Retro Rewind: Larry Bird steals the Detroit Pistons finals hopes
By Ari Eizen
Without any Detroit Pistons basketball to consume currently, let’s take a look back at one of their most infamous moments.
With the NBA season put on hold, fans have suddenly found themselves with an abundance of free time. However, since everyone is stuck at home, there are not an abundance of options for how to consume sports on a daily basis. For me, this is a time to watch games from before I was born, but that is from a time that is vital to the Detroit Pistons team history.
To many, the 1980s were the golden age of basketball. In the 1980s, the NBA was struggling to rebound from the retirement of Bill Russell and the end of the 70s Knicks.
The beginning of the decade was defined by the Larry Bird and Magic Johnson rivalry. As the 1980s progressed, Michael Jordan was on the rise in Chicago and he would eventually vault to the top of the NBA in the 1990s.
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However, there were two years in the midst of these great dynasties where none of these hall-of-fame players reigned. For mainstream basketball fans, they can pass over the Bad Boys era and never know about it.
But, in all reality, you can’t tell the history of the NBA without the few years where the Isiah Thomas led Detroit Pistons were hated by everyone and did not care for a second.
However, before they were able to reach the top of the NBA, the young Pistons went up against Larry Bird and the Boston Celtics in the 1987 Eastern Conference Finals.
After both teams won two games at home, the Pistons returned to the Boston Garden to play Game Five with a chance to take a 3-2 lead back to Detroit.