Eighty-six at Forty: The Forgotten Finals

Scott and Martin close out the podcast with special guest and producer extraordinaire Arjun Singh. Together they cover the tragic end to the Celtics dynasty of the 80s and the simultaneous implosion of the young and promising Rockets and ask, "what if?"

Martin and Scott narrow the focus and home in on their idols and the two best players of the 1986 championship series -- Larry Bird and Hakeem (then Akeem!) Olajuwon -- canvassing their full careers and GOAT positions in both franchises.

Scott and Martin break down the final two games of the series -- Games 5 and 6 -- and cross swords over the infamous brawl between Jerry Sichting and Ralph Sampson. Who was at fault? Tune in and find out.

Martin and Scott explore games three and four of the series as it becomes unexpectedly close and well, actually fun to watch. And they chat with a special guest -- someone who actually PLAYED IN THE SERIES (and people thought we'd never get a good guest).

Scott and Martin deconstruct Games 1 and 2 -- the best games of the series -- when the Rockets unexpectedly roar to life, take Game 3, and make it a surprisingly competitive series. In Game 4, which Boston Globe legend Bob Ryan called "the best NBA Finals game in the previous ten years," a questionable foul swings the momentum, and the Celtics eke out a win that puts them one win from their 16th title. Scott and Martin explore the action and discuss what made greats like Bird, Sampson, Hakeem and McHale so riveting to watch.

Martin and Scott look at the first two games of the '86 series, which went quite well for Boston. As the series shifts back to Houston for games 3-5, it seems the only question is whether the Celtics will complete a historically great season with the championship sweep pundits predicted. Yet Rockets players are strangely calm despite the shellacking. Will their unearned confidence be borne out?

In their second episode, Scott and Martin start with the '81 series between the two teams and then go deep on how their '86 squads were built. Scott starts with the 80s Celtics juggernaut, winner of two rings before '86 who were then fine-tuned into a team many still call the best ever. He lathers on the praise for Larry Bird, and Red Auerbach's genius in acquiring him. Martin analyzes the less illustrious Rockets, who tanked and won two coin tosses to get the "Twin Towers," Ralph Sampson and Hakeem Olajuwon. They also discuss the Rockets' and former Celtics' coach Bill "Captain Video" Fitch, and finish with how the teams reached the championship round, including the Rockets' stunning upset of the storied Lakers on Sampson's immortal buzzer beater in Game 5.

In this first episode, Scott and Martin introduce the podcast and themselves and set the stage for the '86 series by discussing Houston's and Boston's very different sports histories and cultures and the two different franchises -- one the pride of the NBA and the other an expansion team with little history of winning. By 1986, the two cities were on strikingly different paths -- Boston as home to Mike Dukakis's "Massachusetts Miracle" and Houston enduring an oil bust after the boom years of the 1970s. They cover all this with the head of Boston's Sports Museum, Russell Sullivan.