Tag: 1986 boston celtics

Rick Carlisle on how Bill Walton got him backstage at a Grateful Dead concert for a date

That date he took is now his wife, one of many such moments Bill changed other people’s lives.

Hall of Fame Boston Celtics center Bill Walton was a force of nature in life, and his recent passing has brought back many moments from the Celtics champ’s charmed life on and off the court — rest in peace.

Most Boston fans are familiar with the lore around him bringing his 1986 Celtics title squad teammates to see the Grateful Dead (excepting Danny Ainge, who was boring), and evidently the music caught on with a few teammates in particular. One of them was Rick Carlisle, today’s head coach of the Indiana Pacers, who shared how that love for the Dead had Walton help get him backstage for a show on his first date with his now-wife.

It’s a touching anecdote that there are countless of in the wake of a truly great man’s life; check it out for yourself in this clip put together by our friends over at CLNS Media.

If you enjoy this pod, check out the “How Bout Them Celtics,” “First to the Floor,” and the many other New England sports podcasts available on the CLNS Media network.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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Hall of Fame Boston Celtics big man, broadcaster Bill Walton passes at age 71

Walton had reportedly been quietly battling cancer – rest in peace.

Hall of Fame Boston Celtics big man Bill Walton has reportedly passed away at age 71 after a long battle with cancer, reports Reuters’ Daniel Trotta. Walton, who won his second of two titles with the Celtics in 1986, and won 1977 NBA Finals MVP in his other title run with the Portland Trail Blazers that year along with many other accolades.

Injuries likely robbed the UCLA star of even more honors over the years, with Walton missing four NBA seasons in total before retiring from the game as a player. He also played for the Los Angeles (and San Diego, before they moved) Clippers before his stint in Boston.

“Bill Walton was truly one of a kind,” said NBA commissioner Adam Silver of Walton’s extraordinary basketball career, and broadcasting career after it, saying, “what I will remember most about him was his zest for life.”

Rest in peace, Bill — you will be missed.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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How does this Celtics squad stack up against other historic Boston teams?

And how hard is their path back to the finals shaping up to be?

Few teams in the NBA are in the same class of ball clubs in terms of their institutional knowledge spread throughout the organization and the media covers them of what it takes to win an NBA title as the Boston Celtics are.

But given the Celtics are tied with the Los Angeles Lakers for the most banners hung, and Boston trails only the Lakers in overall trips to the NBA finals in the history of the league. So to get a bead on what sort of team this iteration of the Celtics is compared to historical Boston champion squads, the hosts of the CLNS Media “Celtics Lab” podcast linked up with longtime Celtics beat writer Steve Bulpett of Heavy to talk it over.

We also get into the field as it stands and who we think might give Boston the most trouble in the Eastern Conference playoffs, and even touch on the NCAA Tournament a bit.

Take a look at the clip embedded above to hear what they had to say about this Celtics squad’s place in history, and what it means for winning Banner 18.

If you enjoy this pod, check out the “How Bout Them Celtics,” “First to the Floor,” and the many other New England sports podcasts available on the CLNS Media network.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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Settle the argument: What is the best Boston Celtics team of all time?

With an NBA-record 17 title squads to choose from, the debate can get pretty intense.

What is the best Boston Celtics team of all time? With an NBA-record 17 title squads to choose from, the debate can get pretty intense, and that is exactly the case with a recent effort to settle that very debate by the folks behind the NBC Sports Boston’s “Celtics Talk” podcast.

In the history-focused episode, a head-to-head tournament featuring six of the franchise’s most illustrious teams was put together and simulated. While such matches are by nature counterfactual, the plan was that the simulated matchups might settle the perennial argument among fans via the results of computer simulated matchups between the historical Celtics teams.

The competition between the greatest Boston teams of all time was conducted virtually with the assistance of Strat-O-Matic, a leader in computer simulations.

Check it out above, and see if you agree with the results.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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When God disguised as Michael Jordan was not enough to beat the Boston Celtics

“That game represented so much of what is great in sport and basketball,” said Walton.

34 years ago at the Boston Garden, a game was played between the Boston Celtics and the Chicago Bulls widely considered one of the greatest games ever played. The Bulls, led by the legendary Hall of Famer Michael Jordan, took the court against the 1986 Celtics, a team often regarded as one of the best in NBA history.

His Airness delivered a phenomenal performance, scoring a record-setting 63 points in a double-overtime game. The Celtics, with five future Hall of Famers, including Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Bill Walton and Robert Parish, faced an inspired Jordan who played so well that Bird would say he saw “God disguised as Michael Jordan” on the court.

“That game represented so much of what is great in sport and basketball,” said Walton via Bulls Dot Com.

Were the 1986 Boston Celtics the greatest NBA team ever? According to these legends, they were

The title, Boston’s 16th and their penultimate at the time of writing, capped off among the most impressive full-season displays of dominance seen in NBA history.

Were the 1986 Boston Celtics the greatest team ever? According to a number of their peers and legends in their own right, they were indeed, or at least they ought to be counted among them.

That team, coached by Boston legend KC Jones, was helmed by the “Big Three” of Hall of Famers: Larry Bird, Robert Parish and Kevin McHale. Bill Walton, Dennis Johnson and Danny Ainge were on it as well.

The Celtics won 67 games (Boston’s second-best regular season record ever) while Bird picked up his third and final Most Valuable Player award. Walton earned his Sixth Man of the Year award for his elite play off the bench.

The title, Boston’s 16th, capped one of the most impressive full-season displays of dominance in NBA history.

To hear the peers of this team talk about just how good it was, take a look at the clip embedded above put together by the folks at the “Basketball Time Machine” podcast.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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