in the next two rounds by the Milwaukee Bucks and the Detroit Pistons, only to advance each time. Still, the Celtics' health became a question mark as they entered the Finals. Los Angeles Lakers The Lakers finished the regular season with a league-best 65–17 record. Head coach Pat Riley made a strategical move, shifting the offensive focus to Magic Johnson. The Lakers acquired center Mychal Thompson via trade midway through the season. Both moves helped alleviate the load off of the aging Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who turned 40 during the playoffs. A. C. Green supplanted Kurt Rambis in the starting lineup. During the Lakers' path to the Finals they swept the Denver Nuggets in the first round, defeated the Golden State Warriors in five games during the second round, and swept the Seattle SuperSonics in the conference finals. This 1987 Lakers team is widely considered both Magic Johnson’s best team, and one of the greatest teams in NBA history. There are many reasons for this besides Magic Johnson being league MVP this year instead of Larry Bird: Kareem was still in late prime condition, the Lakers had many scoring options, they had an excellent defense which included defensive player of the year and Michael Cooper, and Michael Thompson’s elite post defense Meant they had another body to throw at the lakes of McHale and Parish of the Celtics. Road to the Finals Regular season series The Los Angeles Lakers won both games in the regular season series: Series summary Game 1 The Lakers were coming off a four-game sweep of the Seattle SuperSonics, while the Celtics were coming off a grueling seven-game win over the Detroit Pistons. Magic Johnson led a 126–113 victory with 29 points, 13 assists, eight rebounds and no turnovers. James Worthy, on the receiving end of many of Johnson's passes, had 33 points and nine rebounds. The Lakers ran 35 fast breaks in the first two quarters and led by 15 at intermission. Game 2 The Celtics plan for Game 2 was to concentrate on stopping Magic Johnson. Danny Ainge, at 6'5", could not deal with the 6'9" Magic. In this game, Michael Cooper emerged as a great 3 point shooter. He hit six 3 pointers, a playoff record. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar added 23 points on 10 of 14 shots, while Magic posted 20 assists and 22 points. It all added up to a 141–122 rout, Boston's sixth