Kevin McHale 27 points, 13 rebounds, 4 assists, 62.4% TS vs. NYK 1989-90

[FrodoBaggins]

New footage of McHale from the 1989-90 season. Some great examples of his understated passing ability, as well as his shooting range, and the more isolation, mid-post aspects of his pivot game. He was more than just an off-ball, catch-and-shoot low-post threat; he could play further out and operate from higher up.

This was the year he shot a career-high free-throw percentage of 89.3% FT on 5.4 FTA/g. 393/440 (.893) across 82 RS games & 25/29 (.862) in 5 PS games. His shooting technique is visibly more fluid than it was earlier in his career. It used to be more hitchy but developed into an effortless one-motion release.

Box score: https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/199003240NYK.html

Watch on YouTube

;ab_channel=All-aroundNBA

[tsherkin]

I don't think anyone ever thought he could ONLY play in the low post. He had a wheeling fadeaway jumper going into the lane, was always a good FT shooter, had a set jumper... He was an extremely dangerous offensive player in general. He obviously improved CONSIDERABLY as a shooter over the breadth of his career, most noticeably at the line. And then somewhere around 85, he just started properly murdering the beans out of everyone, peaking in 87 and 88.

Fabulous player. Underrated lateral quickness and defensive ability beyond shot blocking. Insane post scorer. You just Entered the System on the catch, and were in deep, deep trouble the minute he touched the ball. Kind of like with Dantley. Typically, you were done before the ball even reached him just by positioning, but still.

[bonita_the_frog]

McHale finished 4th in MVP votes the same year that Bird finished 3rd in MVP votes-
1986-87 Kevin McHale 26.1 points per game, .604 field shooting, 77 games
1986-87 Larry Bird 28.1 points per game, .525 field shooting, 74 games
Imagine how entertaining that team was, they had every move in the book.

[tsherkin]

McHale finished 4th in MVP votes the same year that Bird finished 3rd in MVP votes-
1986-87 Kevin McHale 26.1 points per game, .604 field shooting, 77 games
1986-87 Larry Bird 28.1 points per game, .525 field shooting, 74 games
Imagine how entertaining that team was, they had every move in the book.

Yep. But sadly for them, they ran into peak Magic Johnson and the 87 Lakers. And wasn't THAT a fun Finals series!

[FrodoBaggins]

I would've liked to have seen 1986-87 McHale without the broken foot in the postseason.

[Yinwest]

Yep. But sadly for them, they ran into peak Magic Johnson and the 87 Lakers. And wasn't THAT a fun Finals series!

That 87 Boston vs Milwaukee series was just as great, a series that not much people talk about.

[tsherkin]

Yep. But sadly for them, they ran into peak Magic Johnson and the 87 Lakers. And wasn't THAT a fun Finals series!

That 87 Boston vs Milwaukee series was just as great, a series that not much people talk about.

Milwaukee didn't win a title in the 80s, but they were a very good squad and a tough out.

[Yinwest]

I would've liked to have seen 1986-87 McHale without the broken foot in the postseason.

Bird said 87 Celtics was actually the gutsiest team he’s ever been part of.

[Celts17Pride]

I would've liked to have seen 1986-87 McHale without the broken foot in the postseason.

Sad part is Kevin McHale paid a huge price for playing on that broken foot. See how he walks around today?

[benson13]

I would've liked to have seen 1986-87 McHale without the broken foot in the postseason.

Sad part is Kevin McHale paid a huge price for playing on that broken foot. See how he walks around today?

They're professional athletes. I'm so thankful that the Spurs wouldn't let Timmy play in 2000 against the Suns.

McHale was a willing passer, but if he got his man behind him in the post and got a good seal, he was probably a better option than anyone he could pass to, even Larry Bird. What he did to Ralph Sampson in the 1986 Finals was criminal. I don't know why Bill Fitch didn't try Hakeem on either McHale or Bird.

[ryan in Maine]

I was thinking about mentioning McHale in the most underrated players thread over there. In another universe he had many more games like this one.

[tsherkin]

I was thinking about mentioning McHale in the most underrated players thread over there. In another universe he had many more games like this one.

He could probably get a mention, but anyone who knows the name rates him pretty well. He had a lot of work to do when he hit the league, but he was a strong two-way player who was invaluable to Boston, for sure. It's just been, you know, over 30 years since he retired and he wasn't an MVP, didn't start his whole career, etc, etc, etc, so he doesn't get brought up nearly as much as some other guys. The collective fandom consciousness can recall only so many players across generational gaps if they weren't transcendent in some way.

[FrodoBaggins]

I was thinking about mentioning McHale in the most underrated players thread over there. In another universe he had many more games like this one.

His talent is underappreciated because of how much he sacrificed: coming off the bench, playing out of position, not being more selfish like Larry, etc. He's as good as the group of PFs typically ranked above him (Duncan, Garnett, Nowitzki, Barkley, Malone, Pettit, Antetokounmpo, Davis), IMO. Played better as the games & possessions got greater. The ultimate high-leverage player.

Stick Kevin on a team built around him and he'd have pumped out 25-30 ppg, 10-12 rpg, 3-4 apg, 2-3 bpg on 55-60%+ FG & 80%+ FT seasons like clockwork. Like a PF/C Dantley with all-NBA defense.

[ballzboyee]

The quality of the video doesn't really do any of the players any justice to be honest. 5 yr(s) / $239,934,400 for Holmgren, and no knock on him but the has maybe 50 percent of McHale's offensive bag other than 3's. Holmgren can also move really well and has some guard skills. But if you put McHale on a team like OKC and told him to hang out in the dunker sport and run the base line for cuts to basket, they would be unbeatable in today's league because a lot of that offense would turn into McHale in the post killing matchups. Physically he would just be too much for team's to handle. He would have Jokic-like qualities in today's game.

[AdamSSSlither]

its hard to say a guy in the top 75 is underrated but it still feels like mchale is grossly underrated by people today.
a guy that was only a starter for 4 yrs yet made 7x allstars and 6x alldefensive teams is crazy.
a 4 yr starter and yet still made the h.o.f and top 75 is kind of insane.

[Masigond]

I was thinking about mentioning McHale in the most underrated players thread over there. In another universe he had many more games like this one.

His talent is underappreciated because of how much he sacrificed: coming off the bench, playing out of position, not being more selfish like Larry, etc. He's as good as the group of PFs typically ranked above him (Duncan, Garnett, Nowitzki, Barkley, Malone, Pettit, Antetokounmpo, Davis), IMO. Played better as the games & possessions got greater. The ultimate high-leverage player.

Stick Kevin on a team built around him and he'd have pumped out 25-30 ppg, 10-12 rpg, 3-4 apg, 2-3 bpg on 55-60%+ FG & 80%+ FT seasons like clockwork. Like a PF/C Dantley with all-NBA defense.

Care to elaborate why you call Larry selfish? I've seen him as a rather unselfish player, so often passing to better positioned teammates when he could easily have taken a rather good shot himself. Which I really like as it's great for the team's efficiency and it keeps the teammates involved and happy, and thus often more motivated.

[FrodoBaggins]

I was thinking about mentioning McHale in the most underrated players thread over there. In another universe he had many more games like this one.

His talent is underappreciated because of how much he sacrificed: coming off the bench, playing out of position, not being more selfish like Larry, etc. He's as good as the group of PFs typically ranked above him (Duncan, Garnett, Nowitzki, Barkley, Malone, Pettit, Antetokounmpo, Davis), IMO. Played better as the games & possessions got greater. The ultimate high-leverage player.

Stick Kevin on a team built around him and he'd have pumped out 25-30 ppg, 10-12 rpg, 3-4 apg, 2-3 bpg on 55-60%+ FG & 80%+ FT seasons like clockwork. Like a PF/C Dantley with all-NBA defense.

Care to elaborate why you call Larry selfish? I've seen him as a rather unselfish player, so often passing to better positioned teammates when he could easily have taken a rather good shot himself. Which I really like as it's great for the team's efficiency and it keeps the teammates involved and happy, and thus often more motivated.

I said more selfish like Larry, not that Bird was inherently selfish. Like most superstar guards & wings, he was at times prone to the gratuitous superstar shots, forcing the issue when they weren't falling. When he should've taken a backseat and let McHale lead. See: 1985 Finals, 1988 ECF. So often, Kevin would score two or three times in a row, then they'd go away from him for no reason.

Maybe that's a team/coaching/scheme thing, but I do think there was a personality element at play. Bird was more willing to be self-involved & call his own number.

“I feel like Kevin McHale could be, year in and year out, the best player in the league, but sometimes I don’t think Kevin wants to be the best player, or known as the best player,” Bird said on a Boston radio show over the summer. “I really feel that . . . there have been times Kevin plays games and goes against the best defensive player he goes out there and just starts joking around and still gets 25 points, 14 rebounds, and we win going away. And (if) Kevin really wanted to, I feel he could do that night in and night out against anybody in the league.”

“When you find somebody that’s hot, you’ve got to stick with him, and that’s something we didn’t do this past spring. We were diversifying our offense, one guys shooting one time, this guy shooting the next time, and we never really got into a situation where this play’s working, so let’s work this play and when they stop that, we’ll go to something else. It wasn’t anybody in particular. In fact, a lot of times we were out of position. It was a strange thing, is strange, strange thing.”

Detroit forward John Salley, who was guarding McHale in the 1988 playoffs, probably understands. “We’re standing at the other end of the court and (Boston coach) K.C. Jones calls down to play,” Salley remembered, “and he (McHale) tells me it’s for Danny Ainge. He says, ‘Can you believe that? I make four shots in a row, and they’re calling for Danny. And I’ve got you guarding me, Salley. Now that’s not fair.’”