Today's WIW :
What if Len Bias, All American hoops player from the University of Maryland, didn't die from cocaine overdose shortly after getting drafted by the World Champion Celtics in the summer of 1986.I can place myself in time when I first heard Bias had died in June of 1986. I was working my way through school and at the time was a manager at a McDonalds (yep) and remember some kid that worked there came in and told me that he heard on the car radio that Bias had died. Sort of a moment frozen in time, not unlike the Shuttle Challenger explosion five months before.
Bias was drafted 2nd overall by the then Champion Celtics. The '85/86 Celtic team was regarded then and still as one of the top All-Time teams...EVER. Led by Hall of Famers Larry Bird,
Kevin McHale, Robert Parish and Dennis Johnson this team had everything needed to win and continue winning. Bird was at his peak, having won his third straight MVP award. McHale had settled into the starting rotation and was a dominant power forward with insane low-post moves in his arsenal. Parish, the quiet Chief, was one of the most consistent and durable centers in league history. DJ had evolved from a scorer earlier in his career to be a non traditional point guard with many options to go to. Also on this team and key contributors were Danny Ainge, HOF Bill Walton (not for his time with the Celtics though), Scott Wedman and Jerry Sichting. These Celtics had beaten the Houston Rockets in the finals 4-2. Houston robbed the world of a Celtic vs. Laker matchup by beating the Lakers in the conference finals. The Celtics had won in '81, '84 and now in '86 while Magic Johnson's Lakers had won titles in '80, '82 and '85 setting the stage for the back half of the decade to decide which team would reign supreme. Adding Bias to the historically great Celtic team was an improbable dream.
At the time of the draft, Bird was 29, McHale 28, Parish about to turn 33, DJ soon to turn 32. The team was going to be good for the next few years but having Len Bias would grant them a luxury to extend all of Bird, McHale and Parish's careers by eating up minutes as he entered the rotation.
In the 1986, 87 season, the Celtics won 59 games but leaned on their core more than ever before. Walton was lost for all but 10 games so Bird and McHale averaged 40 minutes each while Parish over 37 himself. A healthy rookie named Len Bias, with his evolving skills would have reduced each of the big 3's minutes per game at least 5 minutes (Assuming Bias would play around 25 minutes or more per game as a rookie). With a less stressed frontcourt and the explosive Bias coming off the bench the Celtics would have fared better than they did in the 1987 playoffs. They lost to the Lakers in the finals 4-2. McHale had broken a bone in his foot and limped his way through the playoffs. Certainly having Bias would have allowed coach KC Jones to utilize more than basically a five man rotation. Only one Boston bench player (Greg Kite) averaged more than 10 minutes per game in the finals.
Following the 1986-87 season the Celtics big three began to decline and succumb to injuries. In 1987-88 McHale missed close to 20 games while Bird and Parish missed some too when they had been historically dependable for most if not all their team's games. In the games they all did play, their minutes remained elevated, Bird at 39 per game, McHale at 37.3 per game and Parish at 31.2. The workload, without proper subs due to the loss of Bias back in June of '86, was causing the team to continue to burden their big 3 in the regular season. In the playoffs, the Celtics beat the Knicks and Hawks to get to the conference finals against the younger, hungry Detroit Pistons. The Pistons disposed of the aging Celtics in six games and ultimately lost to the Lakers. In the playoffs, the big 3 logged 45, 42 and 37 minutes per game.In 1988-89 the Celtics saw the future and it didn't look good. Larry Bird played in only six games. McHale and Parish continued to suit it up and play big minutes but the dream was beginning to end.
Who knows what injuries may have happened or not happened if Len Bias started picking up minutes beginning in '86-'87? Maybe the big 4 would have won a couple more titles along the way. Certainly possible. I believe it would have extended the careers of Bird and McHale, both retired due to nagging injuries sustained from all the minutes and pounding they incurred over the years. Having Bias play an integral part of a rotation would have spared the big 3 some minutes along the way and add a dimension to the Celtics that they had never had, a player that routinely played above the rim.
I believe they would have won in '86-87, they were coming off their best season ever and were on a high having drafted Bias. The energy and relief he would have provided would have given them a weapon and kept them on top of the NBA world.
In '87-88, losing to the Pistons in the conference finals might have been a different outcome as well. The Pistons were younger and having a 2nd year Len Bias progressing into a potential all-star would have given the Celtics a counter punch to the youth of Isiah, Rodman, and Salley.When you get out to '88-89, perhaps some injuries still happen, perhaps having a 3rd year budding superstar makes it easier. I think things still would have been good for the Celtics as they shift more responsibility towards Bias at this point. Detroit swept the Celtics in the first round this year, with a healthier lineup and Bird intact perhaps they advance over the eventual Champions or more likely would not have faced them in the first round.
In the 80's, the Celtics were one of two dominant basketball teams along with the Lakers. In 1980-89 either (or both) the Celtics or Lakers were in the finals each year with the Lakers winning 5 titles to the Celtics 3. By my estimation the Celtics would have won again in '86-87 and possibly in 87-88 giving them 4.5 titles in the decade. Both of those years the Lakers won so it would have knocked them down to 3.5 titles in the decade. Both teams were impressive but with a living Len Bias I believe the Celtics would have had the upper hand as the most dominant team of the decade.
As it was, the Celtics didn't win a championship after '85-86 until Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen brought the title home in 2008, twenty two long years. Many Celtics fans and historians point to Len Bias' death as the main reason why.
Some links:
Len Bias wiki
espn - The Day the Innocence Died
Bill Simmons - still haunted
Bias highlights
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