Behind the Bucks Pass
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Milwaukee Bucks: 49 years in 49 days – 1986-87 season

By Ti Windisch

BOSTON, MA - CIRCA 1987: Larry Bird #33 of the Boston Celtics shoots a free-throw against the Milwaukee Bucks during an NBA game circa 1987 at The Boston Garden in Boston Massachusetts. Bird played for the Celtics from 1979-92. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA - CIRCA 1987: Larry Bird #33 of the Boston Celtics shoots a free-throw against the Milwaukee Bucks during an NBA game circa 1987 at The Boston Garden in Boston Massachusetts. Bird played for the Celtics from 1979-92. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images) /
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The Milwaukee Bucks faced challenges during their 1986-87 season, but still cranked out a good year with a solid postseason run.

The season: 1986-87

The record: 50-32

The postseason: 6-6, lost in second round

The story:

Sometimes life just isn’t fair. The Milwaukee Bucks sported such great teams in the early 1980s, but with legendary opponents like the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers around Milwaukee could never make it out of the East.

Then, just as Terry Cummings began to get into his prime, the Bucks main star, Sidney Moncrief, began to really struggle with leg issues. After a lengthy run of All-Star nods and other accolades, Moncrief could barely play in the 1986 NBA Playoffs.

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Unfortunately, those injury concerns carried over into the 1986-87 NBA season. Sid the Squid was only able to play in 39 regular season games, and in those contests he averaged just 11.8 points in the 25.4 minutes per game he could offer.

Moncrief was trying his damnedest, but he only had so much to give to his Bucks. Even without their anchor, Milwaukee found ways to win thanks to some other contributors. Terry Cummings continued to be a dominant scorer, putting up more than 20 points per game in his fifth NBA season.

Additionally, a pair of guards did their best to fill Moncrief’s shoes. Ricky Pierce and John Lucas both provided scoring punch from the backcourt, with Pierce putting up 19.5 points per game and Lucas, a newcomer that year, posting 17.5 per game in his 43 games with Milwaukee.

Another newcomer, Jack Sikma, had a strong first season as the Bucks center after the team dealt Alton Lister for him and some draft picks. The stout big man played in all 82 games and posted averaged of 12.7 points, 10.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.1 blocks per game, a testament to his well-rounded skill set.

Various injuries and roster churning led to a lot of moving parts during the regular season. The Bucks roster was home to 22 players at one point or another, with many of them only staying for several games before their time was up.

Despite all of that, the Bucks remained a top-five defense, a staple of the Don Nelson era. Milwaukee’s strong defense and capable defense entered the postseason, and a first round match-up against the Philadelphia 76ers, after a solid 50-win season.

Even with the issues Milwaukee was dealing with and the Bucks horrid history against Philly from earlier in the decade, the Bucks were yet again able to squeeze out a series win over the legend-packed Sixers.

Charles Barkley, Julius Erving, and Maurice Cheeks certainly had more star power than Milwaukee, but the Bucks prevailed in five games anyway, winning the series 3-2.

Next up was the Boston Celtics, a historic juggernaut who refused to take a year off of dominating the East since being swept by Milwaukee a few years back.

The Celtics, unsurprisingly, knocked out the banged up Bucks. What was surprising is that it took Larry Bird and company seven games to do so. It looked like the series was over a few times, with Boston holding both 2-0 and 3-1 leads, but huge Bucks wins in Games 5 and 6 forced a deciding Game 7 in Boston.

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If the Sixers were packed with potent players, the Celtics were laughably stuffed with stars. Bird, Dennis Johnson, Kevin McHale, and Robert Parish all averaged more than 20 points per game in the series, with Larry Legend nearly putting up 30.

Still, T.C. and, somehow, Moncrief countered by averaging 20-plus per game themselves, and in addition four more Bucks put up at least 14 per game. Boston was more top-heavy, but Nelson’s Bucks played together well and spread the touches out.

They almost did it well enough to take down the Celtics. In a close Game 7 that saw Paul Pressey drop 28 points, Bird posted 31 and McHale added 26 to Boston’s cause as they advanced to the Conference Finals, winning 119-113.

Next: 49 years in 49 days: 1985-86 season

In what was a sad trend for the 1980s Bucks, a really strong regular season ended at the hands of a buzzsaw of a Celtics team. It could–and would–be worse, though.

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