Bird holds steadfast to 'three and out' claim Associated Press
LOS ANGELES -- Larry Bird walked away from coaching without
a backward glance, just like he said he would.
The coaching career of one of the game's greatest players came
to an end Monday night at Staples Center when the Los Angeles
Lakers beat his Indiana Pacers 116-111 in Game 6 of the NBA Finals.
| | Larry Bird and assistant coach Dick Harter watch the Lakers finish off their Pacers in Game 6 Monday night. |
As the Pacers' final rally fell short, Bird jawed with the
referees until the final buzzer. When the championship celebration
began, Bird shook hands with Los Angeles coach Phil Jackson and
longtime Lakers fan Jack Nicholson, hugged several players and
unceremoniously departed for Indiana's locker room.
His final season as a coach ended against his greatest rival as
a player -- the Lakers. Bird had a brief encounter on the way to the
locker room with Magic Johnson, the Lakers star whose playing
career paralleled his.
Bird's three seasons on the Pacers' bench were yet another
success for the man who led the Boston Celtics to three titles as a
high-scoring forward. He signed a three-year contract with the
Pacers in 1997 and said repeatedly he had no desire to coach any
longer than his contract.
He reiterated that position just moments after leaving the
court.
"It's been a great experience, (but) three years is enough,"
Bird said. "I'm not cut out to be a coach."
His record would seem to disagree. Bird failed to lead his
home-state team to a title, but in his short tenure he picked up
one Coach of the Year Award and led Indiana to three conference
finals appearances, two Central Division crowns and its first
Eastern Conference title.
Not too bad for someone who expressed little interest in
coaching until he unexpectedly took over for Larry Brown in 1997,
saying he still had the desire to be a competitor but could no
longer do it on the court.
Three years later, everyone from young Indiana fans carrying
"Say It Ain't So, Larry" signs at Conseco Fieldhouse to team
president Donnie Walsh begged him to stay for at least another
year. Bird won't, saying only that players tend to tune out coaches
after three seasons in charge.
But he enjoyed himself to the very end. Asked how he felt in the
moments before Game 6, he said, "I'm nervous, I'm scared, and it's
a great feeling."
Bird was named Coach of the Year in 1998 after just one year on
the job. He led the Pacers to a 58-24 record and the Eastern
Conference finals, where they were edged by Michael Jordan's last
Chicago Bulls team in seven thrilling games.
Indiana got back to the conference finals after the
strike-shortened 1999 season but lost to the New York Knicks. The
Pacers won the Central Division this season and knocked off New
York in the conference finals, but they were unable to win in three
tries at Staples Center during the Finals.
Bird said he has no regrets about how his final season turned
out -- nor does he have any rekindled desire to come back next
season, even though he said he has "nothing else to do."
He has been offered a front-office position with the Pacers, and
he said he probably will decide whether to accept it within the
next few days, probably after a stop at his Florida home to "take
a deep breath."
Bird's departure is the first step in what could be a
dismantling of the Pacers. Six players are free agents -- including
every starter except Dale Davis -- and big men Rik Smits and Sam
Perkins are talking retirement.
"We were a couple of bounces here and there from making those
plays and doing something special," Pacers guard Reggie Miller
said. "As for next year, we don't know anything."
Bird seemed calm and happy during the final days of his tenure.
He leaves the Pacers in much better shape than he found them, and
he took them places they had never been.
But his competitive nature isn't quenched. Right before he left
the podium in his final news conference as coach, he was asked how
happy he was to be through.
"I'll probably be miserable the rest of my life, to tell you
the truth," he said.
It was hard to tell if he was kidding. |