20 Second Timeout

Remembering Bob "Butterbean" Love, Stalwart Forward for the 1970s Chicago Bulls

In an era when the accomplishments of even some of the elite basketball players of the past are derided--if not forgotten--it is very important to pay tribute to players who helped build the NBA into the multi-billion dollar business that it is today. Long before Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen led the Chicago Bulls to six NBA titles in an eight year span in the 1990s, Bob Love--who passed away yesterday at the age of 81--was the leading scorer for Chicago Bulls teams that put pro basketball on the map in the Windy City. 

Bob Love and Chet Walker were the starting forwards for Chicago squads that made six straight playoff appearances, a run of excellence that began just three years after the franchise was founded. The Bulls reached the Western Conference Finals in 1974 and 1975 only to fall first to the powerful Milwaukee Bucks led by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and then to the soon to be NBA champion Golden State Warriors led by Rick Barry. Prior to that, the Bulls lost in the playoffs three years in a row to an L.A. Lakers team featuring Pantheon members Wilt Chamberlain and Jerry West. Dick Motta, who later guided the Washington Bullets to the 1978 NBA championship, coached the Bulls from 1968-76, and the backcourt was manned by Norm Van Lier and Jerry Sloan, a great rebounding guard and defensive player who became a Hall of Fame coach.

In a 2015 20 Second Timeout article, I selected Love as one of the four best players in the Bulls' franchise history: "Love was the best player for some strong Chicago teams in the early 1970s, a top notch scorer who was also an excellent defensive player. As a Bull, Love made the All-NBA Second Team twice (1971, 1972) and the All-Defensive Second Team three times (1972, 1974-75). Love holds the franchise single season record for minutes played (3482) and he ranks third on the franchise's career scoring list behind Jordan and Pippen."

Love was a workhouse who averaged at least 37 mpg for seven straight seasons while playing in all 82 games three times, playing in 81 games once, and playing in 79 game once. He averaged at least 43.3 mpg in seven of his eight playoff series, and he was productive during those postseason minutes (22.9 ppg, 7.5 rpg). Love ranks fourth in ABA-NBA history in playoff mpg (43.9). In that era, there was no "load management"; players just figured out how to manage the work load.

Love was raised by his grandmother Ella Hunter during a difficult childhood in Louisiana. He is one of several NBA All-Stars who developed his game at a historically Black college, a group that includes Earl Monroe, Willis Reed, Dick Barnett, and Bob Dandridge. Love played sparingly for two seasons with the Cincinnati Royals and then spent just 14 games with the Milwaukee Bucks before finding his NBA home in Chicago in 1968. He averaged at least 19.9 ppg in each of his first six seasons with the Bulls.

A back injury ended Love's playing career in 1977. He briefly fell on hard times after leaving the NBA, and he took a job cleaning tables and washing dishes at Nordstrom. While working at Nordstrom, Love, who was nicknamed "Butterbean" as a child because of his love for butter beans, overcame a serious stuttering problem that caused him to shun interviews during his NBA career. He not only became Nordstrom's manager for health and sanitation, but he became an accomplished public speaker. Last year during a podcast interview, Love described his life after playing pro basketball as "a story of overcoming, of never playing the victim."

Sam Smith, who covered the Chicago Bulls for the Chicago Tribune before becoming a writer for Bulls.com, knows as much about the Bulls as anyone, and he penned a must-read tribute to Love, focusing not only on Love's playing career but also on his inner strength and his determined resolve to better himself after retiring from the NBA: "He'd often reflect in later years if he was going to be a dishwasher, he'd be an all-star dishwasher like he was in college and the NBA. John Nordstrom noticed the hard working former NBA star and arranged for speech therapy. Having failed in programs before, Bob was reluctant. But with a nudge from Nordstrom, Bob found a patient partner, learned the mechanics of speech, practiced, and tried to figure out how it all happened. He said as a kid he used to mimic a relative who stuttered."

Love's perseverance and work ethic should always be remembered.

Labels: Bob Love, Chet Walker, Chicago Bulls, Dick Motta, Jerry Sloan, Norm Van Lier

posted by David Friedman @ 3:23 AM

0 comments

Chet Walker Made a Significant Impact on and off the Court

Chet Walker--a key member of Philadelphia's 1967 NBA championship team that set a since-broken record for regular season wins (68)--passed away on Saturday at the age of 84 after a long illness. Sam Smith, who now works for Bulls.com after making his name covering the team for the Chicago Tribune and writing the best selling book The Jordan Rules, penned a must-read tribute to Walker, tracing the arc of Walker's life from childhood in Mississippi and Michigan to leading Bradley University to the 1960 NIT title to a great NBA career highlighted by seven All-Star selections, an 18.2 ppg career scoring average, and tremendous durability (he played at least 76 games in each of his 13 NBA seasons). Walker played seven seasons for the Syracuse Nationals/Philadelphia 76ers before playing six seasons for the Chicago Bulls. Walker averaged at least 21.5 ppg in each of his first three seasons with the Bulls, and he set a franchise single game regular season scoring record (56 points) that stood from 1972 until Michael Jordan scored 58 points in a 1987 game.

Walker was one of the "NBA 14" who paved the way for the huge contracts that today's players enjoy, but Walker's activism came at a price: his career ended abruptly when no team would sign Walker after a 1975 season during which he averaged 19.2 ppg in 76 games, and he had to wait a long time before being inducted in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, an honor that he belatedly received in 2012. Walker chose Billy Cunningham, Adrian Dantley, Earl Monroe, and Isiah Thomas as his presenters, and those four legends represent a cross section of Walker's impressive life on and off the basketball court: Cunnningham was his teammate, Dantley incorporated Walker's moves into his Hall of Fame caliber arsenal, Monroe played against Walker in the late 1960s through the mid-1970s, and Thomas shares Chicago roots with Walker. Walker produced "A Mother's Courage: The Mary Thomas Story," a movie about Isiah Thomas' mother that won an Emmy.

Years ago, I asked Cunningham--a teammate of Walker's on Philadelphia's 1967 championship team who later coached the incomparable Julius Erving on Philadelphia's 1983 championship team--to compare those two legendary squads, and he told me, "Dr. J would match up against Chet Walker. Julius was obviously better in the open court offensively than Chet and a better shot blocker. Chet was a better one-on-one player offensively and would probably try to post up Julius and do things like that." I asked Cunningham to elaborate about the Erving-Walker comparison, and he replied, "Julius was the greatest open court player who ever played. Chet Walker was a better jump shooter and he had, I think, a little bit more of an arsenal in the set offense. But by no means am I taking anything away from Julius Erving."

There is statistical evidence supporting Cunningham's description of Walker's offensive arsenal. Walker finished in the top 20 in field goal percentage six times--including sixth during Philadelphia's 1967 championship season--and he ranked in the top 10 in free throw percentage six times, including leading the NBA in that category in 1970-71. Walker ranked in the top 10 in free throws made seven times. Walker was a dependable third scoring option (19.3 ppg) behind Wilt Chamberlain (24.1 ppg) and Hal Greer (22.1 ppg) on the 1967 championship team, and when the Bulls needed a clutch basket during the early 1970s they usually relied on Walker.

Jaylen Brown would not be a $300 million player without Walker's sacrifices. A role player like J.J. Redick who shamelessly mocks the basketball stars from the past would not be a famous multi-millionaire without Walker's sacrifices that helped transform the NBA into a multi-billion dollar business. It would be great if Brown, Redick, and everyone else who benefits from the NBA's huge pot of gold acknowledged their debt to Walker and the other members of the "NBA 14."

Labels: Adrian Dantley, Billy Cunningham, Chet Walker, Chicago Bulls, Earl Monroe, Isiah Thomas, Philadelphia 76ers, Wilt Chamberlain

posted by David Friedman @ 10:27 AM

0 comments

Classless Chicago Fans Tarnish Bulls' Inaugural Ring of Honor Ceremony by Booing Jerry Krause

On Friday night, the Chicago Bulls held their inaugural Ring of Honor ceremony, inducting Artis Gilmore, Johnny "Red" Kerr, Dick Klein (the team's first owner and general manager), Bob "Butterbean" Love, Jerry Sloan, Chet "The Jet" Walker, Jerry Krause, Tex Winter, Phil Jackson, Toni Kukoc, Dennis Rodman, Scottie Pippen, and Michael Jordan. What should have been an event brimming with joyful nostalgia was tarnished when Chicago fans booed lustily after Krause's name was announced. Krause's widow Thelma, in attendance to accept the honor, cried at the disrespect, and was immediately comforted by other honorees and retired Bulls players. 

There is a proper time and place to express displeasure regarding Krause's role in ending the Bulls' dynasty, but a ceremony honoring him for his significant contributions to building the Bulls' dynasty is not that time or place, particularly considering that Krause died several years ago and thus his widow felt the brunt of the fans' senseless hatred. I don't want to hear excuses about fans being too young to remember Krause, or fans booing without knowing why just because other fans booed. If other people jumped off of a cliff would you follow them, or would you assess the situation and draw conclusions? Of course, that question presumes that the people who booed have functioning brains, which is far from certain. 

When your team honors the people who gave their blood, sweat, and tears to make your team great, you cheer. This is not complicated.

I have written about Krause many times. I am not his biggest fan, but I respect what he accomplished--and anyone who has any knowledge of basketball history respects what he accomplished. An objective, detached take on Krause's legacy is that he deserves a lot of credit for building the Bulls' dynasty, and a lot of blame for breaking up the Bulls' dynasty, as I explained in my obituary for Krause:  

In 1998, I was furious at Krause for destroying something so beautifully artistic and so competitively fierce.

Nearly 20 years later, I am still puzzled and saddened by what Krause did but I also appreciate what he accomplished--not just with the Bulls but over the span of his life. Those who knew him well say that he was a loyal friend with a good heart. Ultimately, that is how he should be remembered--and, despite his gruff demeanor at times and despite his mistake in breaking up the Bulls, there is no doubt that Krause belongs in the Basketball Hall of Fame. It is a shame that if he ever is inducted he will not be around to enjoy that most deserved honor.

After Krause was inducted posthumously in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2017, I assessed his legacy: 

I was as baffled and upset as anyone by Krause's haste and glee to break up the Bulls so that he could try to build another championship team from scratch but Krause deserves a lot of credit for hiring Phil Jackson as coach and for acquiring key players Scottie Pippen, Horace Grant, B.J. Armstrong, Bill Cartwright, Toni Kukoc, Ron Harper and Dennis Rodman. An NBA executive's job is to win games and championships; by that standard, Krause is one of the most accomplished executives in pro basketball history.

"The Last Dance" told the story of the Chicago Bulls' dynasty from Michael Jordan's perspective, and to a large extent made Krause a villain for a generation of fans too young to remember the 1990s. Krause resigned from the Bulls in 2003 after his post-dynasty plan failed woefully, but it should never be diminished or forgotten that Krause's Chicago teams won six NBA titles (1991-93, 1996-98). Jordan did not win a playoff series as a player before Krause arrived in Chicago, and Jordan did not win a playoff series in his two years playing for the Washington Wizards; in 18 years as an owner/executive, Jordan's teams only made the playoffs three times, and did not win a single series. Jordan's 2011-12 Hornets went 7-59, setting the NBA record for worst single season winning percentage. Obviously, being a successful NBA executive is not quite as easy as Jordan thought when he mocked Krause during the Bulls' glory years. Krause's critics say that anyone could have built a championship team around Jordan, but Jordan himself proved for nearly two decades that he was neither capable of finding a great player nor capable of even putting together a team that consistently qualified for the playoffs.

The Bulls' classless fans should be ashamed of booing Krause and tarnishing what should have been a great moment.

Labels: Artis Gilmore, Bob Love, Chet Walker, Chicago Bulls, Dennis Rodman, Dick Klein, Jerry Krause, Jerry Sloan, Johnny "Red" Kerr, Michael Jordan, Phil Jackson, Scottie Pippen, Tex Winter, Toni Kukoc

posted by David Friedman @ 11:17 PM

9 comments

Reflections on the 2012 Basketball Hall of Fame Class

If you believe the mainstream media hype, Reggie Miller "headlined" the 12 member 2012 Basketball Hall of Fame class. Miller had an outstanding 18 year NBA career, scoring 25,279 regular season points while hitting many celebrated clutch shots but he earned just five All-Star selections and three All-NBA Third Team honors; he was never the best player at his position--admittedly, that would have been hard to do while spending most of his career competing against Michael Jordan--but it could also be argued that he was never the second best shooting guard in the league. With all due respect to Miller--and I greatly respect not only his accomplishments but also his extraordinary work ethic, which I witnessed firsthand late in his career when he practiced on the court by himself long before game time--it is ludicrous for Mark Jackson to suggest that Miller is the fourth greatest shooting guard in NBA history behind Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade. Miller made the All-Star team for the first time in 1990, the season during which he averaged a career-high 24.6 ppg--and yet he was no better than the fourth best shooting guard in the league that season, never mind all-time: the 1990 All-NBA shooting guards were Michael Jordan, Clyde Drexler and Joe Dumars.

The point is not to bash Miller--placing his accomplishments in proper context should not be considered "bashing" anyway and, as I said, he had a wonderful career--but rather to bash the media for focusing so much attention on Miller that other players who are at least as deserving of praise just get shoved aside. Miller deserves credit for mentioning Mel Daniels, who he called his "uncle," but this cannot and must not just be acceptance speech lip service; Miller's platform as a recently retired player who is now a TNT broadcaster gives him tremendous influence and he should use that influence to remind viewers about the great players who built this game.

Mel Daniels won two ABA regular season MVPs, made the All-Star team seven times during his eight ABA seasons, led the Indiana Pacers to three ABA titles and is one of the greatest rebounders in professional basketball history: his 14.9 regular season rpg average ranks sixth all-time, while his 1608 playoff rebounds rank 14th on the all-time list and when he retired he trailed only Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain and Elgin Baylor in that department. Daniels may be a forgotten player to younger fans but those fans need to learn the history of the game--and LeBron James set a great example by attending the Hall of Fame ceremony, which reminds me of how Isiah Thomas and Mark Aguirre used to attend the NBA Finals in person as young pros before they eventually won two championships together: it is vitally important to respect the past, respect the game and learn from one's great predecessors. I hope that James was at the ceremony not just as part of Phil Knight's Nike contingent but also to learn firsthand from the legends of the game.

Jim Bukata's 1973 book One on One--which may be even more forgotten than Daniels' career--contains some interesting quotes and insights. Daniels' Indiana Coach Bobby "Slick" Leonard said, "I've been around professional basketball as a player and coach for more than 20 years. Mel ranks among the top 10 centers I've seen. That includes Chamberlain and Russell and Mikan, all the great ones. Mel's the best defensive rebounder in the game today." Daniels' rebounding prowess was a key factor for those Indiana championship teams and Bukata noted that Daniels grabbed more rebounds in his first five professional seasons than anyone other than Chamberlain, Russell, Jerry Lucas and Walt Bellamy. Babe McCarthy, then the Coach of the Dallas Chaparrals, said, "Nobody pushes Daniels around. As far as I'm concerned, he is the second-best center in either league--behind Jabbar."

It is a travesty that Daniels had to wait almost 30 years to be inducted in the Basketball Hall of Fame and it is very sad that some health problems prevented Daniels from attending the ceremony, limiting him to a brief video acceptance speech of less than four minutes:

Mel Daniels' Hall of Fame Speech

It is not surprising that he spent a good portion of the speech urging the Hall of Fame to recognize other worthy ABA players. Daniels is not a braggart or a self-promoter and during the times I was fortunate enough to speak with him I found him to be a no-nonsense straight talker. Jerry Colangelo deserves a lot of credit for forming the ABA Committee that selected Daniels and that honored Artis Gilmore last year.

Another player who had to wait far too long to be inducted is Chet Walker, who probably made some powerful enemies when he became a member of the "NBA 14," the group of players whose lawsuits paved the way for the free agency system that has made LeBron James and so many other current players fabulously wealthy. Walker is a successful businessman who earned an Emmy for co-producing a TV movie about Isiah Thomas' mother; Walker does not need and probably does not want charity from anyone but wouldn't it be great if James and other NBA players who have earned well in excess of $100 million each set up a fund to help out retired NBA players who have fallen on hard times? Do today's NBA stars even know anything about Bill Tosheff and the "Pre-1965ers"? Sadly, that is not the kind of story that will ever gain much traction with the so-called Worldwide Leader in Sports or--for that matter--even with the NBA's official publicity organs/media outlets.

Walker chose Isiah Thomas, Earl Monroe, Billy Cunningham and Adrian Dantley to be his presenters; Walker shares Chicago ties with Thomas, he played against Monroe, he played with and against Cunningham and he lauded Dantley for copying his moves. Walker spoke frankly and seemingly extemporaneously about his fight for free agency rights and the greatness of his 1967 Philadelphia championship team, a squad that he said has been ignored by so-called experts:

Chet Walker's Hall of Fame Speech

Julius Erving served as a 2012 presenter three times--for Ralph Sampson, Katrina McClain and the All-American Red Heads--which may be a record for one ceremony and adds to his previous total of five times as a Basketball Hall of Fame presenter. Casual fans may not fully understand just how much Erving is respected and idolized by other greats of the game but the number of times he has been selected as a presenter and the diversity of the Hall of Famers that he has presented (ranging from teammates to opponents to players who grew up watching him to great female players) demonstrates just how highly he is regarded.

Labels: Basketball Hall of Fame, Chet Walker, Jerry Colangelo, Julius Erving, Mel Daniels, Reggie Miller

posted by David Friedman @ 6:53 AM

0 comments

Tune in to Gotham Sports Radio on Sunday to Listen to me Talk Hoops

On Sunday December 23, I will be a guest on Gotham Hoops Live. Starting at 9 p.m., host Mike Silva will be interviewing me about various topics, including my recent posts about the 1992 Dream Team versus the 2008 Olympic team and Chet Walker's role in pioneering free agency. You can listen live by clicking on the following link:

Gotham Hoops Live

If you cannot tune in on Sunday, you will be able to find an archived version of the show here:

Gotham Sports Radio

Labels: 1992 Dream Team, 2008 Olympic Team, Chet Walker, Gotham Hoops Live, Mike Silva, NBA

posted by David Friedman @ 5:15 PM

2 comments

The "NBA 14" Paved the Road that Led to Riches for Today's Stars

Anyone who wonders why Oscar Robertson never received coaching or front office opportunities in the NBA should read this great article by the Chicago Tribune's Sam Smith. Smith spent some time with former Sixer and Bull Chet Walker, who was one of 14 players--including Robertson--who filed law suits challenging the NBA's economic structure; this resulted in the creation of a free agency system that has enabled today's players to make millions of dollars. Robertson, Walker and several others of the "NBA 14"--including Joe Caldwell--paid a heavy price for their activism, although it is also true that some of them (Bill Bradley, Wes Unseld) do not seem have suffered as much retribution as others.

Smith reports that Walker "is hardly one of those chip-on-the-shoulder old-timers living in the past and looking for a handout. He has done well and mostly is retired now." Walker is somewhat bemused by the ultimate outcome of his efforts as a labor activist during his playing career, telling Smith, "I never thought I'd be saying guys are making too much money. But you hear of these guys rejecting $10 million a year, it's absurd. You can't believe it. I don't have cable, so I don't watch much NBA. But I watch the Lakers. I don't understand these owners, how they evaluate talent. How do you pay Kwame Brown $9 million? Amazing. And these guys think they're making this money because they're great players." Smith writes:

Actually, they're making it in large part because of guys like Walker, who was one of the so-called NBA 14, the group of players that successfully brought on the modern NBA era with the first free agency. Many, like Walker, suffered for it. His career ended prematurely even though he averaged almost 20 points per game his final season for the Bulls in 1974-75.

Labels: Chet Walker, Joe Caldwell, Oscar Robertson

posted by David Friedman @ 2:47 PM

1 comments

Interview with Billy Cunningham, One of the NBA's 50 Greatest Players

Billy Cunningham has enjoyed success as a Hall of Fame player, a championship-winning coach, a basketball analyst for CBS and as one of the founding owners of the Miami Heat. He played against a young Julius Erving in the ABA and later, as the Philadelphia 76ers' head coach, led ABA veterans Erving, Moses Malone and Bobby Jones (plus the dynamic young guard duo of Maurice Cheeks and Andrew Toney) to the 1983 NBA title. That year the Sixers went 12-1 in the NBA playoffs, a mark not surpassed until the 2000-01 Lakers went 15-1. Here is the link to my interview with the "Kangaroo Kid" (9/17/15 edit: the link to HoopsHype.com no longer works, so I have posted the original article below):

What is your earliest memory of Julius Erving, who you played against in the ABA and later ended up coaching?

Billy Cunningham: I remember the first time I ever saw Julius Erving. He was playing in a summer league game in Philadelphia in the Sonny Hill League. I think it was a game between Philadelphia and New York City. It was the first time that I ever got to see him play. I’m trying to think of the guy’s name who owned the Virginia Squires.

Earl Foreman.

BC: Earl Foreman, right. A few days afterward I ran into Earl Foreman in Philadelphia--and he had not seen Julius Erving play basketball. He asked me, 'What did you think?' I said to him, 'He's special. He’s special.' It wasn't difficult to see, even in the summer league, the greatness of Julius Erving.

The 1980-81 Sixers were really one of the great defensive teams of all-time. That gets a little overlooked because of what happened in the playoffs (losing to Boston in the Eastern Conference finals). Talk a little about how great that team was defensively.

BC: I think something that I carried over from all of the coaches that I played under is that you have to remain consistent at the defensive end of the court. Offense is always going to be a situation where you are playing in spurts. That was an exceptional team defensively because we had Maurice Cheeks playing on the ball and he would pick up the point guard full court and pressure the ball. We had such quick forwards in Bobby Jones and Julius Erving that we would look to create turnovers with their great quickness and speed. Physically we weren’t as intimidating as a lot of teams but we relied a great deal on our quickness and our overall team concept on defense in terms of helping each other. With Caldwell Jones and Darryl Dawkins being back there--especially Caldwell, who had the ability to block shots and was such a smart defensive player--we were just a smart defensive team. We played the Boston Celtics 13 times that year between the regular season and the playoffs (splitting the regular season series 3-3 and losing the seventh game of the playoff series by one point).

And Boston went on to win the championship.

BC: We knew that last game was for the championship, even though Houston had Moses Malone. Boston and Philadelphia were just better basketball teams. For Bill Fitch who was coaching the Celtics then, the biggest thing (in the NBA Finals against Houston) was avoiding a letdown, because the players were smart enough to realize that whoever won that game would win the world championship if they played to their abilities.

Would you agree that Julius Erving was an underrated defender, that that part of his game was not as appreciated?

BC: Yes, and there were other examples too. Magic Johnson and Larry Bird were not good individual defensive players--Doc was a little better than they were--but they were great team defensive players, aware of what the schemes were and coming from the weak side. Julius had the great ability to block shots. His anticipation defensively for steals and creating turnovers was just wonderful and he was definitely underrated in that regard. He took a great deal of pride in his defense.

Sometimes the criticism of guys who get a lot of steals would be that when they go for the steal and don't get it, then the defense gets broken down. Bobby Jones told me that that wasn't the case with the Sixers because your system of traps was designed so that if one guy goes for the steal and doesn't get it, that there is a natural rotation going on. Julius wasn't just freelancing, he was going for steals within the system that you had and if he didn't get it, there wasn't a defensive breakdown.

BC: As I said earlier, we had to rely on our quickness more than physically overpowering teams. If Julius went for the steal and missed, there was supposed to be somebody there giving him support until he recovered and got back into the defensive set.

In 1980-81, the 1966-67 76ers were voted as the all-time greatest team. Do you still believe that to be the case? We’ve had another 24 years or so of NBA history that have passed, including some great Bulls teams and a great Sixers team that you coached. So I am asking in a general sense if you still believe that and I am also interested in some specific comparisons that you would make between the Sixers championship team that you played on in 1966-67 and the 1982-83 Sixers championship team that you coached that had the great 12-1 run through the playoffs.

BC: First of all, even to be considered one of the greatest teams is a great enough honor. For me to say whatever I would say in feeling that that was the greatest team would be biased. I know that it was truly one of the great teams ever put together and the shame of it was that the team was broken up so quickly. It was a team that would have gone on and won more championships because we had a wonderful blend of young players as well as experienced players who played very well together. Comparing the two teams--I don't think that would be fair for me to do. They were two outstanding, great teams and I was just fortunate to be part of both.

OK, maybe not saying which team was greater, but with your experience as a coach in the league, what would some of the matchups have been like? Not necessarily saying who would win, but describe some of the strengths and weaknesses of each of the players going against each other and what that might look like from a strategic standpoint.

BC: I think that both teams had great versatility--the ability to run and the ability to run a set offense. I think that the big matchup, obviously, would be Moses against Chamberlain. That year, 1982-83, was by far Moses' greatest year as a pro. He truly had a special, special year. So that would be a phenomenal matchup. Wilt was bigger, Moses was a little quicker around the basket. It's hard to say now how it would come down. Dr. J would match up against Chet Walker. Julius was obviously better in the open court offensively than Chet and a better shot blocker. Chet was a better one-on-one player offensively and would probably try to post up Julius and do things like that. Luke Jackson was such a key factor on that team because of his versatility and his physical strength.

Bobby Jones and Luke Jackson were very similar in that both did whatever they had to do to help the team. There was nothing done that was selfish in anything that they did because they sacrificed a great deal of their offensive skills for the sake of the success of their teams. With Andrew Toney and Hal Greer, that is just a wonderful matchup. If Andrew Toney had stayed healthy, he would be truly considered a special player who played in the NBA. Cheeks and Wali Jones were two very smart basketball players who were great extensions of their coaches on the court, knowing and understanding what the team needed and what an individual needed at a certain time on the court.

You mentioned that Chet Walker was a better one-on-one player than Julius Erving offensively and you said that Julius was better in the open court. In what way was Chet Walker better one-on-one? I think that in a lot of people's minds Julius would be considered one of the great one-on-one players, so what specifically are you referring to that Walker did better one-on-one?

BC: Julius was the greatest open court player who ever played. Chet Walker was a better jump shooter and he had, I think, a little bit more of an arsenal in the set offense. But by no means am I taking anything away from Julius Erving.

The classic thing that is brought up a lot of times about the six championships that Michael Jordan won is the idea that he never really had to go against a dominant center. The Bulls did beat Orlando once in the Eastern finals but a lot of people raise the question of what would have happened if Jordan's Bulls had to play against your 1983 Sixers and face Moses Malone or of course the 1967 Sixers with Wilt. How would a team like the Bulls try to attack teams that have a Malone or a Chamberlain and how do you think that those teams would attack Jordan's Bulls? What do you think of that type of hypothetical matchup?

BC: Well, they would probably be double teaming either one of those players, Chamberlain or Moses. Or they might have an attitude that they felt confident in Bill Cartwright or someone like that that they would use several centers to compete against them and not worry about fouls and just play straight man to man against both players. The Bulls were a great defensive team because of Pippen and Jordan, not to take anything away from the other players, but we’re talking about two exceptional defensive players besides their offensive skills. It would be a wonderful chess match, that's what it would amount to--and how would teams play against Jordan? Obviously you try to take away something. It wouldn't be as easy for him to go to the basket, for one thing, but as great as he was, he would find another way to be an effective player. He’d also have to play people like Greer or Andrew Toney, which would put a lot of pressure on him at the defensive end of the court.

Something that you experienced as both a player and a coach is the challenge of trying to win repeat championships. You won the championship in 1967 with one of the greatest teams of all-time but that team did not repeat and then you went through a similar situation--in terms of not repeating--as a coach with the 1983 Sixers, a dominant team that also was not able to repeat.

BC: The year after we won the championship I broke my wrist in the New York series, so that hurt. Plus we had other injuries on that ball club and I think that was as big a factor for us that year as anything--injuries. As for the next year (in 1984, when the Sixers tried to repeat as champions), looking back, for several years we were right there either playing for the championship or competing for the Eastern title and it almost appeared that at the end of that year (1983) we had an empty tank, emotionally more than anything. It wasn't a matter of people not wanting to do it or not trying their hardest, it was just, even in the last game when we lost to New Jersey (in the first round of the 1984 playoffs), in the latter part of the fourth period we were up seven and we just ran into a brick wall. That series was very strange because we lost the first two games against New Jersey in what at that time was a five game series and then we went up to New Jersey and won two games. I mean, they played well, but there was no energy, there was no emotion--it was a very frustrating time for all participants.

Labels: Billy Cunningham, Chet Walker, Julius Erving, Moses Malone, Philadelphia 76ers

posted by David Friedman @ 5:21 AM

0 comments