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Our old buddy Kevin McHale was inducted into the Hall of Fame today. In a related story, I'm typing this column with a big smile on my face.
You see, in the last three decades I've seen every superstar who ever played, many of them in person, but there are only a handful of guys that I actually miss as much as I miss watching McHale. They were all one-of-a-kind players, the likes of whom we won't see again:
I miss seeing Bird on those days when he didn't have his jumper, how he drifted inside and controlled the game with his rebounding and passing. There wasn't another player in the league who could do that. Not in my lifetime.
I miss seeing Magic in the open floor, all arms and legs, with Worthy on one wing and Cooper on the other. You always knew he would make the right decision, with the perfect amount of flair.
I miss seeing Bernard King with the ball on the low post. People forget him now -- the chest-to-chest turnarounds, the running two-handed slams, the sneer on his face at the end of games -- but I remember. I remember.
I miss the way Julius Erving dunked -- how he soared towards the rim and threw the ball through the hoop, almost gently, as if he were afraid to shake the rim. Nobody dunked like Doc.
I miss seeing Moses bang the offensive boards. I miss seeing Dominique gliding in the open floor. I miss seeing Worthy go baseline. I miss seeing Isiah's little hesititation/between the legs twice/stutter step/stepback jumper. I miss Kareem's skyhook. I miss Gervin's finger rolls. I miss Toney's first step. I miss Walton's two-handed outlets. I miss the young Ewing, when he would stand under the basket and challenge every drive. I miss everything about MJ.
And I miss Kevin McHale.
If you don't think he belongs with the other guys I just mentioned... well, you don't know your basketball. Everything Tim Duncan is doing now -- everything -- is from the Kevin McHale archives. In fact, I noticed over the last few weeks that Duncan is actually an evolutionary version of McHale (much like Allen Iverson and Isiah or Vince Carter and Dominique). Pull out the old Celtics tapes and think of Duncan while you're watching McHale -- long arms, quick feet, tortuous low-post moves, an unblockable sky hook, underrated passing, an uncanny ability to block shots and keep the ball in play -- it's all there.
Duncan runs the floor better; McHale had a wider arsenal of low-post moves. Other than that, they're basically the same guy. Duncan's just a little faster and a little more athletic than McHale, that's all.
Not convinced? Check out these stats -- McHale from the '86 playoffs and Duncan from the '99 playoffs:
Player G Min FG FT RB AS BK PTS
McHale 18 39.7 .579 .794 8.6 2.7 2.4 24.9
Duncan 15 42.7 .510 .738 11.2 2.9 2.7 22.4
As Eddie Vedder once said, "It's evolution, baby."
Anyway, in case you missed out on the McHale Era, here are ten things you should know about #32:
MCHALE FACT #1
John Salley once described the experience of guarding McHale down low as "being in the man's chamber." That's an actual quote.
Nobody could score more ways down low -- even Kareem. McHale had the following three moves:
* The jump hook (he could do it with both hands).
* The turnaround fallaway (he could do it from both sides and from either direction... completely unblockable).
* The stepback 15-footer (which he always made, meaning the defender had to play up on him.
Those three basics -- all of which he could make at any point during any game -- set up the following moves:
* The up-and-under #1 (he faked a turnaround, drew the guy in the air, then pivoted and did an ugly scoop shot).
* The up-and-under #2 (he faked a jumphook, drew the guy in the air, then ducked under him and did an ugly scoop shot).
* The hesitation turnaround (starts off as a turnaround... once the guy goes in the air, he drew the contact and then did a modified turnaround anyway).
* The double jumphook (faking the jumphook, drawing the guy in the air, then turning into him and doing another jumphook)
* The running jumphook (starts off on the left side - faking jumper, drawing the guy in the air, then putting the ball on the ground and doing an ugly running jumphook).
* The drop-step (starts off on left side -- defender is overplaying for the righty hook, so McHale would do a quick drop-step towards the baseline and lay the ball in).
Then there were the combination moves, which nobody has been able to do before or since:
* Combo #1 -- Fake the turnaround, pivot, fake the righty jump hook, then do the up-and-under.
* Combo #2 -- Fake the righty jumphook, fake the full turnaround, then do a modifed turnaround.
* Combo #3 -- Fake the righty jumphook, fake the up-and-under, then shoot a little stepback jumper.
In case you're scoring at home, that's twelve different moves down low. Twelve. McHale had more combinations on his menu than a Chinese restaurant.
MCHALE FACT #2
Did you know that some high school/college coaches show McHale tapes to their big men? It's true. Kevin McHale is the only ex-basketball player who actually gets studied by fledgling basketball players.
MCHALE FACT #3
During the first part of the 1980's (before Ewing came into the league), McHale was considered to be the best defensive player in the league. Much like Duncan, McHale could guard anybody in his prime -- Toney, Julius, Worthy, Moses, Kareem... it didn't matter. He was THE stopper in the NBA.
MCHALE FACT #4
Did you know that McHale played the entire '86-'87 postseason on a broken left foot? It wasn't sprained, it wasn't bruised... the thing was broken. And yet he posted the following numbers that spring:
Year G Min FG FT RB AS BK PTS
86-87 21 39.4 .584 .762 9.2 1.9 1.4 21.1
That was unprecedented. Everyone talks about Larry Bird's heart, but nobody showed more heart than McHale that spring. He risked his career - literally -- to help the Celtics try and repeat as champions that year. Remember him limping up and down the court? Remember Rick Mahorn purposely stepping on the broken foot during the Detroit series? Remember how he dragged the foot around for a whopping 53 minutes in a double-OT win in Game Four of the Milwaukee series that year?
Unlike Patrick Ewing, McHale never thought about saying "Get me my ring, boys." He sucked it up and kept playing... and he was never the same afterwards. Which reminds me:
MCHALE FACT #5
Before McHale injured his foot near the end of the '87 season, he playing the best basketball of his life. Check out these stats:
Year G Min FG FT RB AS BK PTS
86-87 77 39.7 .604 .836 9.9 2.6 2.2 26.1
He was the most consistent, dominant player in the league that regular season -- better than Magic, better than Bird, better than MJ. It's a fact. Even Bird admits now that McHale should have won the MVP that season.
That leads to one of the great all-time "What Ifs" -- how good would McHale have been if he hadn't injured that foot? Three thoughts:
* I hate to bring up Lenny Bias again, but if he hadn't passed away, McHale would have been able to rest his injured foot during the first two rounds of the '87 playoffs. Instead, he played on it and injured the foot even worse -- breaking it during the first series against Chicago. And if Bias were around, maybe McHale wouldn't have averaged almost 40 minutes a game that season to begin with (Way to use the bench, KC!).
* McHale was never the same after that spring. He didn't have the same lateral movement or the same spring in his feet. Ironically enough, he regrets playing on the foot now -- but it was the Celtics' fault for letting him play in the first place.
* The foot problems invariably led to ankle problems in both feet; McHale badly sprained his left ankle in Seattle during the '90-'91 season, an injury which effectively ended his career (he battled on for two more years after that, but he wasn't even close to being the same player). Here's the sad thing: If he hadn't initially injured that damned foot, McHale probably would have played into his forties on that jumphook alone.
MCHALE FACT #6
He was the funniest Celtic of all-time (for further evidence, trek down to your local library and get a copy of the book "Unfinished Business," by Jack MacCallum). One of the true tragedies in sports history is that McHale decided to run the Timberwolves instead of going into sports broadcasting; he really could have been the John Madden of basketball. Remember, this was the guy who actually stole scenes from Woody on an episode of "Cheers."
A quick passage from "Unfinished Business" describes McHale's sarcastic humor, from a conversation after the Celtics coaching staff (Chris Ford and Don Casey) had coached the All-Star team in 1991:
* FORD: You know who started shootarounds? Bill Sharman, with that '72 Lakers team that won 33 straight games.
* MCHALE: A dark day. A very dark day.
* CASEY: Hey Kevin, I've been meaning to ask you -- what did it feel like to get some real coaching during the All-Star Game?
* MCHALE: Gee, real exciting, Case. Course I've been there seven times before. Whereas it was like the highlight of your life to date.
* CASEY (ignoring him): Yup, fiist time it's been more than a playground game.
* MCHALE: I really didn't notice, Case, because it's really not that important. Somehow I doubt my gravestone will say, "He was a member of a victorious Eastern Conference All-Star team."
Now that's comedy.
MCHALE FACT #7
His uneasy alliance with Bird was undoubtedly the most interesting running saga of the Bird Era. People always assumed they were friends -- due to the "two big goofy-looking white guys" factor -- but that wasn't true (they never really mingled off the court). And as most diehard Bird watchers know, McHale was/is the one teammate that #33 always avoiding heaping praise upon -- partly because of their friendly rivalry, partly because they weren't friends, and partly because Larry resented the fact that basketball didn't consume McHale like it consumed Bird.
Thus, Bird always praised Parish and DJ, but he never seemed to have anything good to say about McHale. Even after their careers were over, Bird bemoaned the fact that McHale never drove himself to become the best player in the league, saying that his teammate could have been the MVP in '86 or '87 if he had "really wanted it." Larry almost seemed disappointed that McHale never pushed himself harder because, in turn, Bird would have had to push himself an extra notch to keep his place as the alpha dog on the team. Still, I always thought that was unfair on Bird's part -- nobody should ever question McHale's desire after the '87 playoffs.
(QUICK INTERJECTION: Oh my God! I just upbraided Larry Legend! Where's the lightning bolt that's about to hit me?)
To his credit, McHale always took the high road with Bird -- the dutiful teammate, the perfect second banana, never daring to rock the boat or challenge him publicly, always willing to take a step into the background. One of my favorite McHale quotes came after the legendary "Dominique/Larry shootout" in the '88 playoffs, when McHale said the following:
"Sometimes after Larry plays a game like this it makes me think ahead... I'll be retired in Minnesota and Larry will be retired in Indiana, and we probably won't see each other much. But a lot of nights I'll just lie there and remember games like this, and what it was like to play with him."
Somebody turn the heat on, because I just got the chills.
MCHALE FACT #8
Another unique quality: He never imagined playing in the NBA when he was a kid, even when he was named All-American after his junior year in college. McHale was always more of a hockey fan; he claims to this day that he never thought of an NBA career until his senior year.
Here's what he told Jack MacCallum:
"I was at a party with some football players and somebody brought in the Sporting News that had me rated as the top forward and the second-best center in basketball. 'Hey, you're going to be a top-five pick,' someone told me, and I said, 'Really?' People think I'm BS-ing them with that story but it's true. I never really cared or took the time to find out if I was that good. All I knew was that I had success at Minnesota and at the Big Ten. I played in all those postseason All-Star games basically for the travel. I had no thoughts of improving myself in the draft or getting more money or anything like that.
"I remember I picked up the paper and read that Darrell Griffith wasn't going to play in the All-Star game in Hawaii because he didn't want to take the chance at getting hurt. And I thought, 'What's with this guy? Miss a free trip to Hawaii?' I went over there, drank pina coladas and beer, and won the MVP."
(I mean... how could you not like this guy?)
MCHALE FACT #9
Nobody in basketball possessed a more memorable body -- in a basketball uniform, McHale resembled Lurch from the "Addams Family," but only if Lurch's arms were put on backwards. Bill Fitch said McHale had "an incomplete body... he's waiting for the rest of the parts to come by mail." MacCallum described McHale's body as "Frankenstein-esque... deep bags under the eyes, unusually long arms, shoulders that appear to be coming off the hinges." Of his awkward running style, poet Donald Hall wrote that McHale "lopes down the floor like an Irish setter, his hair flopping like ears." Danny Ainge once quipped that McHale on a fast break looked like a "baby deer on ice."
But it you're thinking McHale wasn't a great athlete, remember three things:
* Until Hakeem came along, no big man had quicker feet in the league than #32.
* Nobody was better at the "miss a short jumper and jump up again quickly to tap the ball in" play. McHale hopped like a kangaroo.
* In his prime, McHale's turnaround could only be touched by Hakeem's turnaround in the Turnaround Pantheon -- and that's the toughest shot in basketball, bar none.
McHale was a great athlete. He just didn't look like one.
MCHALE FACT #10
As you probably know, McHale currently serves as the general manager for the Minnesota Timberwolves. When the NBA Lockout ended this winter, he had to decide what to do with free agent forward Tom Gugliotta, who wanted to leave the T-Wolves and play on the West Coast. The Lakers wanted Gugliotta but were too far above the salary cap to sign him; thus, Lakers G.M. Jerry West wanted McHale to re-sign Googs to a six-year, $71 million deal and then immediately trade him to the Lakers for Eddie Jones and Elden Campbell.
It was a logical move for the T-Wolves, since they would be getting two serviceable players -- including Jones, a former All-Star -- for a player that was leaving town, trade or no trade. Better to get something for nothing, right?
Wrong.
McHale said no. He couldn't stand the thought of helping out the Lakers. Even now. Amazingly, Googs ended up with the Suns for less money; the Lakers and T-Wolves ended up with nothing.
Once a Celtic, always a Celtic.
***** ***** ***** *****
When I think back to my favorite McHale memory, no specific games come to my mind. Make no mistake, he had some great moments -- some huge blocks against Philly in Game 7 of the '81 playoffs; pouring in 56 points against Detroit; eating Ralph Sampson alive in the '86 Finals; playing on the broken foot for 53 minutes during that double-OT game in Milwaukee; his forgotten 33-point performance in the Bird-Dominique game; even his retro-farewell in Game 2 of the Charlotte series in '93, when he had the Garden rocking one last time.
Those were all great. No doubt about it.
But I'll always have one image embedded in my brain: If you watch any of the big road wins from the Bird Era, you'll always see the same sequence after every game: The Celts are all dancing happily out of the arena through the players' tunnel, and McHale's in the middle of it all, holding both arms in the air, fists clenched.
Name the game, you'll see it: Game 4 in Houston ('86); Game 4 in Los Angeles ('84 & '85); Game 6 in Philly ('81 & '82); Game 4 in Milwaukee ('87); Game 6 in Atlanta ('88)... it doesn't matter. He does it every time. In a funny way, it's almost McHale's legacy. He may have looked funny as hell -- with his giant arms craning up, armpit hair everywhere, a goofy smile on his face -- but all those things seemed to fit perfectly after a big "W."
That's Kevin McHale in a nutshell: Fun to watch, unstoppable at times, laugh-out-loud funny, inventive, ahead of his time... and perfectly comfortable rubbing his armpits into the collective faces of 20,000 people after a big win.
I miss those days.
****E-mail me at SPTGUY33****
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