,” says Riley, who thinks Boston is going about its season the right way.

“They are doing what they have to do to win. Anyone will have to pick holes in them to beat them.”

Cousy played on six championship teams, four of them repeaters. But he says the players were different back then because the times were different.

“In today’s atmosphere the jock just isn’t prepared to fight the kind of adversity he had 20 years ago,” said Cousy. “He’ll work very hard to get to the top of the hill today, but he won’t work as hard to stay on top, and that’s because society has changed.

“I was All-City in New York in 1946, which was such a big deal I was deluged with two college scholarship offers. Today, a kid getting out of New York All-City would have 500 offers. Then he goes through college, the All-America thing, agents offering him money and he’s beating off girls with bats.

“Then an agent says, ‘Here’s $8 million.’ It’s not predicated on production and he’s set for the rest of his life. All of those facts weigh on the molding of a person and we’re all products of our environment.”

After Celtic games this season, Bird kept saying, “We must rebound well if we’re going to repeat,” or “We have to hustle all the time if we’re going to repeat.” The word has became a refrain.

“Our chances are good,” he said, “if we can avoid the injuries. If we keep working we’ll be OK.”

Boston traded away point guard Gerald Henderson before the season but Danny Ainge has capably filled the backcourt spot opposite Dennis Johnson. Recently acquired Ray Williams is now the third guard.

The frontcourt still has Bird, 7-foot center Robert Parish and 6-11 Kevin McHale, but Cedric Maxwell, a forward who usually earns his salary during the playoffs, has come back slowly from knee surgery in February.

Despite having won more than 60 games for the fifth time in six years, Boston only split its season series with Philadelphia and the Lakers. Milwaukee beat the Celtics in four of their first five games, but the Bucks will likely have to beat the 76ers to meet the Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals.

For Boston’s M.L. Carr, last year’s championship meant that before every game Celtics’ opponents were reminded of whom they were playing.

“We’re always introduced as ‘The World Champion Boston Celtics.’ I like that,” said Carr. “And I like it that other teams hear it, too.”