It’s hard not to feel bad for Larry Bird after watching one of the most embarrassing losses in NBA history. The four-time champion broke down several times while speaking with LeBron James and Jalen Rose following his team’s 115-89 loss to the Chicago Bulls on Thursday night.
Jalen Rose was a guest on ESPN’s Jalen & Jacoby show with his co-host, Michael Smith. The two were discussing the NBA Conference Finals and how Larry Bird told him he screwed up after their Pacers lost to Michael Jordan and the Bulls in the Conference Finals. “I was pissed,” said Bird.
Larry Bird had incredible success as a player for the Boston Celtics, but what he accomplished as a head coach for the Indiana Pacers in a short period of time made his legacy much more spectacular.
For three seasons, Bird led the Pacers, who were one of the top teams in the league. Reggie Miller, Mark Jackson, Rik Smits, Chris Mullin, and Jalen Rose were all key players in Indiana’s rise to prominence in the Eastern Conference.
However, Larry Legend’s club fell short of reaching the NBA Finals in his first season as coach, falling in the Eastern Conference Finals against Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. And, after their heartbreaking Game 7 defeat, Bird did something few coaches do: he informed Rose he’d made a mistake.
Larry Bird led the Indiana Pacers to the Eastern Conference Finals in 1998.
*{padding:0;margin:0;overflow:hidden} html,bodyheight:100% img,spanposition:absolute;width:100% ;top:0;bottom:0;margin:auto;bodyheight:100% html,bodyheight:100% html,bodyheight:100% html,bodyheight:100% html,bodyheight:100% html,bodyheight:100% html,bodyhe spanheight:1.5em;text-align:center;font:48px/1.5 sans-serif;color:white;text-shadow:0 0 0.5em black;text-shadow:0 0 0.5em black;text-shadow:0 0 0.5em black;text-shadow:0 0 0.5em black;text-shadow:0 0 0.5em black;text-shadow
The Pacers were coming off a poor 1996-97 season. They finished 39-43 and missed the playoffs for the first time in seven years.
After that season, the club parted ways with head coach Larry Brown and hired Larry Bird to take his position. Bird then turned Indiana into a championship contender.
In his debut season as coach, the Pacers finished 58-24 and cruised through the first two rounds of the playoffs. They won 3-1 against the Cleveland Cavaliers and 4-1 against the New York Knicks.
Indiana, on the other hand, faced the “Last Dance” Chicago Bulls in the Eastern Conference Finals. Michael Jordan’s squad took a 2-0 series lead, but Reggie Miller’s team tied the series at 2-2 by winning both of their home games by two points apiece. Following that, the teams split Games 5 and 6, forcing a Game 7 in Chicago.
After losing against Michael Jordan and the Bulls, Larry Legend admits he made a mistake.
On June 1, 1999, Indiana Pacers head coach Larry Bird during a game versus the New York Knicks. | Getty Images/Vincent Laforet
Game 7 was a contested game, as were the most of the others in the series. Indiana led by eight points after the first quarter, but Chicago battled back to take a 48-45 lead at halftime, then a 69-65 edge after three quarters.
All of this set the tone for a tight fourth quarter.
Jalen Rose had yet to develop into the 20-point-per-game scorer he would eventually become for the Pacers, averaging 9.4 points per game that season, but he tied the game 69-69 with two big shots at the opening of the fourth quarter.
Bird, on the other hand, pulled Rose out of the game a few minutes later.
He never returned to the room.
On the Dec. 9 edition of All The Smoke, Rose commented, “I was angry.” “I was furious. ‘I can’t believe what just occurred,’ I thought.
Jordan and his teammates then sealed the deal, winning 88-83 to go to their sixth NBA Finals in eight years.
Rose didn’t have any media obligations after the game since he wasn’t yet a prominent player. So he “had a shower pill” and then proceeded to the bus, intending not to speak to any of the coaches, he added.
“I stepped up and thought to myself, ‘Damn, Larry’s already on here,’” he said. “… I felt like a child who was upset with his parents: ‘I’m simply going to stroll by him and say nothing.’ ‘Jalen,’ he said…. He was holding a beer can in his hand. ‘I f***** up,’ he said. I should’ve gotten you out there again.’… He didn’t have to tell me that. Even if he felt that way, he didn’t have to express it to me, and I’m well aware of that. ‘I ain’t going to say anything further about that,’ I said. That’s when I let it go.’”
Bird may have made a mistake by benching Rose, but he won a great deal of respect from his teammates that night. And it eventually paid off handsomely for Larry Legend.
The Pacers were led to the NBA Finals by Jalen Rose and Larry Bird.
[email protected] on the Pacers’ 2000 NBA Finals matchup with Shaq and Kobe:
“We had a chance to win. In overtime, we lost Game 4. Shaq fouled out, and Kobe Bryant, the late great, took over the game. We did all we could since we have the necessary depth and adaptability.” pic.twitter.com/jREbG5dAgQ
30 September 2021 — Club Shay Shay (@ClubShayShay)
Larry Bird made amends to Jalen Rose over the following two seasons after making that expensive error. In 1998-99, he gave him a bit more playing time, but in 1999-2000, Bird made Rose the starter. After that, the Michigan product went from scoring 11.1 points per game the previous year to scoring 18.2 points per game and receiving the NBA’s Most Improved Player Award.
The Pacers as a whole continued to be dominant.
Following another trip to the conference finals in 1998-99, Rose assisted Bird in leading the team to the NBA Finals in 1999-2000. They fell in six games to the Los Angeles Lakers, but it was the franchise’s only Finals appearance, which meant a lot to the fans.
After the season, Bird decided to step down as a coach.
Larry Legend’s coaching career may have been brief, but it was impressive. He reached three conference finals and the NBA Finals, and many of his teammates admired him.
Overall, it demonstrated that Bird isn’t simply a former basketball player, but also someone with a high basketball IQ.
Basketball Reference provided the statistics.
RELATED: Larry Bird ‘Assisting in the Revitalization of a Former Basketball Star’s Career, Which Eventually Lead to Them Becoming Quite Wealthy: ‘I’m Going to Eat All of the Steak and Lobster I Want’
Related Tags
- jalen rose net worth
- larry bird coach
- jalen rose stats
