NBA Dynasty Series - Boston Celtics - The Complete History
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Description of NBA Dynasty Series - Boston Celtics - The Complete History
Over the past 50 years the Celtics have won an unprecedented 16 World Championships including 8 in a row from 1959-1966, making them the the most storied franchise in NBA history. This 5-disc special edition collector's set features the complete Boston Celtics history including year-end compilation programs highlighting the Championship seasons. Plus for the first time ever on DVD, the team's most memorable games in franchise history.Sports reviews of NBA Dynasty Series - Boston Celtics - The Complete History
Customer Review: The way basketball should be played.
Sport shop rating: 5 Stars
Brillant dvd pack with all the best plays of Celtic basketball and the added bonus of Bird vs Magic.This is the way basketball should be played -entertaining TEAM basketball.Great viewing for all Celtic & basketball fans.Customer Review: NBA Dynasty Series
Sport shop rating: 5 Stars
purchased this as a christmas gift for my husband who is very difficult to shop for; he hasn't had time yet to watch the dvd's but i'm sure it will bring him great pleasure to relive those great celtic moments...Customer Review: Great return to classic basketball
Sport shop rating: 4 Stars
The Boston Celtics have won 16 NBA championships but none since 1986. They have had 3 distinct classic periods- the Russell Dynasty of 1956-69, the scrappy 71-77 teams of Cowens and Havilcek, and the classic Bird Era of 79-88. Since then they have had diminishing returns, with the occasional playoff run. The Boston Garden is gone, replaced by the sterile, anonymous "Garden"- but it isn't THE Garden. Years of consecutive sell-outs have been replaced by indifferent fans and empty stands. The players people cared about are long gone, replaced by constantly shifting faces of competent if not spectacular talents. While the players can't really be blamed for simply being a part of the general vibe of the NBA of the early 21st century, it has to be admitted the Celtics Pride we remember is not as apparent. So what we have left are the memories, and this box encapsulates some of those great moments in Celtics history.
Discs 1 and 2 contain 10 different historical documentaries. There are two disappointments here. One is the barely 4 minute piece on the Celtics from 1988 to the present. It's not as if there is nothing to talk about. The fact remains that there have been some highlights since Bird's decline but they are glossed over here. The team was actually pretty fun to watch from 1989-93 and 2001-2003.
Also, there is zero info on the pre-Auerbach days of 46-50. Sure they were not champions, but to simply ignore the story of the team's very creation seems strange considering this is a "complete history".
Two other major events that are glossed over are the tragic deaths of rookie Lenny Bias (cocaine OD) and star Reggie Lewis (officially: heart irregularity)). I don't feel any Celtic history is complete without a more detailed analysis of these events, because they greatly affected the team's future. Sure it is bad news, and the idea here is to keep things upbeat and stress the championships won. But a "complete history" should live up to its name.
Lenny Bias was to be the shot in the arm of youth the aging '86 champs would need to defend their title. Add the "what-ifs" of a healthy Walton and Wedman and the `87 Celtics may very well have won 70 games. Instead, they won 59 and went to 6 games with the Lakers in the Finals, and were within one Magic baby hook of changing the series around. The documentary included in this box about that season is inspiring- the starting five had numerous injuries but trudged on. But it was also a marker of things to come.
It is apparent the Celtics had too many stiffs on the bench in 87 and 88, the last two Bird years the team was in true title contention. The fact is the team had no cards to play with- all the money had been put on the Bias pick. KC Jones had to run his starting five of Ainge, DJ, Chief, Bird and McHale into the ground because there was no one else to go to reliably. In retrospect you wonder why they never got one more key player somewhere to help out. Bird for example may very well have been able to play longer.
Unfortunately the Celtics have lost their touch and luck of the leprechaun for getting incredible talent. The parade of nondescript and underachieving people- both coaches and players-since 1988 is unfortunate. When will Celtics ball be magic again? They used to own Boston!
Discs 3 to 5 contain the 6 games (and one quarter of Game 7 of the 69 finals against LA). The footage is amazing despite some glitches in the video. The clothes worn by the commentators of the 76 Game 5 game against the Suns are a riot- Rick Barry looks like he is off to the disco after the game. Dick Stockton's play-by-play of the 81 Philly game is a bit irritating, most likely due to the fact that the Garden was so loud and he had to shout constantly during his radio-like play-by-play.
I had the pleasure of attending the `84 Finals Game 5 (the 97 degree game, a classic), `85 Finals Game 6 (Celts lose the title at home-- Bird had injured hand in bar fight and was missing lay-ups), `86 Finals Game 6 ("Sampson is a sissy" and Celts regain title) and the `87 Semis Game 5 against Detroit (Bird steals it). The Garden was a hot, cramped, stuffy, smoky place, but it was perfect for Bird ball. I also attended basketball camps run by Red and Larry in `81 and `82, held at the same time as the rookie camps. Watching and listening to clinics run by Red, ML Carr, McHale, Larry, Ainge, etc, are cherished memories for life. Bird used to announce bedtime for the campers over the PA a la Bill Murray in Meatballs with "This is the Ayatollah Bird. Time for lights out, go to sleep". He had a very understated but hilarious dry ironic humor. There were literally dozens of amazing basketball moments growing up during the Bird Era, both regular season and playoffs. Late nights as a young teenager were spent sitting in front of the TV watching games against the West elite teams like San Antonio, LA and Denver when you knew you had to get up early for school the next day.
The six games included are all classics, but there are more out there. The Larry Legend DVD is also a must have, because it contains 3 other great games of the Bird Era.
More of the `81 Philly series would be nice..Or the `82 Washington series...or regular season games like the epic battle in LA in `86, with Walton blocking Kareem's sky hook, or Parish hitting a last second winner in a 145-144 score-a-thon against Denver at the Garden around `83 ....Great stuff. The list is long. Even series lost had their moments- Game 4 of the `85 Finals in LA where DJ sinks the game winner at the buzzer for example.
Those days are gone forever but we have this box set to hold us over until the next Celtics team to win the title, whenever that may be. Or until the next Celtics DVD set, which I will gladly purchase!
Customer Review: Remembering The Past Is Important...
Sport shop rating: 4 Stars
...especially when it is as full of pride and tradition embodied by the Boston Celtics. This DVD set preserves so many priceless moments in the history of the franchise, highlighting nearly all of Celtics' great eras.
The documentaries are a little light on actual Celtics footage and history...
For example, the chapter on the 1984 season covers the All-Star game and the number of Johnson's playing in the NBA that year, and glosses over non-Celtics playoff series up until the historic NBA Finals between the Larry-led Celtics and Magic-led Lakers... although the footage and commentary of the Finals is superb.
Likewise, the 1986 chapter has a whole segment on Hakeen Olajuwon's bio and doesn't really put the spotlight on the Celtics until the playoffs.
(By contrast, the Video Yearbook of the 1985-86 Celtics titled "Season of the Shooting Stars" covers that team and that season in astounding depth. If you can find a copy of it on VHS, the Leprechaun is on your side!)
Nevertheless, any Celtics fan should have a copy of this DVD set. The actual game footage, which consitutes 5 of the 7 discs, makes it worth the price. I've watched the 2 games from the 1984 Finals - possibly the best Finals in NBA history - several times and the energy of those games is gripping. Seeing Kevin McHale clothesline Kurt Rambis in Game 4 to turn the series around, Larry Bird nailing clutch jumpers and foul shots, and then-captain Cedric Maxwell coming up big in the decisive 7th game, is reliving sports history at its best.
This DVD set preserves some if not all of the Celtics past and is worth owning because this is what true sports fans do: preserve the past, NOT live in it as some blatantly anti-Celtic reviewers here would like to think. Remembering the past is so important for Celtics fans, or fans of any sports team with a long history of ups and downs, because it creates hope for the future.
Sure the Celtics have struggled since the end of Larry Legend's career, suffering from bad managment and lack of talent and unity, but they are rebuilding for a return to glory much like both their archrival Los Angeles Lakers and baseball equivalent New York Yankees did around the turn of the century. Only time will tell if they fly or fall.
Meanwhile, this DVD serves as a reminder to all fans of what the Celtics have achieved in the past and keeps alive the memories, pride, and tradition of this unique sports franchise.
Customer Review: HAVLICEK STOLE THE BALL !!
Sport shop rating: 4 Stars
The other reviewers have said it all. There's not much to add.
I'd emphasize each disc, of the five in the set, has video on BOTH sides ... so we are talking about LOTS of highlights and full-length copies of games. It takes a whole "rainy day" to watch it.
DISC ONE
A-
INTRO
VIDEO: "THE CELTICS DYNASTY"
B-
VIDEO: BOSTON CELTICS: "A TRADITION OF GREATNESS"
THE CELTS ARE BACK: 1974 NBA PLAY-OFFS
THE GREATEST GAME EVER PLAYED: 1976 NBA PLAY-OFFS
RIVALRY RENEWED: 1984 NBA PLAY-OFFS
DISC TWO
A-
DYNASTY RENEWED: 1981 NBA PLAY-OFFS
1983-84 NBA SEASON: "PRIDE AND PASSION"
B-
SWEET SIXTEEN: 1986 NBA PLAY-OFFS
1986-87 NBA SEASON: "HOME OF THE BRAVE"
VIDEO: "SEARCHING FOR NUMBER 17"
DISC THREE
A-
1969 NBA FINALS: CELTICS V. LAKERS (GAME 7)
[4TH QUARTER/POST-GAME ONLY]
1976 NBA FINALS: CELTICS V. PHOENIX SUNS (GAME 5)
B-
1981 NBA EAST CONF FINALS: CELTICS V. SIXERS (GAME 7)
DISC FOUR
A-
1984 NBA FINALS: CELTICS V. LAKERS (GAME 4)
B-
1984 NBA FINALS: CELTICS V. LAKERS (GAME 7)
DISC FIVE
A-
1986 NBA FINALS: CELTICS V. ROCKETS (GAME 4)
B-
1987 NBA EAST CONF FINALS: CELTICS V. PISTONS (GAME 5)
My favorite segment of the entire series had to have been Game #7, as won by the Celts over the Lakers, in 1969, as Bill Russell and Sam Jones were retiring. You get 4th Quater and post-game only.
I still liked it because, as a grade-schooler at the time, I was not allowed to stay up late enough, on a Monday night, to watch that game live from Los Angeles. In those days, the networks lacked the "juice," so as to get weekday games from out west into "prime time."
I think that game may have tipped off at 10:30 p.m. EST -- way too late for me, then !! So I love seeing it now.
Pass the word ... the Celts are back !!