Larry Bird sat back on the locker room table and put everything in perspective.
The Boston Celtics` three most dangerous scorers are Bird at 6 feet 9 inches, Kevin McHale at 6-10 and Robert Parish at 7-0. The Bulls` big three are 6-6 Michael Jordan, 6-2 John Paxson and 6-2 Sedale Threatt. It`s no surprise the Celtics prevailed 113-99 Friday night in Boston Garden for their fifth straight victory.
”No question they are at a disadvantage,” said Bird, who had 37 points, 8 rebounds, 9 assists and 2 blocked shots. ”You can`t expect to win shooting their 15-, 18-footers to our 2-, 4-foot layups. It`s a different ballgame. Not a lot of teams get to the championship finals shooting 18-footers.”
The Bulls actually made a little bit of a rush at the end after falling behind 64-41 at halftime. The little lineup of Jordan, Paxson, Threatt plus Charles Oakley and Brad Sellers put together a 16-4 run to slice a 20-point deficit to 91-83 with seven minutes left.
But Bird and McHale took control down the stretch and never let the Bulls get any closer.
McHale finished with 29 points and 9 rebounds, and Parish added 15. Jordan led the Bulls with 34 but received plenty of help from Charles Oakley with 16 points and 13 rebounds and Paxson with 12 points.
And in his best outing of the season, rookie 7-footer Sellers had 14 points, 6 rebounds and 2 blocked shots. Maybe he`ll even play center one of these days. He demonstrated the kind of inside play Friday that the Bulls have lacked. At the end of the game, that`s basically where he played, flanked by Oakley and Jordan at forward.
”I told you, I`m a man on a mission,” Sellers said about his newfound aggressiveness after returning from a four-day suspension. ”In 1987, that`s how it`s going to be. I want to be in the flow of the game. To do that, I have to play a lot of minutes. To get the minutes, I have to play well. That`s the mission.”
In college, Sellers shunned the rough stuff inside and advised coaches at Wisconsin and Ohio State that was strictly a finesse player. So, what if his minutes in the pros must come in the middle?
”I`ll take it anyway I can get it,” Sellers said. ”If I`ve got to play center, I`ll play it. It`s not like I`ve never played it before. Defensively against McHale, I kept my body off of him. When he thought I was pinned down, I`d move and tip the ball away. Good day. And you all thought I was done.”
It`s apparent for the Bulls to compete in the big time, their big guys have to play up to their size. Sellers` development is crucial. Jordan can hang forever in the air, as he did on several dazzling moves Friday. Paxson can continue burying a deadly jumper, Oakley can pound away inside and Threatt can spark this club with his shooting and penetration.
But when the ball goes down low to people like McHale, it`s only someone like Sellers who can make the difference.
”Brad played well,” Jordan said. ”It takes time. Everybody is trying to change his game. You can`t expect the guy to change overnight.”
Jordan said he wasn`t afraid to play small forward, where the play is more physical. He spent a good portion of Friday night going head-to-head with Bird. He could play there a lot if Threatt continues to develop and teams with Paxson in the backcourt. Those three give Bulls` coach Doug Collins three legitimate scoring and outside-shooting threats.
”We can play that way when you`ve got five guys who can pass and cut and create,” Collins said. ”With Michael at small forward, it gives us a guy who can penetrate from that position. You`ve got to have flexibility, and that`s why I like Sedale. He is an explosive kind of a player. He missed a couple shots early but stuck with it and showed some confidence. Charles Oakley played well tonight, and so did Brad.
”The big thing is I didn`t want them to fold up. I told them at halftime, `As long as I`m the coach, please show some character. That`s all I ask.` ”
After being outscored 34-21 in the second quarter, in which the Celtics scored on 13 of their last 14 possessions and scored the final 13 points of the quarter, the Bulls battled back. It was the kind of effort Collins hopes is sustained Saturday against the Detroit Pistons at the Stadium.
Bird said he never felt threatened.
”We had control of the game from beginning to end,” Bird said. ”I don`t panic until the other team has the ball and a two-point lead with one second to go.
”They`re not as lucky as we are. We`ve got four or five guys who can score. It`s got to be a tough situation for them. They play very well for what talent they have. They don`t have a lot of good scorers on their team.”
Celtic coach K.C Jones said his team got a little lackadaisical and let the Bulls back into the game. But he said he wasn`t overly concerned because he could always put the game back in Larry Bird`s hands.
”I`ll take my chances with him,” Jones said with a smile.
