{"id":1528081,"date":"2022-09-10T09:45:00","date_gmt":"2022-09-10T13:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/?p=1528081"},"modified":"2022-09-10T09:45:02","modified_gmt":"2022-09-10T13:45:02","slug":"byron-scott-doesnt-sugarcoat-the-1980s-rivalry-between-his-los-angeles-lakers-and-the-boston-celtics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/news\/byron-scott-doesnt-sugarcoat-the-1980s-rivalry-between-his-los-angeles-lakers-and-the-boston-celtics\/","title":{"rendered":"Byron Scott Doesn't Sugarcoat the 1980s Rivalry Between His Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Byron Scott pulled no punches when he talked about the 1980s rivalry between his Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics.<\/a> He called the matchups between those teams a “true rivalry,” and he's absolutely right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NBA rivalries today don't exist. Back then, Lakers players circled the dates on the calendar when Boston came to town. Celtics players did the same. Scott recently talked about that Celtics vs. Lakers rivalry<\/a> and how things are much different today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Byron Scott won three NBA titles with the Lakers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Byron
Los Angeles Lakers guard Byron Scott and Boston Celtics forward Kevin McHale grab each other during fight in the third quarter of Game 4 of series at Boston Garden. | Getty Images.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Selected by the San Diego Clippers with the fourth overall pick in the 1983 NBA Draft, Scott was traded to the Lakers in a package for All-Star guard Norm Nixon<\/a> right before the start of the 1983-84 season. Scott earned All-Rookie honors, averaging 10.6 points in 22.1 minutes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scott immediately got a taste of playing in the NBA Finals in his rookie season, and it just so happened it was the first time his Lakers and Celtics met for a championship since 1969. With Boston's Larry Bird and LA's Magic Johnson entering their primes, the Boston\/LA rivaly was rekindled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Lakers and Celtics met in the Finals six times in the 1960s, with Boston winning each time. They squared off in '84 and things got heated during the seven-game series that Boston somehow pulled out, despite being outplayed for most of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Boston's Kevin McHale clotheslined Kurt Rambis<\/a> in Game 4 as the Lakers held a 2-1 series edge and a six-point lead in the third quarter. Moments later, Bird and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar went at it.<\/a> In Game 6, LA's James Worthy took down Cedric Maxwell<\/a> in retaliation for McHale's clothesline. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Things heated up quickly in the series, and it was only the first of three NBA Finals meetings in four years between the two teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scott stressed that Celtics vs. Lakers was a ‘true rivalry'<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Bird. Magic.
East. West.
Boston. LA.#30for30<\/a> returns with our 2-part film on June 13th exploring the 1980s Celtics and Lakers rivalry! pic.twitter.com\/nqHp4ezYVS<\/a><\/p>— 30 for 30 (@30for30) April 17, 2017<\/a><\/blockquote>