20 Second Timeout is the place to find the best analysis and commentary about the NBA.

Monday, April 29, 2024

Brunson Burner Singes Sixers as Knicks Win 97-92 to Take 3-1 Lead

In the 1980s, the New York Knicks featured the "BK Broiler": Bernard King won the 1985 regular season scoring title--averaging 32.9 ppg to beat Larry Bird and Michael Jordan--after a sensational 1984 playoff run during which he led the league in postseason scoring (34.8 ppg) while scoring at least 40 points in four straight games. During the middle of that 1984 playoff scoring spree, King scored 46 points in back to back games, setting a franchise playoff single game scoring record that stood for 40 years--until Jalen Brunson, who could be dubbed the "Brunson Burner," torched the Philadelphia 76ers for 47 points on Sunday as the Knicks won 97-92 to take a commanding 3-1 series lead. Brunson shot 18-34 from the field, and he also tallied 10 assists while committing only one turnover in 44 minutes. He nearly matched the combined scoring output of Philadelphia's All-Stars Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey, who scored 27 points and 23 points respectively.

With the game up for grabs, Brunson scored nine points in a bruising fourth quarter during which the Knicks scored 20 points on 6-21 (.286) field goal shooting while the 76ers scored 16 points on 6-24 (.250) field goal shooting. Brunson's shifty moves, deft ballhandling, and excellent footwork in the post make him very difficult to guard.

Maxey and Cameron Payne led the 76ers with five fourth quarter points each, while Embiid scored just one point and shot 0-5 from the field. Philadelphia coach Nick Nurse is rightly praised for his strategic acumen, but that fourth quarter will not appear on his career highlight reel: the 76ers looked disorganized, and Embiid spent most of the final stanza camped out behind the three point line. Although Embiid can make three pointers, he is most effective when he is operating in the paint, where he commands double teams, draws fouls, and converts high percentage shots.

Overall, Embiid shot just 7-19 from the field, and the dominant themes of his playoff career have not changed: in the postseason, he is often injured/out of shape, which contributes to his playoff numbers not matching his regular season numbers. Embiid's physical talent and basketball skills are undeniable, but there is no reason to believe that he will ever be healthy enough and well-conditioned enough to lead a team on a deep playoff run. As for Maxey, the sample size is small, but he seems to be better suited to the second option role than James Harden, who capped off his horrific elimination game resume with nine points and five turnovers while shooting 3-11 from the field as the Celtics routed the 76ers, 112-88, in the last playoff game of Harden's Philadelphia career. Harden then whined his way out of town and was traded to the L.A. Clippers, which elevated Maxey to the second option role behind Embiid.  

While Embiid and his 76ers have been treading water at best for the past several years, Brunson and the Knicks are rising. Brunson had a fantastic 2023-2024 regular season, ranking third in Knicks history in both total points (2212) and points per game (28.7). If he continues to play at his current level, Brunson will rank among the greatest guards in franchise history. The short list now, in chronological order, begins with Richie Guerin, who earned six All-Star selections and three All-NBA Team selections as a Knick. Walt Frazier was a seven-time All-Star, and a seven-time member of the All-Defensive Team who also earned six selections to the All-NBA Team. Frazier played an essential role for both of New York's championship teams (1970, 1973). Earl Monroe earned two of his four All-Star selections as a Knick, and he cemented his place in Knicks' lore when he was the second-leading playoff scorer for New York's 1973 NBA championship-winning squad. After participating in one of the NBA's greatest rivalries as members of the Knicks and Bullets respectively, Frazier and Monroe were dubbed the "Rolls Royce" backcourt after Monroe joined the Knicks in 1971. 

My default position is to be skeptical that an undersized player can be a dominant playoff performer, but Brunson may prove to be the exception to that generally applicable rule. After averaging just 8.0 ppg in his 2021 playoff debut as a third year player with the Dallas Mavericks, Brunson scored 21.6 ppg in a 2022 playoff run to the Western Conference Finals and 27.8 ppg as he led the Knicks to the second round last year. He is averaging 33.0 ppg in the first four games of the 2024 playoffs, and his 3-3 career playoff series record could improve to 4-3 as early as Tuesday if the Knicks beat the 76ers again. The similarly sized Damian Lillard--who was selected to the NBA's 75th Anniversary Team--has posted a 4-8 career playoff series record that will be 4-9 as soon as the Indiana Pacers finish off his Milwaukee Bucks. Here are the playoff series records of several other prominent 6-4 and under guards from the past 40 years: 

Thomas and Dumars had great success playing alongside each other with a good supporting cast, though Thomas was clearly the superior player even though they each won one Finals MVP. Billups won his lone NBA title playing alongside four players who made the All-Star team at least once, plus four-time All-Defensive Team member Tayshaun Prince. Iverson carried the 76ers to the 2001 NBA Finals but never made it past the second round in any other season. Parker won four titles playing alongside Pantheon member Tim Duncan, one of the greatest big men in pro basketball history. Nash won back to back regular season MVPs in a league featuring Pantheon members Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant, and Tim Duncan, but he went 0-4 in the Western Conference Finals and just 7-5 in first round series. Rose led the Chicago Bulls to the 2011 Eastern Conference Finals, but two years later he suffered a devastating knee injury that altered his career arc and ended his time as an elite level player, though he is still active. Curry has won four championships and made six NBA Finals appearances with the Golden State Warriors. Andre Iguodala won the Finals MVP for the first of those four championship teams, and then Kevin Durant won the Finals MVP the next two times Golden State captured the title, with Curry earning his lone Finals MVP in 2022. Westbrook teamed with Kevin Durant to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to four Western Conference Finals appearances and the 2012 NBA Finals.  

It will be interesting to revisit the above list in 10 years and see how Brunson stacks up, particularly if he can avoid serious injuries.

Labels: , , , , , , , ,

posted by David Friedman @ 1:50 AM

0 comments

Wednesday, February 27, 2019

LeBron James is NOT the First Player to Rank Among the Top 10 Career Leaders in Scoring and Assists

Contrary to recent headlines and reports, LeBron James is NOT the first player to rank among the top 10 career leaders in scoring and assists. James, who is fifth on the career ABA/NBA scoring list, recently passed Andre Miller to rank 10th all-time in career ABA/NBA assists. This is, without question, a tremendous accomplishment. However, to rephrase a quote from James' past, he is not the first, or second, or third, or fourth, or even fifth player to achieve this distinction.

The inaccurate headlines and stories about this particular subject are symptomatic of a larger issue: basketball history is not well understood and well reported. It is worth recognizing the players who accomplished the dual scoring/playmaking feat prior to James; these players are often not given the credit that they deserve, in part because their accomplishments and milestones are not widely known. 

Rather than going back too far in NBA history, which would provide a small sample size of data from just a few seasons, we can begin by looking at the rankings after the 1965-66 season (the NBA's 20th campaign). At that time, Bob Cousy not only ranked first in career assists (6945) but he also ranked fourth in all-time scoring (16,955 points). How many fans and commentators are aware that Cousy was not just the best playmaker of his era but that he was also a big-time scorer?

In 1966, Oscar Robertson ranked second in career assists (4923) and eighth in career scoring (13,998 points). Richie Guerin ranked sixth in career assists (3755) and 10th in career scoring (13,426 points). Dolph Schayes ranked eighth in career assists (3072) and third in career scoring (18,438 points).

Moving ahead by a decade, after the 1975-76 season, Oscar Robertson ranked first in career assists (9887) and second in career scoring (26,710 points). Jerry West ranked fourth in career assists (6238) and third in career scoring (25,192 points). John Havlicek ranked fifth in career assists (5386) and fourth in career scoring (23,678 points). Wilt Chamberlain ranked seventh in career assists (4643) and first in career scoring (31,419 points). Hal Greer ranked eighth in career assists (4540) and sixth in career scoring (21,586 points).

After the 1985-86 season, Oscar Robertson ranked first in career assists (9887) and sixth in career scoring (26,710 points). Jerry West ranked fifth in career assists (6238) and 10th in career scoring (25,192 points). John Havlicek ranked sixth in career assists (6114) and eighth in career scoring (26,395 points). Kareem Abdul-Jabbar ranked eighth in career assists (5248) and first in career scoring (35,108 points).

In addition, Julius Erving barely missed the cut, ranking third in career scoring (29,021 points) and 11th in career assists (4985, just 55 behind Walt Frazier); Erving retired after the 1986-87 season and he briefly enjoyed the distinction of ranking in the top 10 in both categories (third in career scoring, 10th in career assists), before being passed on the assists list by his former teammate, Maurice Cheeks.

LeBron James is not even close to being the first--or the only--player to rank among the top 10 career leaders in both scoring and assists. Listing the players who accomplished this feat before James does not in any way diminish his greatness; it just sets the record straight, while also providing overdue recognition to a select list of all-time great players who preceded James.

Labels: , , , , , , , , , ,

posted by David Friedman @ 1:28 PM

6 comments

Tuesday, July 06, 2010

Running a One Man Fast Break: Pro Basketball's Greatest Rebounding Guards

A slightly different version of this article was originally published in the December 2002 issue of Basketball Digest.

Last season Jason Kidd provided an eloquent demonstration of the value of a guard who is an excellent rebounder. He frequently grabbed defensive rebounds and pushed the ball full bore up court, creating open shots for his teammates. His ability to be a one man fast break placed tremendous pressure on opposing defenses and played a large part in transforming the New Jersey Nets from a hapless team into the Eastern Conference Champions.

Kidd is one of 11 guards in pro basketball history who averaged at least 6 rpg in five or more seasons (minimum of 60 games played or 350 rebounds each year). Bob Cousy was the first guard to do this, averaging a career-high 6.9 rpg as a Boston Celtics' rookie in 1950-51, and following that with 6-plus rpg averages in four of the next five years. During this period the fast breaking Celtics were consistently the leading scoring team in the league, but their lack of defensive presence in the paint always proved to be fatal in the playoffs.

Not surprisingly, the end of Cousy's run of 6-plus rpg seasons coincided with the arrival of Bill Russell, who became the second leading rebounder in the history of pro basketball. Cousy never averaged more than 5.5 rpg in a season after Russell joined the Celtics, but Boston won championships in six of the seven years that the two were teammates en route to an unprecedented 11 titles in 13 years. Cousy finished his career with 4786 rebounds (5.2 rpg), an impressive total for a 6-1, 175 pound point guard.

Tom Gola played forward in college and is still the NCAA Division I career leader in total rebounds (2201). In the NBA the versatile Gola switched primarily to the backcourt and averaged at least 6 rpg in eight seasons (1956; 1958-64). In 1958-59 he averaged a career-high 11.1 rpg and narrowly missed becoming the first guard to rank in the top ten in the NBA in rebounding. The 6-6 Gola played in five All-Star games and was a member of the 1956 NBA Champion Philadelphia Warriors. His career average of 8.0 rpg is the best ever by a guard.

Richie Guerin averaged 6 or more rpg for five straight years (1958-62), starting in his second season. In 1960-61 he posted a career high 7.9 rpg. Next season the 6-4 Guerin averaged career bests in points (29.5 ppg) and assists (6.9 apg) in addition to posting his final 6-plus rpg season (6.4 rpg). His rebounding dropped dramatically after that year and he finished his career with a 5.0 rpg average.

In 1961-62 Oscar Robertson became the only player to average a triple double for a season (30.8 ppg, 12.5 rpg and 11.4 apg). He ranked first in the NBA in assists, third in scoring and eighth in rebounding, the only guard to ever crack the top ten in that category; his 12.5 rpg average that season is easily the best ever by a guard. Robertson narrowly missed averaging a triple double in several other seasons and actually averaged a triple double for the first five years of his career (30.3 ppg, 10.6 apg and 10.4 rpg). He averaged 6-plus rpg in each of his ten seasons (1961-70) with the Cincinnati Royals before finishing his career with the Milwaukee Bucks, teaming with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to win the only championship of Robertson's career in 1970-71. Robertson's 7804 rebounds are the most ever by a guard and his 7.5 rpg career average trails only Gola, who had a significantly shorter career. At 6-5, 220 pounds, Robertson combined the size and strength of a forward with the quickness and ball handling of a guard.

Jerry West entered the NBA with Robertson in 1960-61 and averaged at least 6 rpg in each of his first six seasons. Like Robertson, he posted his best rpg average in 1961-62 (7.9 rpg) and he also matched Robertson's 30.8 ppg average that season (West played four fewer games than Robertson and ranked fifth in scoring, which at that time was determined by total points, not average). The 6-2, 185 pound West was significantly smaller than Gola, Guerin and Robertson, the other top rebounding guards of his era, but he finished his career with 5376 rebounds (5.8 rpg).

Utah Jazz Coach Jerry Sloan did not receive much playing time as a Baltimore Bullets' rookie in 1965-66. The Chicago Bulls acquired him in the expansion draft prior to 1966-67 and Sloan averaged at least 6 rpg for the next nine years, along the way earning a reputation as one of the best defensive guards ever. His 7.4 rpg career average ranks behind only Gola and Robertson among guards. Sloan (6-5, 200 pounds) averaged a career best 9.1 rpg in 1966-67 and he averaged over 8 rpg two other times.

Like Sloan, Walt Frazier played sparingly as a rookie before having a breakout second season. Frazier averaged 4.2 rpg in 1967-68 as a New York Knicks' rookie before averaging at least 6 rpg during his next eight seasons with the team. He peaked at 7.3 rpg in the 1973 championship season. Frazier slumped to 3.9 rpg in 1976-77, his last season with the Knicks, and played three subpar seasons with the Cleveland Cavaliers before retiring. The 6-4, 205 pound Frazier totaled 4830 rebounds (5.9 rpg) in his career.

Magic Johnson made a run at averaging a triple double for a season in 1981-82, his third year in the league. Magic scored 18.6 ppg, ranked second in the league with 9.5 apg and grabbed a career high 9.6 rpg. In the first 12 years of his career he averaged at least 6 rpg 10 times; in 1980-81 he averaged 8.6 rpg but only played in 37 games and in 1985-86 he averaged 5.9 rpg. Magic averaged 5.7 rpg in his brief 32 game comeback in 1995-96 and finished his career with 6559 rebounds, the third highest total for a guard, and a 7.2 rpg average, trailing only Gola, Robertson and Sloan.

Clyde Drexler is the all-time leader for 6-plus rpg seasons among guards, accomplishing this feat 11 times in his 15 year career. The only seasons that he missed the mark were his rookie year (2.9 rpg in 1983-84), his third year (5.6 rpg) and his last year (4.9 rpg); he failed to qualify in 1992-93, when he averaged 6.3 rpg but only played in 49 games due to injuries. Drexler's best average was 7.9 rpg (1988-89) and he only had one other season above 7 rpg but he consistently stayed above 6 rpg for the bulk of his career. Drexler totaled 6687 rebounds (6.1 rpg).

Michael Jordan entered the NBA one year after Drexler and posted similar career rebounding numbers--6175 rebounds (6.2 rpg), including his 2001-02 totals as a swingman for the Washington Wizards. Jordan has averaged 6-plus rpg seven times. His career best average is 8.0 rpg in 1988-89, a year in which he also averaged a career high 8.0 assists and won his third scoring title with a 32.5 ppg average. Injuries limited him to 18 games in his second season and two retirements further restricted his opportunities to add to his total of 6-plus rpg campaigns. In his last two seasons with the Bulls he averaged 5.9 rpg and 5.8 rpg respectively. In his first season with the Wizards, Jordan averaged 5.7 rpg.

Kidd has averaged 6-plus rpg in six of his first eight seasons, including a career high 7.3 rpg in 2001-02. His career average stands at 6.4 rpg entering the 2002-03 season, so it does not seem likely that he will overtake Gola, Robertson, Sloan or Magic in that category. His ability to amass triple doubles makes him the closest player in today's game to Robertson and Magic, although both of those players scored more and shot much better than Kidd does.

Several other outstanding rebounders deserve mention. The best rebounding guard in ABA history was undoubtedly Warren Jabali (formerly Armstrong). Jabali, powerfully built and an exceptional leaper, posted three seasons of 6-plus rpg, including a career-high 10.4 rpg in 1969-70 for the Washington Capitols, a season in which he also averaged 22.8 ppg and 4.3 apg. Coach Al Bianchi used him extensively at forward that season, but a 6-2, 200 pound guard averaging over 10 rpg as a forward simply has to be included on any list of great rebounding guards. Jabali averaged 6.7 rpg in his seven year career.

Lafayette "Fat" Lever of the Denver Nuggets averaged 6-plus rpg for four straight seasons (1987-90) despite being only 6-3, 180 pounds. Amazingly, he exceeded 8.0 rpg in each of those years, including a career-high 9.3 rpg in 1989-90 (plus 18.3 ppg and 6.5 apg ). The next season he was traded to the Dallas Mavericks, blew out his knee after only four games and was never the same. He finished his career with a 6.0 rpg average.

Other guards who had at least three 6-plus rpg seasons include Michael Ray Richardson, T.R. Dunn, Darrell Walker and Alvin Robertson. George Gervin had two 6-plus rpg seasons as a small forward and one after shifting to shooting guard. Among active guards, other than Kidd and Jordan only Steve Francis and Tracy McGrady have achieved 6-plus rpg more than once. Both posted career highs in 2001-02: 7.0 rpg for Francis and 7.9 rpg for McGrady. Kobe Bryant averaged a career-high 6.3 rpg in 1999-00 but his averages have dropped the past two seasons (5.9 rpg and 5.5 rpg respectively).

Pro Basketball's Greatest Rebounding Guards

Player 6 rpg Best season Career Career Career

seasons rpg average reb. gms rpg






Clyde Drexler 11 7.9 rpg/1989 6687 1086 6.1
Magic Johnson 10 9.6 rpg/1982 6559 906 7.2
Oscar Robertson 10 12.5 rpg/1962 7804 1040 7.5
Jerry Sloan 9 9.1 rpg/1967 5615 755 7.4
Tom Gola 8 11.1 rpg/1959 5617 698 8.0
Walt Frazier 8 7.3 rpg/1973 4830 825 5.9
Michael Jordan 7 8.0 rpg/1989 6175 990 6.2
Jerry West 6 7.9 rpg/1962 5376 932 5.8
Jason Kidd 6 7.3 rpg/2002 3653 573 6.4
Bob Cousy 5 6.9 rpg/1951 4786 924 5.2
Richie Guerin 5 7.9 rpg/1961 4278 848 5.0

Notes: This chart lists all NBA/ABA guards who averaged at least 6 rpg in at least five seasons (minimum 60 games or 350 rebounds in each season).

Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

posted by David Friedman @ 4:21 PM

1 comments

Thursday, August 16, 2007

Joe Caldwell: Banned from Basketball

Joe Caldwell starred at Arizona State University and he has been inducted in both the ASU Hall of Fame and the PAC-10 Hall of Fame. He won an Olympic gold medal in 1964 and became an All-Star in the NBA and the ABA before his pro career abruptly ended. Three decades later, he still seeks the money and respect that he believes he is owed. Here is a link to my HoopsHype.com article about the player whose amazing jumping ability earned him the nickname "Pogo Joe" (10/4/15 edit: the link to HoopsHype.com no longer works, so I have posted the original article below):

It is said that there are two sides to every story--and then there is the truth. Joe Caldwell's story involves lawsuits and disputes about contracts. All that drama makes it too easy to forget just how good of a player he was.

Caldwell played for Arizona State from 1961-64, setting the Sun Devils career scoring record with 1515 points; he still ranks seventh on the school's scoring list and second in career scoring average (18.2 ppg). His tremendous leaping ability earned him the nickname "Pogo Joe" and enabled the 6-5 swingman to grab 929 rebounds, which is still the second best total in school history. He led Arizona State to the NCAA Tournament in each of his three varsity seasons and a 65-18 overall record. In 1975 he became a charter member of the school's Hall of Fame and in 2004-05 Caldwell joined the Pac-10 Hall of Fame, a special honor since ASU was not a member of the Pac-10 (or, to be precise, the Athletic Association of Western Universities, as it was then known) during Caldwell's college career. Caldwell is very proud that the Pac-10 chose to remember his contributions even though ASU was a Western Athletic Conference member during his career; he contrasts this with how the NBA ignores ABA history and statistics.

"Pogo Joe" Caldwell was the fourth leading scorer on the 1964 U.S. Olympic basketball team that went 9-0. Caldwell scored 14 points in the 73-59 gold medal game win over the Soviet Union. "It was such an honor when I was chosen to be one of the 100 players to go to Kentucky to train and to be chosen out of those 100 players to be one of the 12 members of the Olympic team," Caldwell says. "When we got together we trained and we learned from each other. To this day my fondest memory is standing on that podium and saying that I am the best in the world."

The Detroit Pistons selected Caldwell with the second overall pick in the 1964 NBA draft. Caldwell earned a place on the 1964-65 All-Rookie Team by averaging 10.7 ppg and 6.7 rpg. Midway through his second season, the Pistons traded Caldwell to the St. Louis Hawks. Caldwell's numbers steadily improved and the Hawks' record soared as well. In 1967-68, he averaged 16.4 ppg and St. Louis finished first in the Western Division with a 56-26 record.

In 1968-69, Caldwell averaged 15.8 ppg and made the All-Star team for the first time. The Hawks moved to Atlanta prior to the season but were still located in the Western Conference. They knocked off Elvin Hayes and the San Diego Rockets in the first round of the playoffs before falling 4-1 to the powerful Wilt Chamberlain-Jerry West-Elgin Baylor L.A. Lakers. In 1969-70 Caldwell made the All-Star team again, ranking 18th in the league in scoring at 21.1 ppg. The Hawks won the Western Division with a 48-34 record. Atlanta defeated Chicago 4-1 but in the Western Division Finals the Hawks were no match for the Lakers, who swept them. Caldwell averaged a team-high 25.0 ppg in the playoffs, the sixth highest postseason scoring average in the NBA in 1970.

Defense was always one of Caldwell's strong suits and in 1969-70 he earned All-Defensive Second Team honors. He believes that superior conditioning is an essential part of being a great defensive player. "When I was playing I thought that I was in the best shape possible," Caldwell explains. "I thought that I could run all night long." Caldwell honed his defensive skills in part by practicing against Hawks player-coach Richie Guerin, a former All-Star, and Lenny Wilkens, who later was selected as a member of the NBA’s 50 Greatest Players List.

"That's where I trained my mind for speed and size," Caldwell says. "Richie Guerin was an extremely good right-handed player and he was an excellent coach. I would play in practice against him. Then I would play in practice one-on-one against Lenny Wilkens. Then I would switch up the next day and play Paul Silas and Jim Davis, the big guys who were fast. That's why I was able to guard Dr. J (a few years later), because I had trained myself against different sized players and where they were going to go. When you train yourself like that and then you get involved in it, it becomes a part of you."

Caldwell's best NBA season also turned out to be his last one. He felt that the Hawks were not paying him his true market value. His agent Marshall Boyer negotiated a better deal with the ABA's Carolina Cougars, so Caldwell signed with them. A few years earlier when Rick Barry jumped leagues, a court ordered him to sit out one season because of the option clause that was then a standard part of every NBA contract. But in Caldwell's case, a court ruled that he did not have to sit out because the Hawks' offer was less than 75 percent of the value of his previous deal with the team; thus, Caldwell was a free agent and the Hawks had no right to invoke the option clause. Caldwell fervently believes that the NBA never forgave him for this ruling.

Caldwell averaged 23.3 ppg for the Cougars in 1970-71, ranking seventh in the ABA. He made the All-Star team and the All-ABA Second Team but Carolina did not qualify for the playoffs. A knee injury forced Caldwell to miss 23 games in 1971-72 but he returned to form the next season, making the All-Star team and the All-Defensive Team. The Cougars were now coached by Larry Brown, who was in his first season as a professional coach. Brown won the first of his three ABA Coach of the Year awards after leading Carolina to a 57-25 record, the best mark in the Eastern Division. The Cougars lost 4-3 in the Eastern Division Finals to the Kentucky Colonels.

While coaching Carolina, Brown employed a lot of the principles that later became his trademarks. On offense he emphasized team play and quick ball movement, while on defense he utilized the jump-and-switch defense that his mentor Dean Smith used at North Carolina; this system had previously been developed by Ben Carnevale at the Naval Academy and Bob Spear later used it at Air Force, where Smith got his first job as an assistant coach. The jump-and-switch tactics worked perfectly for the Cougars, who had several quick guards and forwards. Caldwell ranked fourth in the ABA in steals in 1972-73, the first year that totals were kept in that category in either league. He had 10 steals in one game, setting an ABA record in that category.

Caldwell also ranked fourth in the ABA in steals in 1973-74, as the Cougars placed three players in the top ten. Carolina's record slipped a bit, though, and the Cougars met the Colonels a round earlier. Carolina's one weakness was at center, while Kentucky had the best center in the league, Artis Gilmore, who dominated play as Kentucky swept Carolina.

Prior to the 1974-75 season, the Carolina franchise fell apart due to financial problems. A new ownership group bought the team and relocated what was left of it to St. Louis, renaming the franchise the Spirits of St. Louis after Charles Lindbergh's famous plane. Several of the team's top players departed and Brown left to coach the Denver Nuggets. St. Louis' roster was filled with young, talented and outlandish players, with rookie Marvin Barnes by far the most talented and outlandish of the bunch.

Barnes averaged 24.0 ppg and 15.6 rpg in 1974-75 but not without going through some controversy that ultimately ended Caldwell's career. Barnes was constantly feuding with the coaching staff and management due to his undisciplined habits on and off the court. At one point during the season he disappeared entirely. The team's management claimed that Caldwell had led Barnes "astray."

Bob Costas, then a young broadcaster for the team, later noted, "Marvin spent much of his life 'astray.' He didn't need a map or someone to take him there." Nevertheless, the team used the Barnes situation as a pretext to suspend Caldwell, who was then 33 years old and still a very productive player (14.6 ppg, 5.1 apg, 4.4 rpg in 25 games prior to the suspension). He testified in court that he had nothing to do with Barnes briefly leaving the team but Caldwell never played another pro basketball game.

More than three decades later, Caldwell still insists that the Barnes situation was just a convenient excuse to mask the real issue. "Marvin Barnes, I was trying to stop that young man," Caldwell says. "I was trying to stop all the young basketball players. I told them that there are three things that you have to do before you get to the pros: eat right, get your rest and be on time. Those are the only three things that you have to do. If the man says practice is at 6:00, he doesn't mean 6:01. He doesn't mean 6:02. He means 6:00 sharp. That's what I was training them (the young players). I was trying to train them, when they (Spirits management) told me that I was bad for their business, so they kicked me out of basketball. I really had nothing to do with Marvin Barnes other than trying to tell that young man to get himself together. Stop having 35 telephones or 15 telephones in his house and all that silly mess. They chose to do what they did because of my pension--and that's an ongoing fight for 25 years now."

Caldwell's original contract with the Cougars included provisions for a very generous pension plan. Caldwell adds that this came in the form of an "irrevocable guarantee" that could not be amended by any party but that almost immediately after signing this deal the team tried to change it, offering to give him a bigger salary in exchange for agreeing to reduce the pension. He declares that his adamant stance that he is entitled to this pension poisoned his relationship with the team's management and is the real reason behind not only his sudden banishment but the fact that no team in either league signed him. Caldwell says that the ABA--and later the NBA after the leagues merged in 1976--kept him suspended to make sure that he will never receive his pension.

"A man who was in great physical condition like myself, who prided himself on defense--and you know how hard it is to play defense--you have to keep the drugs out of your system, keep the alcohol out of your system, you have to come to play every night because there is a good offensive player on every team," Caldwell says.

"Every team we played, that was the guy I was assigned to--I don't care if he was 6-9 or 4-1 I had him. So, why would a guy like that never play after he turned 33? The NBA said I was too old. They've been playing guys who are 41, 42 and I probably could still outplay them now. It's crazy what they tried to say that I was, but I'm not that person. I'm a basketball player. I've always loved the game and I will always love it. I'll go away from here loving it. I was going to play until I was 40. I was going to play 20 years. I had trained my body to play 20 years and then I was going to retire. I was going to be the first 20-year man instead of Robert Parish. That was my dream."

*********************************************************************************

Joe Caldwell's story is fascinating on many levels; he had an excellent college career, he treasures his Olympic experiences above all of his basketball accomplishments, he starred in two leagues and, last but not least, he has been engaged in various legal battles with the ABA and the NBA for well over 30 years. He won some--unlike many players who jumped leagues, Caldwell did not have to sit out a season--and lost others. I touch on some of those legal battles in my article but it really would take a book to do them justice. For those who are interested to read Joe Caldwell's entire story in his own words, his autobiography, titled Banned from Basketball, can be ordered here. Caldwell levels some pretty serious charges, both in conversations that I have had with him and in his book. I don't necessarily agree with everything that he says but other people have taken advantage of opportunities to express themselves about Caldwell over the years so he certainly has the right to give his version of events--and he deserves to be remembered as an outstanding player.

Returning to the more pleasant subject of Caldwell's on-court achievements, here are some "DVD extras" to accompany my article about Caldwell:

Caldwell has special memories of his matchups with Jerry West and Oscar Robertson. "Jerry West was an excellent player. He was right handed; everybody knew from jump street that he was going to the right," Caldwell says. "But Jerry West's ace in the hole, because he was an excellent offensive player, his shot was (taken) going back to the left. He would take two steps back to the left and shoot the jumper. That's why he was so awesome. Then if you guarded him wrong, he would go all the way (to the hoop) with the left hand. Oscar Robertson was a physical guy. I would pick Oscar up (in the backcourt) and make him throw it to someone else to bring it up. He and Wes Unseld had the wide body. I called them big butt guys back in those days. They could use those hips to knock you around. Oscar was round--had big hips, big thighs--but he could move. He'd throw those hips at you, you stumble, and that was all he needed--that one step you take backward. He'd step back and shoot that little one handed jumper. He was good at it."

Caldwell played against Roger Brown in the ABA but actually first met him when they were both in high school. "I met Roger Brown and Connie Hawkins back in the late 50s at a high school All-American game in New York," Caldwell says. "I always thought that Roger Brown could have been one of the greatest forwards of all-time if he had not been delayed from playing pro basketball. Roger was about 6-5, extremely fast and had a good jump shot. I kind of missed part of his career because I was in the NBA at that time. The ABA has fond memories of all the good guys who came through--Moses Malone, Dr. J, we had an entourage of great players who ended up in the NBA."

I've spoken to many ABA players and to a man they talk about the special bond that exists between them. Caldwell is no exception to that: "Back in those days, when I went over there people were saying that it was not a real basketball league. When you insult great players like Dr. J and George McGinnis that automatically brings the players closer together. When I got there I got involved with a lot of the guys and became head of the union and got to know them pretty well. We had an understanding amongst each other and we hung out together and we talked. We had some of that kind of stuff when I was in the NBA, but more so in the ABA. So it’s a good family unit."

The first time that I spoke with Caldwell we discussed the jump and switch defense that Coach Larry Brown has been using throughout his career. I used those quotes in my article titled The Art and Science of NBA Defense.

For more information about the evolution of defensive theory in pro basketball and the history of the jump and switch defense, check out my Hank Egan interview.

Labels: , , , , , , , , , ,

posted by David Friedman @ 3:47 AM

3 comments