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When Hawks vs. Celtics Meant Excitement

May 13, 2012 in by Curtis Harris with 0 Comments

via St. Louis Sports History

The past two weeks, the cries of basketball fans everywhere have pleaded for the horrendous Boston Celtics – Atlanta Hawks 1st round series to end. Despite these pleas, the basketball gods willed that that contest continue for 6 excruciating games. Mercifully, it ended Thursday but in a typically painful way: mismanaged calls by refs and missed free throws by players.

However, Celtics vs. Hawks wasn’t always cause for concern. In fact, back in the late 1950s and early 1960s, it was the best match-up around in the NBA. To be precise, from 1957 to 1961, the St. Louis Hawks and the Boston Celtics met in the NBA Finals 4 times. There was plenty of in-game heroics and pre-game shenanigans to entertain all during this stretch, but that first clash in 1957 was perhaps the best.

There was oodles of back story, intrigue and, most importantly, delightful on-court play.

Seeds of a Rivalry

The antipathy between this New England city and Missouri burgh begins where all great rivalries do… the Tri-Cities of Iowa and Illinois.

Actually, let’s back this train up a bit further. The story begins in Buffalo, New York. It is there where Ben Kerner, a local businessman, established the Buffalo Bisons in the National Basketball League (NBL) in that league’s 1946-47 season, its 11th. Also started that year was the upstart Basketball Association of America (BAA). Unimportant right now, but hold that thought on the BAA.

Kerner’s experiment with pro basketball in Buffalo ended like all previous attempts did: failure. There had been two previous incarnations of “Buffalo Bisons” that went up in smoke. There was one in the American Basketball League of the 1920s and a previous one in the NBL (then known as the Midwest Basketball Conference) during the mid-1930s. Both attempts collapsed after a single season. This newest attempt by Kerner didn’t even last that long. The team suffering from horrendous attendance bolted for Moline, Illinois after 13 games.

Now, I know we’ve all contemplated packing our bags and moving to Moline for a fresh start, however Kerner actually went through with this plan not only because Buffalo was terrible for attendance, but Moline was excellent for it. 3 weeks before the move, a neutral site game between the Chicago Gears (with George Mikan) and Indianapolis Kautskys had drawn over 4,000 fans. That was stellar attendance and Kerner took note and thus the Tri-Cities Blackhawks were born.

Sidenote: Ben Kerner this season employed Hall of Famer William “Pop” Gates as a Blackhawk. Gates was African-American. In fact, the NBL occasionally had been using black players for years, predating Jackie Robinson in MLB.

Over the next couple of seasons, the Blackhawks were an above average team always making the playoffs in the NBL and the times seemed decent. Then along came a merger with the BAA in 1950 that created the NBA. The NBL had primarily been located in modest-sized Midwestern cities, while the BAA was in larger East Coast locales. The merger set in motion economic forces that would move the Blackhawks from the Tri-Cities of Moline, Davenport and Rock Port to Milwaukee, Wisconsin (renamed just “Hawks”) and then finally to St. Louis in order to financially compete with the old BAA teams in New York, Philadelphia and Boston. Not that any of those teams were rolling in dough. No one in professional basketball was then. But these moves were the difference between life and death for Kerner.

Before leaving the Tri-Cities, though, Kerner employed a plucky coach with a loud mouth and an enormous chip on his shoulder: Arnold “Red” Auerbach.

Although only 32, Auerbach, already had a good track record as coach with the Washington Capitals before arriving in the Tri-Cities in 1950, the year of the NBL-BAA merger. With the Caps in the BAA, Auerbach had amassed a .684 win percentage overall and a single-season win percentage of .817 in 1947. That would not be bested until the 1967 76ers. Auerbach had also demonstrated a keen touch in making personnel decisions in Washington.

Upon being hired in the Tri-Cities, Auerbach extracted from Kerner a promise to leave him total control over personnel. As you may guess, that pledge was quickly broken by Kerner who meddled in affairs and ultimately drove Red from the Tri-Cities after just one season. The broken promise and their clash of personalities, however, had cast the dye for the vitriol of the 1957 NBA Finals.

via bestsportsphotos.com

2012 NBA Playoffs, Celtics Vs. 76ers Lineup Analysis And Why Boston Will Win In 6 Games

May 12, 2012 in by Steve von Horn with 1 Comment

The Philadelphia 76ers don’t really deserve to be in the second round of the 2012 NBA Playoffs. Make no mistake, the Chicago Bulls would have destroyed them with a healthy Derrick Rose and a spry Joakim Noah. Heck, the Bulls came one C.J. Watson mistake away from forcing a Game 7 at the United Center. The Sixers have been dealing with some problems in the second half of the season. I wrote about their tendency to fall into a pattern of shooting mid-range jumpers back in April and broke the whole issue down in much greater detail, but here’s the most relevant snippet:

Undisciplined teams like the Charlotte Bobcats, Washington Wizards and Cleveland Cavaliers are willing patsies in Doug Collins’ defense-oriented plan, but those teams won’t be in the playoff bracket. When compared to the NBA at-large, Philadelphia often looks like the smart team in the room. On most nights, Collins can simply say “we don’t feel like contested two-point field goals will beat you,” and still sound like a genius. However, the landscape is starting to change, and when compared to well-refined teams like the Miami Heat, Chicago Bulls and Orlando Magic, the Sixers are suddenly the dummies taking all of the long twos and sinking into oblivion. They have slipped into the quicksand of inefficiency as better teams chip away at their defensive dominance and exploit their offensive addiction to sub-optimal attempts.

Throughout the 2011-12 NBA season, the Sixers have been among the league leaders in terms of percentage of total shots taken between 10-23 feet. That’s an efficiency dead zone where offensive rebounds and shooting percentages go to die, generally speaking. The Celtics aren’t exactly the polar opposite of Philly, and in many ways they are a bizzarro world version that found ways to get better in the second half of the season by starting Kevin Garnett at center and allowing Avery Bradley to take the starting shooting guard spot from Ray Allen. I don’t think the Sixers have gotten over the problems that plagued them during the second half of the season, but I do think the Celtics have become a better team. Here’s how the lineups compare:

A New Lineup Analysis Tool (.GIF File On 20-Second Intervals)

Here is my attempt at creating a lineup analysis tool where players are compared to the average values at their position (20+ min/gm positional averages are used). For example, say Player X has an Assist Rate of 20.43, while the average NBA SF (20+ min) has an AR of 17.8. I express the value as it relates to the positional average, so Player X’s Assist Rate is 14.7% better than average (which would point upwards and list 14.7 on the graph).

Philadelphia had good success against the Celtics during the regular season, but Boston was never quite operating at full strength. According to NBA.com/stats, no five-man lineup for Boston played more than 15 minutes against the Sixers in the regular season. That’s odd for two teams in the same division. One thing I always like to do for the playoffs is to see how the top players from the higher-seeded team played against the opposition, because rotations tighten up and those guys will be on the court together a lot during the series.

In this case, Boston comes out looking good. When the trio of Garnett, Pierce and Rondo were on the floor together (55 total minutes), the Cs accumulated a +17.2 pts / 100 possessions net rating — 117.0 Offensive Efficiency, 99.8 Defensive Efficiency. Along the same lines, the group of Bradley, Pierce and Rondo (26 total minutes) produced a stellar +28.1 net rating. Those guys are going to play a ton of minutes together, and while the small sample size means it likely won’t hold up at that level, the short bursts of dominance bode well when coupled with the experience of Doc Rivers and the Celtics overall.

Meanwhile, three of the top-five most-used lineups (filled with starters that will be playing heavy minutes in the playoffs) by Sixers in head-to-head regular season games against the Celtics played terrible basketball in short stints. Here’s the quick rundown:

4-Man Lineups	MIN	OffRtg	DefRtg	NetRtg
Brand,Elton – Hawes,Spencer – Holiday,Jrue – Turner,Evan	22	106.3	139.3	-33
Brand,Elton – Hawes,Spencer – Iguodala,Andre – Turner,Evan	20	106.3	133.1	-26.8
Hawes,Spencer – Holiday,Jrue – Iguodala,Andre – Turner,Evan	20	106.3	133.1	-26.8

Advanced Stat Breakdown

I don’t think this will be an easy series for either team. They don’t play easy styles. Everything is a grind, and it all stems from disciplined defense. The Sixers matchup well across the board and boast solid depth to match the Celtics, but Boston has better top players that are more reliable under a playoff intensity. Paul Pierce is going to get to the right elbow when the game is on the line. Rajon Rondo is going to create open looks for Kevin Garnett from the mid-range. I’ve never felt particularly fatalistic about a series, but I do in this case. The Celtics are going to get the job done somehow.

Prediction: Celtics In 6

For my other predictions and deeper analysis on other matchups, check out these other Hardwood Paroxysm articles:

A Full Eastern Conference Playoff Breakdown With First Round Picks Included

A Full Western Conference Breakdown With First Round Picks Included

My Piece On The Philadelphia 76ers From April

Heat vs. Pacers Prediction And Lineup Analysis

Statistical support for this story from NBA.com

Waiting for the Train with Bob Cousy and Chuck Cooper

May 9, 2012 in by Curtis Harris with 1 Comment

nolifebeforecoffee (flickr)

Over at Grantland today there is the depressing story of Greg Oden’s heart-wrenching personal journey through emotional and basketball rehab. It’s well worth reading and is a reminder that NBA players are persons. Like all of us, they have particular struggles to battle in their lives. But unlike them, we have the anonymity to privately deal with the issues. Having a close friend die and then being booed by thousands a day later is an experience few of us will ever have to face.

As it so happens, I’m reading Rise of a Dynasty: the ’57 Celtics, the First Banner, and the Dawning of a New America. Within this book is a powerful story recalling an exhibition game the Boston Celtics played in Charlotte, North Carolina in 1950.

Exhibition games were played far more often then than today as the NBA used it as a means to raise both revenue and interest in their sport. Well, being North Carolina in the 1950s, the supposedly public accommodations of Charlotte were not available for use by “colored” persons, including the Celtics’ lone black player, Charles Cooper. The forward was not allowed to eat with his teammates, watch a movie with them at the theater, or even spend the night with them after the game in a hotel. All because of segregation.

Thanks to these dehumanizing conditions, Cooper (the first black player drafted by the NBA) was scheduled to take a train back the night of the game instead of waiting until the morning and flying back with the team to Boston. Symbolic of the lonely, solitary existence early black players faced.

This plan was initially unknown to Cooper’s road roommate, the tender-hearted Bob Cousy. After learning about it from coach Red Auerbach, Cousy insisted on riding all the way back to Boston via Syracuse on the train with Cooper. The train back to Boston wouldn’t arrive until the wee hours of the morning, so Cooper and Cousy just walked the streets, passing the time. Eventually, nature’s call arrived and the two men searched for a restroom at the station. Finally finding one, Cousy was embarrassed to see the clean toilets marked “WHITE” and the decrepit one “COLORED”.

Tears filled his eyes as he felt not only ashamed for this moment he and Cooper had to endure, but perhaps also for the teasing he absorbed as a child in New York.

Cousy was the son of immigrants from Alsace and spoke with a French accent. Called “Flenchy” for his accented rolling of r’s by peers, his existence was made even more wretched by the indifference his parents showed to their only child. It was a loveless home he hastily abandoned after turning 18. The stoic guard would always be guarded and yet sympathetic with his teammates. Particularly showing this passion when he broke down crying in an interview years later talking about what more he could have done to aid Bill Russell against virulent racism in the late 1950s.

But on this night, waiting together at the station, Cooper and Cousy ignored discussing the solemn moment they came upon the separate but unequal stalls. Finally, Cousy broached the topic by relating to Cooper all the horrors done to Jews in Europe just a few years earlier in World War II and the recent terrorist bombings of Catholic Churches in Louisiana. Cooper absorbed Cousy’s sincere attempt to tackle the issue of prejudice, but his slow retort revealed the enormous burdon borne by the lone black Celtic who couldn’t escape or evade the prejudice if he tried…

“That’s all right, but you can’t tell a Jew or a Catholic by looking at him.”

Cousy, again embarrassed, dropped the topic. And the two men continued their wait…

A painful reminder that we all deal with demons, whether personal or social, self-made or imposed by others. All we can do is gird ourselves and aid others in that battle like Cousy did (however timidly) with Cooper. Hopefully Greg Oden and anyone else with these battles find that strength and empathy from themselves and others.

The Lowdown Hall of Fame Snubs: Jo Jo White

April 15, 2012 in by Curtis Harris with 0 Comments

via murphman61 (flickr)

Years Active: 1970 – 1981

Regular Season Stats: 17.2 ppg, 4.9 apg, 4.0 rpg, 1.3 spg, 44.4% FG, 83.4% FT, 14.2 PER

Postseason Stats: 21.5 ppg, 5.7 apg, 4.4 rpg, 1.1 spg, 44.9% FG, 82.8%, 15.1 PER

Accolades: 2x NBA Champion (1974, ’76), 1976 Finals MVP, 2x All-NBA 2nd Team (1975, ’77), 1970 All-Rookie 1st Team, 7x All-Star (1971-77)

The Celtics lazed through more than three periods until Jo Jo White did a 12-minute hustle Sunday to shoot Boston past Phoenix 98-87 in the opening game of the NBA championship series… White, scoring 12 straight points in a 4:15 span, finished with 22 points – all but two in the final two periods.

- Via St. Petersburg Times, May 24, 1976

The highwater mark of Jo Jo White’s illustrious career came in the 1976 Finals. He played more minutes, scored more points and made more assists than other player in that series thus earning the Finals MVP award. There’s that heroic sequence in Game 1 described above where he knocked down a pair of jumpers, drove for two baskets and hit four straight free throws in just 4 minutes to thwart a Phoenix attempt to steal the series opener.

In Game 5 of the series, which some describe as the greatest game in NBA history, the Suns and Celtics played a triple overtime thriller that saw John Havlicek hit a supposed game winner in the 2nd OT that was instantly topped by Gar Heard’s turnaround jumper.

Jo Jo White amazingly played almost every moment of the 63-minute contest. Despite the heavy workload, White saved his best for those overtimes scoring 15 of his 33 points in the extra periods and pushed Boston to a 128-126 victory. Exhausted from the marathon affair, White slumped in his seat after the game and simply wondered aloud…

“Would you believe we’ve got another game in Phoenix Sunday?”

White managed just 15 points in the closing Game 6 as Boston collected its 2nd title in 3 years and 13th in 19, but he had more than pulled his weight already in the previous game and indeed, had been an iron horse for the Celtics for years by that point.

The 1962 Season: the Celtics-Lakers Rivalry Begins

April 1, 2012 in by Curtis Harris with 0 Comments

NBA

The Eastern Division Finals had seen the most pitched confrontation yet between the Russell-Chamberlain, Celtics-Warriors rivalry. As great as those two rivalries were, there was a temporal quality. Russell and Chamberlain were mortal and although their stories would go on, their battles would eventuality come to a close. The Celtics-Warriors clashes could have sustained, but the Philadelphia franchise headed west to Californiaâ€™s Bay Area, putting an end to that heated dispute.

However, in the 1962 NBA Finals, the Celtics would find an eternal enemy, one that has stood the test of the time and continued to add new chapters nearly 50 years later: the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Celtics had already played the Minneapolis Lakers in the finals before (1959) as the Celtics, unknowingly, were on their way to surpassing the dynastic excellence of the Minnesota club’s early years. The 1959 Lakers were far-removed from their glory days. Leading the way was rookie Elgin Baylor and last holdover from the Mikan years Vern Mikkelsen, but they were swept unceremoniously by Boston.

Although they came within one game of reaching the finals again in the 1959-60 season, the Lakers were struggling financially. The summer of 1960 proved to be one of remarkable change for the Lakers: they moved to California and drafted Jerry West setting up an return to glory and a windfall of financial success.

For the National Basketball Association, this was truly its first national finals. For the first time a team beyond the banks of the Mississippi River would contend for the championship. And the contest between Boston and Los Angeles would prove to be just as mighty as the Mississippi.

WARM UP

The accepted storyline of the Lakers vs. Celtics in the 1960s was a great one-two punch of Los Angeles constantly faltering to a more balanced Boston team. There is certainly much truth to this. Jerry West and Elgin Baylor averaged nearly 70 points between them in the 1962 season, becoming the 1^st and only pair of teammates to average over 30 points in the same season. But there was more to the Lakers than Westâ€™s fearless drives and Baylorâ€™s acrobatic finishes.

First and foremost was Rudy LaRusso. At 6â€™7â€ and 220 lbs, LaRusso usually played forward but could do spot duty at center. The 4x all-star averaged 17 points by virtue of a sweet jump shot and 10 rebounds to go along with staunch defense. 29-year old Frank Selvy was nearing the end of his career, but had put together perhaps his finest season since his rookie campaign with 15, 5 and 5 at the point guard position. At center, Los Angeles rotated Ray Felix, the 1^st black player to win Rookie of the Year back in 1954, and Jim Krebs.

Where things fell apart was the bench. Mimicking the problems faced by the Philadelphia Warriors, the Lakers would have a hell of a time surviving a bad night from any starter. The Celtics on the other hand knew they could do with a bad game from Sam Jones, Bob Cousy or Tom Heinsohn because of their 3 reliable bench players (Jim Loscutoff, K.C. Jones and Frank Ramsey).

GAME TIME

The series opened on April 7 in Boston with a rare and coveted national TV appearance for the NBA. The Celtics were only slightly favored. On the one hand, they had won 4 titles in the previous 5 years. But on the other, Los Angeles had defeated Boston 3 out of 4 times in the regular season when they had Elgin Baylor in uniform (he missed half the season with military service). Uncle Sam wouldn’t be a problem Elgin was available for the entire series.

Boston came out with a thunderous 122-108 drubbing of Los Angeles Â in Game 1. After taking a 60-52 halftime lead, the Celtics opened the 2^nd half with a 35-22 advantage in the 3^rd quarter. In true Celtics form, Boston had eight players nest between 8 and 24 points. The Lakers were led by Elgin Baylorâ€™s 35 points.

The very next day Game 2 was played and the Lakers showed Boston they would not be intimidated by the Game 1 blowout. Jerry West came out blazing scoring the Lakersâ€™ first 11 points and LA outscored Boston 43-23 in the 2^nd quarter to take a 73-59 lead at the half. Boston mounted a furious comeback, even taking the lead briefly at 112-111, but ultimately Los Angeles won 129-122.

Baylor, West and LaRusso combined for 98 points in the contest.

Knotted at one game apiece, the teams flew out west to California for Game 3. Again, West and Baylor were magnificent combining for 75 points, but little aid was given by their teammates. Boston meanwhile was up to their usual balanced tricks with seven players in the 7 to 26 points range.

With Boston leading 113-108 with under 2 minutes left, Jerry West assumed the title of Mr. Clutch and gave the 1^st-ever finals crowd in LA something to remember. Knocking down a jumper and then connecting on three free throws, West was able to tie the game at 115. After a Boston timeout with 3 seconds left, Sam Jones attempted an inbounds pass that was picked off by West and taken down court for a game-winning layup.

[flash http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sn4H_zMFm7A w=400 h=300]

After that devastating loss, the Celtics were down 2 games to 1 and Red Auerbach knew they had to head back to Boston tied 2-2 for a legitimate chance to win the series. The Câ€™s responded with an inspired 115-103 road victory leaving Red relieved, if only for the moment:

â€œWe just had to have this one. Iâ€™m tremendously proud of the way they bounced back from that heartbreaking loss Tuesday night. The fellows had a lot of life and our shooting was just about at capacity. This was the time for them to be on. Otherwise we would have been down 3-1.â€

Back in Boston for Game 5, Elgin Baylor delivered a performance for the ages.

Elgin wasted no time in his thrashing of the Boston defense with 18 points in the 1^st quarter. By halftime he had 33 points. But perhaps this was part of the Boston game plan. After 3 quarters, Boston was leading 99 to 93. Â As the fourth quarter chugged along, the Celtics still clung to 116-114 lead. Baylor proceeded to score 6 straight points and put Los Angeles ahead.

Sam Jones and Lakers big man Jim Krebs traded baskets and now the score stood 122-121 in favor of LA. With just 16 seconds left, Jerry West caught an inbounds pass and was hacked on a drive to the basket. He hit both free throws icing the game for the Lakers.

Baylor finished Game 5 with 61 points and 22 rebounds. The 61 points was a playoff record and wouldnâ€™t be broken until Michael Jordan scored 63 against Boston in 1986, but that came in double overtime. Baylor also set the playoff record for most points in a half (33), which would be broken by Sleepy Floyd in 1987.

Trailing again in the series, but this time facing elimination, Boston again responded favorably. Sam Jones was the man of the hour for Boston hitting 17 of his 27 shots for 35 points. 5 other Celtics hit double figures while the Lakers got 34 from both, Elgin and West, but little else. The final score was 119-105.

This 1^st finals meeting between Boston and Los Angeles was now headed to a Game 7 and it would be an absolute slugfest.

Always appropriate for such occasions was the drunken and rowdy Boston Garden crowd lusting for Laker blood and a fourth straight title. Things started well enough with the Celtics taking a 53-47 halftime lead. As the 3^rd quarter progressed, Boston saw their 73-67 lead evaporate in moments as Jerry West reeled off 7 points to ultimately tie the game by the quarterâ€™s end.

Bill Russell, West and Baylor exchanged baskets as the game remained tight. Sam Jones got a key block and recovered from a woeful 1^st half (1-10 shooting) to finish the game with 27 points. Although he scored only 10 points for the game, Frank Selvy came up big in the fourth: two steals and two baskets to tie the game at 100 in the final minute.

With the score still tied and 5 seconds left, the Lakers had recovered a Frank Ramsey miss and were now set up for a final shot to end the Celtics dynasty. As West and Baylor drew the lionâ€™s share of the Celticsâ€™ attention, Selvy found himself open on the baseline and Hot Rod Hundley hit him with the pass. Selvy took the jumper, but it was a tad too hard and hit the far side of the rim. Russell secured the rebound and the game went to overtime. The drained Lakers couldnâ€™t overcome Boston in the extra period as Sam Jones dropped 5 points to seal the 110 to 107 victory.

The Celtics had won their 4 straight title and 5^th in 6 years. Theyâ€™d survived by 2 points in Game 7 against Philadelphia in the Eastern Division Finals and now by 3 points in overtime in Game 7 to Los Angeles. And the difference had come down to two shots at the end of regulation in both. Boston’s Sam Jones had hit his last-second shot to defeat Philly, while Los Angeles’ Frank Selvy had missed his chance at eternal glory.

And by the way, Bill Russell had 30 points and 40 rebounds to finish off the Lakers. Now that’s how you close out a series and the marvelous 1962 season.

PS – You canÂ watch Game 7 here

The 1962 Season: Philly vs. Boston, Wilt vs. Russell, Barstools vs. Jungle Jim

March 25, 2012 in by Curtis Harris with 0 Comments

Bettmann/CORBIS

THE SETUP

Oh, I’m sure everyone’s familiar with mythical aura of Wilt vs. Russell, but let’s take a crash course lesson on the Boston Celtics vs. the Philadelphia Warriors, which was one of the great rivalries of the early NBA.

Philadelphia in 1956 had captured the NBA title behind the Hall of Fame trio of Neil Johnston, Paul Arizin, and Tom Gola. Johnston in 1953 had succeeded George Mikan as the pre-eminent NBA center. For 5 straight seasons (1953-1957) Johnston led the NBA in win shares and had a PER above 25.0 while also capturing 3 scoring titles, 3 FG% crowns and led the league in rebounding once.

Then along came Bill Russell in 1957.

The 1962 Season: The Rise of Sam Jones and Jerry West

March 18, 2012 in by Curtis Harris with 0 Comments

NBA

Jones’s special attributes as a player, [Red] Auerbach once explained, were his speed, touch, reflexes, and attitude. But there was another quality that made him a standout: dedication. “He’ll do anything you ask him,” said Auerbach. “He’s always in shape and ready to play, and nobody works any harder at basketball than he does.”

- Via Legends Profile: Sam Jones

In the midst of the astronomical statistical hijinks of the 1962 season, one of the more important developments happened rather quietly and unassumingly: the emergence of Sam Jones in Boston. Such an unbeknownst trumpeting of a new era couldn’t have happened to a more fitting player. Sam Jones himself was not flashy or demonstrative or demanding of the basketball. He just went on the court and flowed within the offense and amazingly he’d end up with 25 or 30 points. A parallel player would be Alex English of the 1980s Denver Nuggets. These cats just killed you softly.

Well, usually, the killing was soft. If Jerry West was Mr. Clutch then Sam Jones was the eastern branch of Mr. Clutch, Inc. as he hit shots to win several Eastern Division and NBA Finals games. And the 1962 season was where Jones would finally begin his ascent to the Hall of Fame.

The fact that Jones was even in the NBA in 1962 was a tad bit startling. Hailing from North Carolina, he attended tiny and practically unknown North Carolina Central University. Then came two years of military duty. On the advice of a friend, Red Auerbach drafted the 24-year old Sam Jones in the 1957 NBA draft without ever seeing the young man play. The tales of Jones’ jump shot were enough to convince Red to take Jones with the Celtics’ 1st round pick that year.

But Jones’ jump shot wasn’t usually of the swish variety. He took it to the bank early and often. From nearly every angle, Jones was able to utilize the backboard to guide his shot into the hoop. But Sam didn’t show it off too much his rookie year. Backing up Hall of Famer Bill Sharman, Sam rode the bench heavily averaging only 4.6 ppg. As the years ticked by Jones steadily saw his minutes and points rise as Sharman aged.

Season	Jones (PPG – MPG)	Sharman (PPG – MPG)
1957-58	4.6 – 10.6	22.3 – 35.1
1958-59	10.7 – 20.6	20.4 – 33.1
1959-60	11.9 – 20.4	19.3 – 27.0
1960-61	15.0 – 26.0	16.0 – 25.2

Following the 1961 season, Sharman called it quits and Sam Jones stepped into the starting lineup .

The 6’4″ shooting guard would do his silent assassin routine. 20 points here. 18 points there. 26 one night. 24 the next. Never quite explosive in total numbers, but he could catch fire in certain moments, like this oddball game played against the Lakers not in Los Angeles or Boston, but at the University of Maryland:

Sam Jones led the way with 16 points in nine minutes as Boston moved from a 24-24 tie at the end of the first quarter to a 66-48 halftime lead. Jones finished with 22 points, high for the Celtics.

Jones leading Boston with 22 points was pretty normal for the Celtics. In a season where Wilt averaged 50 and six other players averaged over 29 points, the Celtics’ leading scorers were Tommy Heinsohn at 22, Bill Russell at 19 and Sam Jones at 18.5 points per game. This kind of balance suited Jones just right. He was more than capable of going for 30 points a night, but Jones’ personality and demeanor just didn’t call for that type of night after night scoring explosion like his Lakers counterpart Jerry West could summon.

Speaking of Jerry, this too was his break out season

NBA

Unlike Same Jones, West immediately found his way to the NBA and was highly coveted. Along with Oscar Robertson, he was the most famous college player of the 1960 draft. But that fame didn’t immediately translate to on-court production. Joining West in Los Angeles in 1960 was Fred Schauss, his coach at West Virginia,Â who now took over as the head man in L.A.

Despite their previous relationship, or maybe because of it, Schauss underutilized West. Fearing the 6’2″ shooting guard would wear down if given too many minutes, too fast, Schauss limited West to 35 minutes a night usually bringing him off the bench. Although 35 minutes sounds like a lot, it was actually the lowest averageÂ of West’s career until the 1973 season, his last full one in the league.

And while he was on the court, West was not the focal point of the Lakers’ offense. His averages of 17 points and 41.7% shooting would be career lows. Even his FT% was a sinister 66.6%.Â Elgin Baylor was the star attraction that season, the 1st that the Lakers played in Los Angles after their days in Minneapolis. Baylor averaged 35 points, 20 rebounds and five assists so that was understandable. However, Elgin would miss large chunks of the 1961-62 season with military service thus allowing West the opportunity to step out of his shadow.

The reins were loosened, Hot Rod Hundley was planted on the bench instead of sopping up Jerry’s minutes and a genuine star was unleashed. Averaging 41 minutes a night, West dramatically improved his offense. His scoring went from 17 to 31 points. His FG% from .417 to .445. His FT% from .666Â to .769. West’s torrential scoring downpour drowned the Knicks in January of 1962:

The 6-foot-3 Los Angeles backcourt star, an NBA sophomore from West Virginia, scored 63 points [on 22 of 36 shooting] in the Lakers’ 129-121 victory over the New York Knickerbockers.

Only Chamberlain and Elgin Baylor, West’s Los Angeles teammate now in the Army, have bettered the mark.

Despite such amazing strides, and tremendous defensive ability, WestÂ remained a bit reticent about his own abilities. Gradually, he grew into the familiar Mr. Clutch that season and despite only having Baylor for half the schedule, the Lakers would improve from 36 wins in 1961 to 54 in 1962.

Back East, Sam Jones’ Boston Celtics won a then-record 60 games.

These were the two best shooting guards on the two best teams in the league that season. Odds were that they would meet in the Finals.

The Lakers had a relatively easy time dispatching the Detroit Pistons, but the Celtics would have their hands full with Wilt Chamberlain and the Philadelphia Warriors in the Eastern Division Finals. It was truly one of the great series in NBA history, that naturally came down to a last second shot in a game 7…

(yes, that’s your cliffhanger. Come back next Sunday for the Warriors-Celtics throwdown of epic proportions!)

The Lowdown: Paul Silas

December 11, 2011 in by Curtis Harris with 0 Comments

Photo via Sports Illustrated

While Havlicek is a quiet, gentlemanly sort, Silas is a cordial, beaming man who could teach smiling at a stewardess school. And while Havlicek is exacting of himself and his teammates, Silas may be doubly so.

- They’re Replaying The Sixth Man Theme

Years Active: 1965 – 1980

Career Stats: 9.4 ppg, 9.9 rpg, 2.1 apg, 43.2% FG, 67.3% FT

Accolades: 2x All-Star (1972, ’75), 2x All-Defensive 1st Team (1975-’76), 3x All-Defensive 2nd Team (1971-’73), 3x Champion (1974, ’76 Celtics, 1979 Sonics)

In 1972, Paul Silas was traded from the Phoenix Suns to the Boston Celtics. The 6’7″ forward wasn’t too thrilled at the prospect of moving from sunny Arizona to Massachusetts. It wasn’t just the weather that he was wary of, however. Already an 8-year veteran, he had heard tall tales of the Celtic mystique all his career. His skepticism soon dissipated:

“To be truthful, I thought it was a lot of nonsense. But when I arrived it was amazing. It’s almost like a collegiate atmosphere in a pro worldâ€”an atmosphere of total sacrifice for the good of the team, on and off the court. It’s a way of life. You just fall into it.”

Those Celtics of John Havlicek, Jo Jo White and Dave Cowens fell into Silas at the right moment. Just a year earlier in 1971, Silas had shed a commendable 30 pounds to drop his weight from 240 to 210. Before, during his days with the St. Louis Hawks, Silas was known as one of the NBA’s premier tough guys. A mountain of a man patrolling the lane and dominating the boards. It was an era overly focused on beefing up frontlines to thwart Wilt Chamberlain. After the weight loss, Silas stunned opponents with a new-found ability to gracefully run the court and beat his man for easy buckets. And in the halfcourt set, his lighter frame allowed better lift on his jumper. His defense remained almost as stout as it was before, but he did concede his lost weight allowed opponents to sometimes get him out of rebounding position.

Watching Silas’s transformation was Red Auerbach who exchanged Charlie Scott’s draft rights for Paul. RedÂ correctly surmised that Silas was just what the Celtics needed. Already a 56-win team the season before, the Celtics had arisen from the short slumber following Bill Russell’s retirement in 1969. They needed a veteran ready to contribute immediately alongside center Cowens. The addition of Silas catapulted the Celtics to 68 wins.

The Lowdown: Kermit Washington

October 30, 2011 in by Curtis Harris with 0 Comments

via Los Angeles Times

“Is that Kermit Washington? Oh my God, it’s Kermit Washington!”

Via Nathan Dolezal, wide-eyed basketball fan, former co-host of Ain’t it Funky Now!

Years Active: 1974 – 1982; 1988

Career Stats: 9.2 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 1.1 bpg, 0.8 spg, 52.6% FG, 65.6% FT

Accolades: 1980 NBA All-Star, 2x NBA All-Defensive 2nd Team (1980-81)

So, there I was exiting American University’s radio station after another funky good time on Ain’t it Funky Now! with my good friend and c0-host Nathan Dolezal. As we’re strolling down the hallway, a gargantuan man with a friend of his own is walking a little aimlessly, clearly a bit lost. Instantly, we recognize this as legendary American University Eagle, Kermit Washington. He spots us and very politely asks where the student television station is. We point him in the right direction and he leave us with a simple, soft-spoken “thanks fellas.”

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