November 11, 1988 – Playing through bone spurs in both feet that’d lead the Celtics to shutting him down just four days following this contest, Larry Bird finished with 24 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 assists in a 116-107 early season loss to the Detroit Pistons. While he was efficient (8-of-14 shooting, one turnover), it was apparent throughout the evening that Bird needed to pick his spots, unable to strike in a manner typically expected.
After being shut down just six games into the 1988-89 campaign, Bird returned to play 75 games the following season, finishing ninth in the league in scoring (24.3 points per game) for a 52-win Celtics team.
Box Score: https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/198811110BOS.html
Special Thanks to Hardwood and Hoops
1 Comment
Wow this is rare! I haven’t seen any highlights of him from the 88-89 season. It does look like he is moving around gingerly in this.
I wonder what would have happened if he had addressed the bone spurs in the 88 offseason (he had foot discomfort going back to the 88 ECSF). Celtics would have contended in 89.