The Milwaukee Bucks rode the wave generated by two sensational stars pretty far during the 1982-83 NBA season.
The season: 1982-83
The record: 51-31
The postseason: 5-4, lost in Conference Finals
The story:
The Milwaukee Bucks took yet another loss to the Philadelphia 76ers in the second round of the NBA Playoffs in stride at the start of the 1982-83 NBA season. The Bucks had some postseason warts, sure, but they continued to dominate the competition for the rest of the year.
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With Sidney Moncrief and Marques Johnson on the roster, it was pretty obvious why Milwaukee didn’t have problems with any teams but the absolute best ones. Sid the Squid was an All-Star the season before, but the 1982-83 season really cemented his legacy in a lot of ways.
First off, he quickly backed up his All-Star season with another, proving he was here to stay. Even more importantly, Moncrief’s defense was so tight the NBA just so happened to introduce the Defensive Player of the Year award in 1983, and none other than Moncrief would be the first-ever recipient of it.
His offense wasn’t half-bad either. Moncrief averaged 22.5 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and 1.5 steals per game. Leading any team in scoring is a big-time accomplishment. Leading a team with prime Marques Johnson in scoring is on another level.
Marques didn’t take the year off himself. The original MJ put up 21.4 points, 7.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 1.3 steals per game during the ’82-83 season. Both Moncrief and Marques were All-Stars that year.
Unfortunately, a bad trade involving a different MJ had negative repercussions on Milwaukee. Mickey Johnson, who had a great series against the 76ers in the previous postseason, was dealt after just six games for Phil Ford and a future second round pick.
Ford was a noticeable downgrade from Johnson, who went on to have a nice season for the New Jersey Nets and Golden State Warriors after the deal. A trade for a point guard was necessary, thanks to Milwaukee giving up their own starting floor general earlier in the year.
Quinn Buckner, who had been a two-way contributor who fit perfectly in Don Nelson’s team-based offense, was dealt in September for Dave Cowens. Younger readers of this entire series of articles might initially rejoice–Cowens tore up the Bucks last time he met up with Milwaukee in the playoffs!
The problem was that Cowens had retired after the 1980 postseason. He stayed retired for the 1980-81 season. And the 1981-82 season. Then came out of retirement at age 34, somehow still as a Celtic, and netted his old club Quinn Buckner.
He lasted 41 games before retiring again, leaving the Bucks without two big-time players from their last playoff jaunt. Moncrief and Marques were good enough to get Milwaukee to 51 regular season wins, but could they carry the Bucks through the postseason even with a light supporting cast?
Early on, the answer seemed to be yes. After getting a bye into the second round, the Bucks met up with the Larry Bird-led Boston Celtics. Milwaukee, shockingly, swept the Celtics for the first time ever in a seven-game series. Boston responded by letting head coach Bill Fitch go after the season, and going on a legendary tear for the rest of the decade.
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The victory meant the Bucks were going to the Eastern Conference Finals, and taking on a very familiar nemesis–the Philadelphia 76ers. Philly had sent the Bucks packing in seven games two postseasons prior, and in six games in the season before.
Unfortunately for Milwaukee, the Sixers continued the pattern and beat the Bucks in five in 1983. Julius Erving was aging out of his prime, but stellar contributions from Andrew Toney and a prime Moses Malone made up for his sagging production.
For the second straight postseason, Moncrief’s scoring dropped heavily against Philly, again going down to about 15 points per game. Without the scoring punch Mickey Johnson provided the postseason prior, the Bucks didn’t have the firepower to outlast Philadelphia.
Next: 49 years in 49 days: 1981-82 season
Who knows how differently that series–and decade–could’ve looked if Milwaukee still had Buckner, who missed the last Sixers series due to a thumb injury, and Johnson, who tore up Philly last time around.