Show 7r-v- --- -ir t 2D Celtics Build for Future sssr "La-reeee- e ss e Where were you Larry Bird in our time of need? The wail bounced off Boston Garden rafters still decorated — like Christmas lights left up after the holiday has passed — with 16 championship banners reminders of happier times Boston's worst season in a decade had just ended Bird loss to Detroit Tuesday spent the final game — a 100-8night —in a sweater at the end of the bench instead of in a Celtics' jersey in the middle of the action Forget about the Celtics' other injuries and inexperiepee Forget about the improvement of NBA rivals The fan's cry cut right to the heart of the proud franchise's problems Without Bird the Celtics are ordinary With him they're outstanding Wait 'til next year You take Michael Jordan away from the Bulls you take Magic Johnson away from the Lakers you bee where they are" Boston center Joe Kleine said When Bird is healthy and in playing condition again "I would think that he will be what he's always been" Coach Jimmy Rodgers said "a great player" Until Bird goes through training camp without a recurrence of physical problems and shows his skills didn't wither during his lost season there will be doubts that he can be the dominant player he once was He had surgery to remove bone spurs from both heels Nov 19 and didn't play again In a sport that requires so much running jumping and changing direction there is no guarantee that his repaired feet will carry him to his previous heights Bird played in only six games this season He missed the next 79 including all three in the playoffs Boston was 42-4during the regular season its worst record since 1978-7the last time it missed the playoffs It lost the opening series to the Pistons marking only the fourth time it had been swept in the 82 playoff series in franchise history But Bird's absence wasn't all bad It accelerated Boston's already planned transition from an aging squad with a half court offense to a younger team that could run and leap ' 's ' 5 0 9 3-- 0 ''''"4-'- :t-' ''' : Had Bird been healthy all season the Celtics might have an entirely different look Reggie Lewis who took his starting spot wouldn't have had as much opportunity to emerge as an offensive force in his second NBA season Kleine and Ed Pinckney who both filled Boston's need for frontcourt depth might not have been obtained from Sacramento for Brad Lohaus and Danny Ainge Kevin Gamble a rookie guard who averaged 228 points in the last six regular-seaso- n games and showed he could consistently hit outside shots and drive aggressively to the hasket might not be on the team He was in the Continental Basketball Association when Boston signed him on Dec 15 to take Bird's roster spot Another injury knocked veteran guard Jim Paxson out for the season following wrist surgery On March 28 another CBA refugee guard Kelvin Upshaw replaced him Upshaw showed skills at filling in for starter Brian Shaw as the point man for Boston's uptempo offense although he tailed off at the end of the season In the playoffs two veteran starters were hobbled — center Robert Parish by knee and elbow tendinitis and guard Dennis Johnson by a sprained ankle — and Gamble missed the last Iwo games with a groin injury Once Bird reclaims his starting spot the Celtics could use Lewis as a sixth man who can provide much needed outside shooting Kleine and Pinckney are talented backups who can give Parish and Kevin Mcliale needed rest in the twilight of their careers Bird's absence "gave some younger guys time to play and show what they could do" Shaw said "Everything happens for a reason Who knows what would have happened if all those guys were healthy for the entire season" so it's only "The younger guys have some experience going to get better from here on out" "It was a rebuilding season for us" Lewis said "Everything that could go wrong did go wrong" The Celtics lost the decisive game to Detroit on their homecourt where they had won 15 of their previous 16 games They scored only 30 points in the final half of their season They were knocked out in the first round for the first time in 33 years The same problems that plagued them throughout the season were there at the end — an inability to sustain their offense or make big shots with the game on the line BOSTON (AP) — The hallowed hall filled so often with sounds of celebration was silent and almost empty From the balcony's shadows one lingering lan's pained plea echoed mournfully through the gloom - Air Bulls Fly Past Cavaliers 4 1989 The Salt Lake Tribune Thursday May - 3- sk- sssr A ss 's -- '7t- - '' "' s s ' s"?'-iess i - " is 'sest? ss A -- '" t n '' ?! - ' 'g ''" ''': r' " - ' r s s es k' nArt sss S s s : ens:sis ssi i" - - 4 4n ''' '' ss s nrs"sn " - ns vs'— ' '' '" n 1" ' ':: : :' ' ' 0 s zs i:4 ' 's :4 s z: i - 414 " s ' 1s If emswsw tgr - s- ti::'":::W:: ww -- '''' ' s" :5:: sassvssasystssessnesson- eo ' s ft '' ''' '' - ' t"-- 4: -- ''' -' ''' nnsns:issssnnsnwsssss--- - s::::n Rockets 126 Sonies 107: At Houston Sleepy Floyd scored 22 of his 28 points in the first half keeping Houston from playoff elimination with a ' victory over Seattle The SuperSonics lead the best-of-- 5 with the fourth series game scheduled Friday night at The Summit A fifth game if necessary would be in Seattle on Sunday ' i a x assists and hit Floyd who club playoff resri d three straight three-poin- t baskets got the Rockets off to a fast start with 10 I points as Houston used an 11-- 0 spurt to take control Houston led al- '1 t ter one quarter and the Rockets went on to lead at the half as Floyd scored 12 more points in the second I It period f Laker 116 108: At i I Portland Ore Kareem Abdul-Jab- p i t bar scored 22 points and ignited a third-quartLos Angeles rally as the f i i Lakers completed a sweep of their best-of-- 5 t 1 playoff series Los Angeles is 18-- in the first round ' t 'it I since the playoff format started in 1984 I I Byron Scott scored 25 points and t i James Worthy added 24 for the two- - time defending NBA champions Ter- ry Porter scored 24 of his 29 points in the first half for the Blazers who r were swept for the first time in the franchise's history i 41'sdt ''' - 041Mair ff 0' -- - ''''44' ' 1 1 A( :' sont 8 - 1 w tr 1 n 84 — )::: tss :1' '''' s8 s s -- 4 m" 1 'se4 ' : 77 - ' "ssisen-- ' ''' 4r-s-- 1 is t - - sk -- : 2-- 1 5 'i- 's ss nst 4s8 s'ss ss :'nk V'''' ' ''' s 1 :m1t ''1r'wmf : :: st: At v44i88x 8 8 ":4 ' Ish' 1 - : '- :s ' -8s-n- I sk115 4":''s 7 is 1 44 zs ' :7:11040 n s ' fssoT -- 44 - S 1 s-- S ' 70'"”' '''' " ' - '' -- "S8 s- snngssin - r'S'‘'-- 4 ss Tribune Wire Services Michael Jordan scored 44 points including four dutch free throws in ' the final seconds leading the Chicago Bulls to a 101-9victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers Wednesday night — lead in their best at Chicago and a 04( of-playoff series The Bulls could advance to the next round against New York with a victory in Chicago Stadium Friday night If the Cavaliers Will the final game will be played at Richfield Coliseum Sunday Jordan scored 15 points in the first seven minutes of the third quarter and the Bulls held leads of 22 points in the first half and 16 in the second half but had to fight off a late surge by the Cavaliers John Williams scoring 16 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter kept the Cavaliers in the running Cleveland to with closed the gap to 91-8play but Jordan converted a three-poin- t s play and with 104 remaining he stole the ball and went in for a slam dunk making it 90-8Cleveland then cut the deficit to 97- - 94 but Jordan's four free throws in the last 21 seconds sealed the verdict ' ''s'-''- ' ''s snsrn singts - ' siss c140 ' Pt ' ?''" rt s's iiA 4:''''''': (' 1:s t's ''"'s4'":sS :1 17'Snr s' )'nk '''' a 8s - -- s ''' - 'is1 P ' 'i i "'8 - 'nnsk- - t'A 1A:n ft' ': ss 1 trit 'i n " "s-- sTrm-s ssissssoV - sT -- Atk-?-- -' t'irl Ss '' s : s ' ' s n s 2— 8 s - '''''Iio'" :ki kr : n ' itk'''-"----'- ns s ' k s - -- - ' ' s - ss ' '''' 1 : ::- :: n:::: ssn--n""- — -- —Atsoccied PTest PtICAO Bulls' Michael Jordan (23) stops CaSS' Mark Price dead in his tracks Wednesday night Bulls' Horace Grant looks on first-roun- Pistons On Top of World After Sweeping Boston Jazz Ponder Their Playoff Ouster Continued From D-Game 3 with 26 points 11 rebounds and eight assists He ended up averaging 257 points 83 rebounds and 63 assists in his first-eve- r playoff series "You have to shoot the ball well in this game" said Sloan "They did we When they had to have a didn't basket it seemed like they got it They lived with the jump shot They didn't die with it And not many teams are able to do that" Certainly not the Jazz As a team they shot their series-hig- h — a o 447 percent — during loss in Game 1 They shot a a 123-11- 9 series-lo392 percent in Game 2 loss In Game which ended in a 3 the Jazz made only 438 percent "Sometimes that happens" Sloan shrugged "We had a tough time shooting the ball on the perimeter When during the whole series you find yourself not making your shots you've got a real problem" According to Sloan the Jazz's unex- pected demise wasn't caused by a lack of effort "I thought our guys played hard and that's all you can ask" the Jazz coach said "There will be times in this game when things don't go exact- ly the way you planned But I can live with that if guys are trying as hard as they can" For the Jazz John Stockton and Karl Malone provided much of the offense against Golden State Stockton averaged 273 points and 137 assists Overall he had 30 baskets and 41 assists meaning 71 of Utah's 115 field goals in the series came as a direct result of his play Malone averaged 306 points and 163 rebounds after a slow start in Game 1 when he scored 22 points Otherwise individual Jazzmen struggled Bob Hansen made 11 of 35 shots including 6 of 25 in the final two games Darrell Griffith made 20 of 49 shots but only 6 of 19 from three- point territory Thurl Bailey also had trouble offensively After scoring 27 points in Game 1 Sloan moved the Jazz's season-lonsixth man into the starting lineup Bailey finished with six points in 47 minutes in Game 2 He had only three minutes in points in 31 1 so-s- 99-9- 1 4 0 1 o 1 I g d Game 3 Over the final two games Bailey played 78 minutes He !clotd tontihnee points hit 4 of 17 shots and foul line just once In Game 1 Bailey But Sloan defended Bailey "My feeling is this" the Jazz coach - I explained there are different levels of smiles just like there are different levels of success The Detroit reserve instrumental in the Pistons opening-rounplayoff sweep of Boston was happy but contained after Tuesday night's 100-8g victory "I want my Ichampionshipj ring" he said "You're nut going to see all bottom teeth until 1 get my ring" explained "We put Thud in a tough situation for the food of thej team We asked him to go out on the floor and guard Mullin That's almost like asking him to guard John Stockton "Mullin can shoot from anywhere and you've got to stay up on him Defensively Thurl tried as hard as he could But that's a tough assignment" Why did Sloan ask Bailey to alter his game so drastically? "Because" he explained "Thud is our most flexible player" Inside the Jazz ran into more trou- ble Mark Eaton d series-concludin- Detroit's expectations have changed with their improved postseason results After reaching the conference finals in 1987 and the championship round in 1988 they are ready to win the title said Boston for instance blocked only two shots in 99 minutes "They kept him out on the perime- ter" said Sloan "I thought he worked as hard as he could to help us but they neutralized him by doing that" Conversely the jazz failed to deal with Manute Bol another Golden State MVP candidate Bol blocked 18 shots and altered many others in only 62 minutes He had more rejections than the entire Jazz team (15) Said Malone "Whenever you have a guy standing in the middle it's going to disrupt things" Concluded Sloan "They exposed our weaknesses and that's what basketball is all about" - ---- M2 1A14 I'l- is !en Titu 111 s - ': t Li- :I i '770 ! 1 a7r111Py 41L31""d 1 kIM COq The best green thumbs got that way by listening to the Greenhouse Show for Tips of the Week and by using EKO Premiym Compost and Richlawn Turf Food Every Saturday tune in 1160 AM I - 1' - s- - i (-- - ''' ' '5prfir ' !' 1 ICOMPOST ' sn f 1 a 0 ow ' Auk LIMMIS - Aorsinan Widens Hiciltd NLIISerN bridtics Nitrser Erickson S NiitStT hidmiligu Ullniris Ciretnhoust 8:06arn-10:00a- for the Greenhouse Show with John Berg By using our organic-basesoil conditioners your thumbs won't be the only things turning green It's called Gors Shddows Nursers' Cash Vveswrn AuR Ntirset‘ GreetiScdpe - -- 'i - feit - --- ' 'it ! 1 t 8 st I - nssas ss p I fi —ft? Pt" 1111:4 ' 1 Pa sassaap ns ni 17 ! 0 re -- 4" If ri -if 11: 1 rv I is I i t j b ti n D -- I VAtj: 4 ''' A'!"4) 7711 4 - r l' 1 Obt s' ' - : e ' 1 c' l Prices start at just $49 I7) — "! '-- ? !"7t1 ' r I 'i it ':' t THE BIGGEST BOOT SALE EVER! r(t 1 1 f-- 1 11) ': r-z- i 1 1 f ' s - kt 1 S: r i 1 1 - 1 1 tbsN:Lo t Ik 1 All I 11111 its '49" - WU 74 - i LEM : 'BELTS GUI 144- The No '59" and WRAMLER nildnts fl kin ( hi Kts '119" ItH '89" '59" SUR IRA IANIM 'BOW sON JAY' u 'POLISH 41 t A I A( t I 1 - 1 itiQen-- AVAILABLE! CERTIFICATES - W 0111014 IMP 594 ll I -- se' S ()I( ‘ it la a itttk 17 114101m1 i I i I 1 Sk ILi 00) i 4119QA Oi :h Alin I o Post Times And you can be part of the action Good food and drinks a sociable atmosphere and your chance to bet on the Derby Only Ladbroke has it all right here And we Track Post Wednesday Thursday CS 5:30 CS 5:30 Friday GU Sa GU urdav PN day through Sunday Yie115 CCP dcn "(SS -- Ca PN-Fc- Sae nn CCE-Ctdd- Gate en N11--a- l Evanston Weston's Super Budget Inn 1936 Harrison Drive t 1 807 Exit 3 1 OW APallet ROAM larallOnk Laird tri 1411k ti a iLU egotop 010 ti 1 rkstx) s- I pm pm I1:30 pm 5:30 pm 1:30 pm 5:30 pm 1:30 pm CS - Sunday - I-- - 1 I itt 4 Your Best Bet for Real Entertainment I 11 1 - :' Pt r 1 s s Day have a full schedule of racing action every Wednes- -- 3574 South kedwond Wad ttiOlo 972-19416est ‘ttliel Center Ov prn Open 511m Stit IOW a 11 i141 AS19 J9it nem tn Alnertann's in filnlell f nen I 2fit-4of Meyerwesi and - it ff orA6 : N11441111 '149" eii the greatest I 1 I f 't : WW1- r i A 4 A!: - 14 II i t( 7 bi) 1 - i N 'i -1 4 t ri EV i 4o of " 88 "-w- as onas A" a - 1 - t ' :"'''' two minutes in sports Avatidble at Alpttw Nuist!) — The next best thing to being there is betting here! d r it 0 rilllaA it KSL Radio from 1-- ! d ' il 5 t il 4 4 first-roun- - 4 ho Ise !lei Itsi ita din I 1 ! i 14' The c 1 ! KENTucKy DERBY t - Blazers 4 - --- 0 63-4- 7 I r 4 31-2- Detroit turned up the defensive pressure Dennis Rodman and Salley were the Pistons' top defensive players against the Celtics Detroit coach Chuck Daly explained their excellence as a function of desire "You can show them how to do it but unless they want to play defense it doesn't work:' he said - ------ first-quart- Coach Jimmy Rodgers "They've got all the answers in terms of depth experience et cetera We were beaten by an extremely fine basketball team- - he said The fourth quarter was decisive in each of Detroit's three wins: the Celtics' offense turned moribund when 7-- 7 free throws 14 attempted '' "La-reeee- e BOSTON (UPI) — As John Salley 2-- 1 d I - ' |