Double Achilles surgery early in 1988-89 season spelled doom; Bird-led Celts had advanced at least to East Finals every year but one from 1980-88, never to return
In the fall of 1988, the aging but proud Boston Celtics were still at the top of the NBA pecking order, however precariously, after nearly a decade of dominance.
Since Larry Bird entered the struggling league in 1979 and resuscitated a flagging franchise, Boston had posted the best composite record in the league and won three NBA titles, despite playing two-thirds of its games in the rugged Eastern Conference - and having key injuries cost them at least two more crowns, and probably more.