Now A Big Five

Offseason foot surgery kept Kevin McHale out of the Celtics lineup until December 1987 as Boston struggled to an 11-8 start. But once the full starting five was in place, the Celtics dominated by winning 44 of the next 57 games en route to their fifth straight Atlantic Division championship. Danny Ainge gave the Celtics a big boost in his only All-Star campaign as he led the NBA in 3-pointers. Larry Bird also earned All-Star honors and finished third in the league in scoring, while McHale made the All-Defense First Team.