MIAMI — It worked in the 1984 NBA Finals, when Larry Bird called his team “sissies.’’ Now, he’s doing it again.
Of course, it would help a lot more if Bird were still playing. But Bird, now Indiana’s president, is still doing whatever he can to motivate the Pacers for Thursday’s Game 6 of an East semifinal against Miami in Indianapolis.
After his Pacers were manhandled 115-83 by the Heat on Tuesday at AmericanAirlines Arena, Bird told the Indianapolis Star, “I can't believe my team went soft. S-O-F-T. I'm disappointed. I never thought it would happen."
Heat forward LeBron James had his theory on Bird’s comments.
“He’s just trying to amp them up,’’ James said on Wednesday. “That’s all. He knows his team isn’t soft. But, with their backs against the wall at this point, he knows what he’s doing. He’s not Executive of the Year for no reason.’’
Bird made his comments after the Pacers had fallen behind 3-2 in the series. In the 1984 Finals, when Bird was starring for Boston, he uttered his “sissies" statement after the Celtics dropped a 137-104 decision in Game 3 to fall behind 2-1 in the series. Boston came back to win 4-3.
It remains to be seen what will happen with the Pacers in Game 6. But the Hall of Famer's comment sure grabbed their attention.
“I’ve been around Larry for seven years and Larry is not one to hold his tongue, and 99 percent of the time, what he’s saying is right,” said Indiana forward Danny Granger, who is hoping to play Thursday despite suffering a sprained left ankle in Game 5. “I think he called out what everyone else had seen. We played a soft game. We didn’t play with the playoff intensity we needed to win and he called us out on it.”
The Pacers were outrebounded 49-35. They were outscored 46-26 in the paint, and had 10 shots blocked to Miami’s three.
The game featured flagrant 1 fouls by Indiana forward Tyler Hansbrough, Miami forward Udonis Haslem and Heat center Dexter Pittman. Haslem and Pittman's fouls were upgraded to flagrant 2 on Wednesday. Haslem was suspended for Game 6, and Pittman was suspended for the next three games.
“He would know best,'' Pacers guard George Hill said of Bird calling out his team. “We’ll have to take that into consideration and do better. If he feels like we’re soft, we’re soft then.”
Indiana forward David West, though, wasn't buying Bird's bit the way Granger and Hill did.
“That’s nothing,” proclaimed West, who said he is “fine’’ and will play Thursday after suffering a left knee contusion on Tuesday. “I don’t know if that’s for motivation. Our job is to go out and compete as well as we can within the rules. That’s what we intend to do.”
It wasn’t long ago the Pacers hardly looked soft. In Games 2 and 3, they outrebounded the Heat 102-76 and won both to take a 2-1 series lead.
But it all began to change in Game 4. Over the past two games, the taller Pacers have been outrebounded 96-73, leading Heat guard Dwyane Wade to say Bird “made a statement that he felt like he wanted his team to respond to.’’
When Bird made his comments during the 1984 Finals, the Celtics were coming off a game in which they had been walloped on the boards, 63-44.
“We played like sissies,'' Bird said at the time. ''I can't believe a team like this would let LA come out and push us around like they did.’’
Bird sure didn’t get pushed around the next game. He had 29 points and 21 rebounds in a 129-125 overtime win.
Chris Tomasson can be reached at christomasson@hotmail.com or on Twitter @christomasson
