Interview with Bird (B4 finals) courtesy of BSG link

[kevin.lok@lycosmail.com (kevin)]

http://www.starnews.com/sports/articles/BIRD06.html
Voice of Experience
Hall of Fame player and three-time NBA champion Larry Bird can tell his Pacers what it's really like in the NBA Finals.
Indianapolis Star
June 6, 2000
The Indiana Pacer with the most NBA Finals experience is, of course, their coach, Larry Bird, who was the mainstay of the Boston Celtics teams that went to five NBA Finals and won three championships in a seven-year span ('81, '84, '86). Bird sat down with Indianapolis Star columnist Bill Benner to look back and look ahead:

Question: You've got a team of older players who took years to finally reach the NBA Finals. As a player, you made it in just your second year, 1981, but I'm wondering if you didn't appreciate it more as time went on.
Answer: Not really. We were so powerful in '86 we felt that 20 games into the year if we stayed away from injuries, we were going to win it. But in '81, Dave Cowens quit during training camp, we just got Robert Parish that year and (Kevin) McHale was young. When Dave quit, we though we didn't have a chance, but all of a sudden Robert started running the floor and doing things. We still didn't know if we could win the championship then, but we knew we had a chance.

Q: How about the '84 championship team?
A: We had a couple of down years after '81. Milwaukee swept us in '83 and Coach (Bill) Fitch was leaving. K.C. Jones came in and it was just time to start winning again. And we went to the Finals four years in a row, winning two. In '87 we were hurt. McHale had a broken foot, Parish bone spurs in his ankle, (Danny) Ainge a bad back. I was the healthiest one. But we made it. We gave ourselves an opportunity. In '85, the Lakers just beat us. We played decent, but they just beat us.

Q: Now that the Pacers finally have made it, they can't allow a feeling of satisfaction to creep in, can they?
A: Nope. This team here, I asked them, "It felt good (Friday) night, right?" And they all said, "God, it was great waking up the next day." And it was. For me it was great, too. Every year I played, when we got through the Eastern Conference, I felt the same way as I did (Saturday). But the thing is now, this is the Finals, and every game, every rebound, every loose ball means so much more. You've got to lay your heart on the line, no matter what's happening. If the Lakers make their first 12 shots, it doesn't matter. You can't let the opportunity pass unless you give it your all. And I tell you: If (the Pacers) do it, they'll win it. If they can go two weeks giving everything they have, they're going to be world champions.

Q: But you've seen this team go through so many highs and lows.
A: Can't have that now. We can't let one game get away because we let up. Not in the Finals.

Q: Are you surprised this team is here, given some of the uneven performances, and the trade of Antonio Davis?
A: Truthfully, yes. At the start of the season, I knew Austin Croshere needed to play. I didn't know how good he was going to be. I knew he would be very inconsistent. Did I think he would be a better player than Antonio? Well, I think he's become a better player than Antonio. The combination of he and Sam (Perkins) is better than Antonio by far. As the season went on, Sam had a great first half and couldn't miss a shot. Austin was up and down, but I could see he was coming on. But my worry all along was Philadelphia.

Q: Really? Milwaukee gave you the tougher series.
A: The only reason I was scared of Milwaukee was because I knew they could shoot the ball. Sure, they come in here and it goes right down to the wire, but Philadelphia was the series.

Q: You still needed an offensive rebound from Dale Davis and a second 3-pointer from Travis (Best) to beat Milwaukee, didn't you?
A: That's the way it is. You've got to have a little bit of luck and we had ours in that game. At first, I thought we got bad luck against Philadelphia because we were playing well and we were on a roll when all that stuff (a one-game suspension) with Reggie (Miller) happened. But now, truthfully, and I can say this now because I'm not going to be coaching anymore, the best thing that happened to us is that series went on (to six games). We didn't want a week or eight days off. It would have killed us, because New York would have come in here and got one of those first two from us. I know it; I've seen it. The best thing for us was to play six games in the Philly series and win it on the road. Then we got the chance to catch New York coming off a tough series and we've got the upper hand again. And we took care of business.

Q: In the first two games, at least.
A: And then we go to New York and have our normal letdown, our Pacer letdown. We come back home for Game 5 and we get down early, but the guys stayed focused and laid their hearts on the line. And Game 6, we just played our a---- off.

Q: Have you heard about the Eastern Conference championship series being referred to as the "jayvee" series?
A: That's not fair. We had to earn our way into the Finals. Yeah, that's all (my players) are going to hear. But we're here. We got here. Our fans and our players are proud of getting here. Don't take anything away from us. Last year we had it taken away from us. These guys have waited a long time to get here, so don't talk that bull---- with me. Some of these guys have been playing for 14 or 15 years. They made it. They earned it.

Q: I know you don't care about coaching legacies and all that stuff, but still, to bow out by getting your team to the Finals...?
A: It all goes back to these guys. That's what I said when I came here: I felt that they could get to the Finals. That's why, when I got here, I wanted Chris Mullin on this team. He was very, very important to this team the first two years and he's important now. I always liked Jalen Rose, but I didn't know Jalen was going to improve as much as he did the last two years. And now he deserves to play all the time because he's our best athlete. But there still will be a time and a role for Mully. I'm happy for him and all these guys. I don't want anybody to be happy for me. They should be happy for these players. I'm a very small part of what these guys have accomplished.

Q: During the Knicks series, I sometimes wondered about the level of happiness between you and your players.
A:If you go back to before Game 5, they almost gave up. They started doubting what we were doing on the offensive and defensive ends. But I watched the tapes. I watched the games. I could see they're not playing as hard as they should be playing. So I just said, "Hey, why don't you play just a little harder? Maybe this stuff does work if you get up into them." Then we go out at the start of Game 5 and we're playing our a---- off and we're down 18. And I'm thinking to myself, "Please don't give up now. It's going to work." And they fought through it. Then they go to Game 6 and New York's running the same plays and the same things they did every other game and we went out and defended it. Now they're believing again. Sure, there's times, even when I was playing, when you question some of the things you're doing. But if you do them hard and you do them together, they work. In Game 5, it would have been so easy for them to just quit fighting. But when it all clicked in and it all !
came together, that lead was gone in 10 minutes. That's why you can never give up in these games. And now we just have the possibility of seven games left.

Q: Have you given any thought to what this means not just to the franchise, but to the city and the state?
A: I know exactly what this means. This is huge. I'm not as stupid as I look. But are we happy with just this? I'm not happy with just this. If we're defeated, I don't want to hear after the season, "Well, at least we were there. We gave it a hell of a try." That's bull----. You go for it when you're there. I told the guys, "There are two teams left and I want you to think about something: To get here again, you'll have to play 115 games and go through all that bull -- training camp, preseason, the regular season. So you're here. Take advantage of it. Do it now." We're here. They've given themselves an opportunity to win a world championship. Now let's go do it. We know L.A.'s got Shaq (Shaquille O'Neal) and Kobe Bryant but, hell, we beat 'em before. We had one bad game against L.A. because we didn't show up. Now we've got to show up. It's here. Let's go get it.

Q: Now, about your future. Have you given any more thought to staying with the franchise?
A: No, honestly, I haven't. I've been too busy thinking about the playoffs.

Q: Do you have any timetable?
A: I'll decide within a couple of days after this is over.

Q: Are you leaning one way or the other?
A: I haven't talked to Donnie (Walsh) about it for a month and a half, I really haven't. It's just whether I want to make a full commitment to being here all the time.

Q: What will it come down to?
A: My wife (laughing). Actually, she loves it here.

Q: Is that an indication?
A: No. I've talked to her some about it and she says, "Either way." We're building a home in Florida and I've got some things going on down there. It all depends, but I've got to make a decision and it will come a couple of days after the season. I talked to Donnie and I told him if he's got to do something before then, then go ahead and do it and I'll have to live with it.

Q: And finally, just how have you felt about your experience here?
A: It's been one of the greatest of my professional career. If you can't play, this is the closest thing to it. It's been absolutely fantastic to see this other side of things. I'm just grateful for the opportunity.