20 Second Timeout

Knicks Fire Their Most Successful Coach of the Past 25 Years

"You're timing stinks. We've just made a billion eight for the second year in a row. That's three and a half billion in the past two years. But mark my words, Henry. You may never see a billion eight again. And do you know why? Because you don't know how the f--- we made it in the first place." Lee Iacocca to Henry Ford after being fired by Ford

A family run business can hire and fire on a whim. That is how Ford Motor Company operated under Henry Ford II, which is how Lee Iacocca ended up at Chrysler, where he revitalized a company that had seemed to be on the brink of imminent collapse; meanwhile, Ford Motor Company's market share gradually declined after the Iacocca firing. Iacocca had a lot to do with Ford Motor Company's success in the 1960s and 1970s, but job performance had nothing to do with Henry Ford II's decision to fire Iacocca. 

What does this trip down automotive history memory lane have to do with the NBA? Tom Thibodeau just coached the New York Knicks to their most successful season in the past 25 years--the culmination of three straight years of improved regular season records--but that was not enough to save his job when James Dolan decided to fire him. Much like Henry Ford II ran Ford Motor Company as a family business (never mind the existence of a supposedly independent board of directors), Dolan runs the Knicks as a personal fiefdom where he can declare "Off with their heads!" on a whim. 

The Knicks steadily improved during Thibodeau's tenure, and before this season began no reasonable person would have said that reaching the 2025 Eastern Conference Finals would constitute failure, let alone be a fireable offense. The Knicks went 21-45 in the COVID-19 abbreviated 2019-20 season, and then went 41-31 in Thibodeau's first season at the helm. After slipping to 37-45 in 2021-22, the Knicks went 47-35, 50-32, and 51-31 in the next three seasons, advancing to the second round in back to back years before reaching the Eastern Conference Finals this season.

Prior to hiring Thibodeau in 2020, the Knicks had missed the playoffs for seven straight seasons under six different coaches. The Knicks have had 13 head coaches in the 24 years since the departure of Jeff Van Gundy in 2001.

Do you see the pattern? The one constant is James Dolan, who has owned the team through all of this turbulence; the general managers change, the coaches change, the players change, but Dolan is always there, presiding over the chaos. 

Firing excellent coaches is a trademark move of a dysfunctional franchise. Sensible reasons to fire a coach include underperformance relative to reasonable expectations, declining performance in the absence of extenuating circumstances, or the availability of a superior coach. Those reasons are not applicable to Thibodeau and the Knicks. 

Bashing excellent coaches is a trademark move of media members who do not understand the sport that they cover. The correct way to critique a coach is to focus on a specific coaching decision, provide evidence demonstrating why that coaching decision was suboptimal, and then suggest an alternative coaching decision that would have been better, supporting that alternative with evidence. Media members do not do this for a simple reason: they are not capable of doing this. The barriers to entry for some fields are quite high: to become an attorney, you must first get a high LSAT score, then you must graduate from law school, and then you must pass the bar exam; to become a chess master, you must achieve a rating in timed, competitive play that exceeds the ratings of 99% of competitive chess players. To become a media member, all you have to do is know someone who knows someone who likes you, and that is why media members who could not coach their way out of a paper bag with a machete are paid to intone solemnly (or yell bombastically) about how they would coach a team much better than a career professional coach would.

The prevailing media-driven narrative that Thibodeau did not use his bench enough is as lazy as it is stupid, and the people who propagate that nonsense fail to explain (1) who specifically Thibodeau should have played more minutes, (2) who specifically Thibodeau should have played fewer minutes, and (3) what evidence exists to demonstrate that making those moves would have produced a better outcome than losing in the Eastern Conference Finals.

When I critique a coach, I provide specific evidence-based reasons for that critique. For example, when Kevin Durant entered the NBA and Seattle Coach P.J. Carlesimo declared that he would move Durant from forward to guard, I expressed skepticism: 

Durant has not played one minute of regular season action in the NBA, yet even though he has been advertised as a great inside player his coach already wants him to switch positions. Carlesimo clearly wants to spare Durant from being pounded in the paint but the move to the backcourt will lead to other problems. To the best of my knowledge, Durant has never played guard; now he will have to learn how to do so against the best guards in the world. Also, from what I saw in the summer league, Durant has a very high dribble and is not a great ballhandler, so he will be a turnover waiting to happen if he is relied upon to do a lot of dribbling.

Durant clearly needs to put on some weight but that will be true regardless of which position he plays. I think that he and Seattle would be better served if he takes his lumps at his natural small forward position where he will at least be in the comfort zone of playing in areas of the court that are familiar to him.

The Seattle franchise subsequently moved to Oklahoma City and replaced Carlesimo with Scott Brooks, who immediately shifted Durant back to forward, a decision that I praised: "Moving Durant to small forward is a big step in the right direction that I predict will pay noticeable dividends, possibly as soon as the end of this season." The rest is history, as Durant assembled a Hall of Fame career as a forward; he averaged 20.3 ppg on .430 field goal shooting in his one year as a shooting guard, and in the next 16 seasons he never averaged less than 25.1 ppg and he never shot worse than .462 from the field.

A few years later, Carlesimo was coaching the Brooklyn Nets and Thibodeau was coaching the Chicago Bulls. The teams met in the first round of the 2013 playoffs, and I predicted that Chicago would win: "This series features a huge coaching mismatch. TNT's Kenny Smith says that if a team loses by more than five points then blame the players but if it loses by less than five points blame the coach; the games in this series figure to be low scoring and close and I trust Chicago's Tom Thibodeau much more than I trust Brooklyn's P. J. Carlesimo; this is not just about in-game adjustments but also about elements of preparation that give one team an edge over another." Sure enough, Chicago--which had won 45 games during the regular season while Brooklyn had won 49 games--won that series, 4-3. After the series, I distinguished coach evaluating from coach bashing:

Coach bashing is a favorite media pastime but most media members do not have a clue how to determine if a team is well coached or poorly coached. I respect all NBA coaches tremendously and I fully realize that even a bad NBA head coach knows more about basketball than the vast majority of coaches at any other level of the sport; [George] Karl is a very good NBA coach but he seems to be better suited for rebuilding teams/coaching underdogs than he is at extracting the maximum out of 50-plus win teams. Carlesimo was an excellent collegiate coach and he served as an assistant on Gregg Popovich's San Antonio staff so Carlesimo obviously has a very good basketball mind--but as an NBA head coach he has not measured up well in comparison with the best of the best, a category in which Thibodeau clearly belongs.

When I critique coaches like Carlesimo and Karl I am not trying to suggest that I know more about basketball than they do or that I would be a better NBA head coach; in other words, I am not acting like Bill Simmons. I am just doing my job as an NBA analyst by pointing out that, as much as Karl and Carlesimo know about basketball, there are other coaches who are demonstrably performing at a higher level.

Media members do not like to admit being wrong and it is interesting to see the lengths some of them will go to in order to avoid such admissions. Simmons used to regularly bash Doc Rivers' coaching acumen but now Rivers is widely recognized as a great coach so Simmons had to stop degrading Rivers--but did Simmons admit that he was wrong? Of course not! Simmons' story is that Rivers has evolved into being a great coach. Rivers won the 2000 Coach of the Year award in his first season as an NBA head coach after leading the "heart and hustle" Orlando Magic to a 41-41 record with Darrell Armstrong, John Amaechi and Chucky Atkins as the top three players in the rotation. Has Rivers become a better coach in the intervening 13 years? I am sure that he has; I hope that anyone who does something for more than a decade becomes better at it--but the idea that Rivers was a terrible coach who then became a great coach is absurd. Simmons was dead wrong about Rivers and he should just admit it. 

After retiring from the NBA, Brian Scalabrine has played several one on one games versus regular people who assume that because he was a bench player in the league and is now a retired player they have a chance to beat him--but Scalabrine routinely dominates these players, and he has correctly stated that he is closer to LeBron James' level than any of those players are to his level. Similarly, the worst coach in the NBA is closer to Phil Jackson's level of basketball understanding and acumen than any media member is to the worst coach's basketball understanding and acumen. In other words, media members should approach their craft with humility and with the goal of trying to learn more about basketball strategy--but that does not generate hype or TV ratings, so basketball fans will continue to be subjected to empty minds with large mouths loudly proclaiming "hot takes" devoid of cold logic.

Labels: James Dolan, Jeff Van Gundy, Kevin Durant, New York Knicks, Oklahoma City Thunder, P.J. Carlesimo, Scott Brooks, Seattle Supersonics, Tom Thibodeau

posted by David Friedman @ 10:32 PM

2 comments

Gus Williams Played a Key Role for Seattle's 1979 Championship Team

Gus Williams, who passed away on January 15 at the age of 71, was an explosive 6-2 guard who won at the highest level during an era when the NBA was dominated by big men. He was known as "The Wizard" because of the magical way that he used his athletic ability and speed. Williams averaged 17.1 ppg and 5.6 apg in 825 regular season games during his 11 year NBA career, and he averaged 19.5 ppg and 4.7 apg in 99 playoff games. He ranked third in ABA/NBA regular season career steals (1638) when he retired. Those numbers are very good, but they don't tell the full story of Williams' greatness and impact.

Williams averaged 18.4 ppg and 5.4 apg (first in the PAC-8) in his senior season at USC, earning consensus All-America Second Team honors in 1975. The Golden State Warriors selected him with the 20th overall pick in the 1975 NBA Draft, and he finished second in 1976 Rookie of the Year balloting to Alvan Adams after averaging 11.7 ppg, 3.1 apg, and 1.8 spg. The defending NBA champion Warriors posted the NBA's best regular season record (59-23) before losing 4-3 to the Phoenix Suns in the Western Conference Finals.

After averaging 9.3 ppg in his second season, Williams signed as a free agent with the Seattle SuperSonics, and the Warriors received cash compensation under the free agency rules of that time. Young fans may not remember or know about the Seattle SuperSonics, because the franchise moved to Oklahoma City prior to the 2008-09 season. The Sonics started the 1977-78 season 5-17, but they took off after Lenny Wilkens replaced Bob Hopkins as the coach, finishing with a 47-35 record. Wilkens inserted Williams in the starting lineup, and Williams led the team in scoring (18.1 ppg) and steals (2.3 spg, second in the league behind Ron Lee). During the 1978 playoffs, Williams averaged 18.3 ppg to lead a balanced scoring attack (six players averaged double figures) as the Sonics defeated the L.A. Lakers, the defending NBA champion Portland Trail Blazers, and the Denver Nuggets to reach the NBA Finals for the first time since the franchise was founded in 1967. The Sonics had homecourt advantage versus the Washington Bullets, but lost game seven at home 105-99 as Hall of Famer Dennis Johnson shot 0-14 from the field. Williams averaged 16.3 ppg in the NBA Finals (third on the team behind Fred Brown and Dennis Johnson).

Williams led the Sonics in scoring (19.2 ppg) and steals (2.1 spg, eighth in the league) as they posted the best record in the Western Conference (52-30) in the 1978-79 season. The Sonics earned a first round bye, and then defeated the Lakers and Suns to set up an NBA Finals rematch with the league-leading 54-28 Bullets. Williams led the Sonics in playoff scoring (26.7 ppg, third in the league) and steals (2.0 spg, tied for fifth in the league), netting at least 30 points in seven of the team's 17 postseason games. He scored a series-high 29.0 ppg on .500 field goal shooting as the Sonics defeated the Bullets, 4-1. Williams scored at least 30 points in three of the five Finals games, including a series-high 36 in Seattle's 114-112 game four win. Dennis Johnson won Finals MVP honors. Hall of Famer Jack Sikma also had a strong series for the Sonics (15.8 ppg, 14.8 rpg, 3.2 bpg).

Williams' Seattle teammate Wally Walker recalled that Williams had a way with words: "He had a lot of sayings that were just funny. One of his was, 'There were only two kinds of people, the quick and the dead.' And of course, he was the quick. He was lightning quick and fast, both, and he was a one-man fast break. He got the ball and he weaved through traffic. He was just so fast. No one ever caught him."

In 1979-80, the Sonics set a franchise record by going 56-26 (a mark they did not surpass until the 1993-94 season), but that was only good enough for second place in the West behind the L.A. Lakers led by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and rookie sensation Magic Johnson. Larry Bird's Boston Celtics (61-20) and Julius Erving's Philadelphia 76ers (59-23) also had better records than the Sonics. Williams led the Sonics in scoring (22.1 ppg, 11th in the league) and steals (2.4 spg, fourth in the league) while earning an All-NBA Second Team selection. He finished eighth in MVP voting, but--oddly--was not selected as an All-Star. The Sonics defeated the Trail Blazers and the Milwaukee Bucks in the playoffs before losing 4-1 to the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals. Williams led the Sonics in playoff scoring (23.7 ppg, fifth in the league) and steals (2.3 spg, third in the league) while shooting a team-high .514 from the field. In the Western Conference Finals, Williams led the team in scoring (23.6 ppg), assists (6.6 apg), and steals (2.6 spg) while shooting .495 from the field.

Williams sat out the 1980-81 season due to a contract dispute, and Seattle's record plummeted to 34-48; prior to that season, the Sonics traded Dennis Johnson to the Suns for Hall of Famer Paul Westphal, but Westphal played just 36 games due to injury.

Williams returned to the Sonics in style in 1981-82, averaging a career-high 23.4 ppg, winning the NBA's Comeback Player of the Year award, earning his only All-NBA First Team selection, and finishing fifth in regular season MVP voting. The Sonics went 52-30 and then defeated the Houston Rockets in the first round before falling 4-1 to the San Antonio Spurs. Williams led the Sonics in playoff scoring (26.3 ppg, second in the league) and steals (1.6 spg, 11th in the league).

The Sonics started the 1982-83 season 12-0, but they went 36-34 the rest of the way before being bounced in the first round by the Trail Blazers. Williams led the team in regular season scoring (20.0 ppg), assists (8.1 apg, sixth in the league), and steals (2.3 spg, seventh in the league).

In 1983-84, the Sonics slipped to 42-40, and Williams ranked second on the team in scoring (18.7 ppg) behind Sikma. Williams led the team in assists (8.4 apg, seventh in the league), and steals (2.4 spg, third in the league). After the season, the Sonics traded Williams to the Washington Bullets for Tim McCormick and Ricky Sobers.

Williams led the Bullets in scoring (20.0 ppg), assists (7.7 apg, 10th in the league), and steals (2.3 spg, seventh in the NBA) in 1984-85, but the team went 40-42 and lost to the 76ers in the first round. Williams averaged 13.5 ppg for the 39-43 Bullets in 1986-87, and then he signed with Atlanta as a veteran free agent in January 1987, finishing his career by averaging 4.2 ppg in 33 games with the 1987-88 Hawks.

Williams was durable and consistent; he played in at least 77 games in nine of his 11 NBA seasons, and he averaged at least 18.1 ppg in seven seasons. He was even better in the playoffs, scoring more points (19.5 ppg) on a higher field goal percentage (.476) than he did during the regular season (17.1, .461). Williams' teams went 11-9 in playoff series, including 1-1 in the NBA Finals. It is interesting to compare Williams' playoff record to the playoff records of several of the guards who were selected to the NBA's 75th Anniversary Team and are either already inducted in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame or are locks to be inducted as soon as they become eligible:

Nate Archibald: 6-4 playoff series record; 1-0 in NBA Finals

Dave Bing: 1-5 playoff series record; 0-0 in NBA Finals

George Gervin: 3-13 ABA/NBA playoff series record; 0-0 in ABA/NBA Finals

Hal Greer: 7-12 playoff series record; 1-0 in NBA Finals

James Harden: 15-15 playoff series record; 0-1 in NBA Finals

Allen Iverson: 6-8 playoff series record; 0-1 in NBA Finals

Jason Kidd: 16-16 playoff series record; 1-2 in NBA Finals

Damian Lillard: 4-9 playoff series record; 0-0 in NBA Finals

Reggie Miller: 14-15 playoff series record; 0-1 in NBA Finals

Chris Paul: 12-15 playoff series record; 0-1 in NBA Finals

Oscar Robertson: 8-9 playoff series record; 1-1 in NBA Finals

John Stockton: 17-19 playoff series record; 0-2 in NBA Finals 

Isiah Thomas: 16-7 playoff series record; 2-1 in NBA Finals

Jerry West: 16-12 playoff series record; 1-8 in NBA Finals

Russell Westbrook: 11-12 playoff series record; 0-1 in NBA Finals

Lenny Wilkens: 5-7 playoff series record; 0-1 in NBA Finals

From that distinguished group, only Isiah Thomas won more championships than Gus Williams, and only Nate Archibald, Isiah Thomas, and Jerry West posted a higher playoff series winning percentage. The point of comparing these numbers is not to say that Williams was as good or better than these players, but rather to highlight that Williams' impact on winning seems to be forgotten or overlooked. Williams is not in the Hall of Fame, and his name is not brought during discussions of all-time great guards. Williams' peak did not last as long as the peaks of some of the all-time great guards and his absolute peak was not quite as high as the absolute peaks of some of the guards listed above, but Williams was a key player on teams that consistently performed well in the playoffs.

Labels: Atlanta Hawks, Dennis Johnson, Golden State Warriors, Gus Williams, Jack Sikma, Lenny Wilkens, Seattle Supersonics, Washington Bullets

posted by David Friedman @ 10:27 PM

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Paul Silas Excelled as a College Player, as an NBA Player, and as an NBA Coach

Paul Silas, who made significant contributions as a college basketball player, as an NBA player, and as an NBA coach, passed away today at the age of 79. Silas is a member of the College Basketball Hall of Fame, and he is one of a handful of players who averaged at least 20 ppg and at least 20 rpg in a Division I career; that group includes Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famers Bill Russell, Julius Erving, and Artis Gilmore. 

During his 16 season NBA playing career, Silas earned two All-Star selections (1972, 1975), and he made the All-Defensive Team five times, including two First Team selections (1975, 1976). Silas ranked in the top 10 in rebounding four times, and he led the NBA in offensive rebounds (365) in the 1975-76 season. He played all 82 games in six seasons, and he played at least 80 games in each of his final 10 seasons! I rarely use exclamation points, but those durability statistics deserve emphasis, because "load management" was a foreign concept to Silas, and to many other players from his era who took pride in playing in as many games as possible: those players tried to figure out how to stay on the court as opposed to looking for excuses to justify not playing.

Silas played an important role on three championship teams, including the first two Boston championships of the post-Bill Russell era (1974, 1976), and the only championship in Seattle SuperSonics/Oklahoma City Thunder franchise history (1979). 

Near the end of his playing career, Silas called coaching "The toughest job I've ever come in contact with," and he stated that he did not want or expect to become a coach. Silas also explained his philosophy about competition: "What separates the winners from the losers is your mental attitude. Except for a very few, like Jabbar, we're all on the same keel. The only thing I care about is winning and what my players feel about me. You see, winning takes care of everything. To win, you have to die to win. That's barring nothing. Whatever it takes." 

Silas' aversion to coaching proved to be short-lived. He retired as a player after the 1979-80 season, and he coached the San Diego Clippers to a 36-46 record in the 1980-81 season. The Clippers have had good teams for the past decade, so younger fans may not remember or know that the Clippers did not make the playoffs from 1977-91; the franchise's problems could not be blamed on a particular coach. Unfortunately for Silas, his losing record during a three year stint with the Clippers may have made it difficult for him to get his next head coaching job. From 1986-99, Silas served as an assistant coach for several NBA teams (New Jersey Nets, New York Knicks, Phoenix Suns, Charlotte Hornets). 

Silas became the Hornets' coach during the lockout-shortened 1999 season. The Hornets missed the playoffs in 1999, but they made the playoffs in each of the next four seasons. Silas was fired after the 2002-03 campaign despite the team's 47-35 record. The Hornets did not match that win total until 2007-08, which was also the next time the team made the playoffs.

The Cleveland Cavaliers hired Silas prior to the 2003-04 season, and he was LeBron James' first NBA head coach. The Cavaliers went 35-47 during James' rookie season, and they had a 34-30 record in James' second season when new owner Dan Gilbert fired Silas. The Cavaliers went 8-10 down the stretch with Brendan Malone serving as the interim head coach.

Silas' coaching career did not end on a high note--he returned to Charlotte during the 2010-11 season, but was fired after Charlotte posted the worst winning percentage in NBA history (.106) in the lockout-shortened 2011-12 season. Charlotte's top three scorers were Gerald Henderson (15.1 ppg), Corey Maggette (15.0 ppg), and rookie Kemba Walker (12.1 ppg). With all due respect to those players, that is not a trio capable of leading an NBA team very far, and it is not surprising that with that talent level the team ranked 30th (last) in scoring and 27th in points allowed. 

Silas was well-respected as a coach, and he was a better coach than his record might suggest, because his record is more of a reflection of the talent level and overall organization stability that he dealt with as opposed to any deficiencies as a motivator or strategist. Silas was known for his intelligence and leadership as a player, and he did not lose those skills when he became a coach.

Silas is one of the first coaches who I interviewed during the period when I regularly covered NBA games as a credentialed reporter. He was Cleveland's coach at that time, and I was neither a Cleveland beat reporter nor a well-known national media member, but the first time I reached out to the Cavaliers to set up a one on one interview he welcomed me into his office, and he was very gracious with his time and with the information that he provided.

I incorporated Silas' insights into several of the feature articles and player profiles that I wrote in the early 2000s. For example, Silas played against future Hall of Famer Bob Dandridge in the NBA Finals in 1978 and 1979. Here is Silas' analysis of Dandridge's game:

He was a great shooter, especially mid-range, and he could get his shot off on almost anybody. He really understood how to play. When they needed a hoop--even when he was playing with Milwaukee and Oscar and those guys--he shined. Of course, with Washington he was one of the focal points of that team. He just had the uncanny ability of making big shots at the right time. He talked the game and understood it and imparted that (to his teammates). He was very, very smart about the game and how he fit within the scheme and how he wanted everybody else to fit.

That interview is very memorable for me, because it helped me understand why so many articles include incorrect quotations and false information; when I first asked Silas to describe Dandridge, Silas said that Dandridge was "a talker." I am a generation younger than Silas, and I could have just ran with the notion that Dandridge was a trash talker, which would be a natural way to understand what Silas said--but I had done my research about Dandridge, and I was under the impression that Dandridge was very soft-spoken. Something did not add up, so I asked a follow up question to clarify what Silas meant by "talker." The above quote explaining that Dandridge "talked the game and understood it and imparted that (to his teammates)" only came about because (1) I asked the follow up question and (2) Silas was a patient interview subject who was happy to provide more details. Unfortunately, it is very easy to find examples of interviews that went downhill because of the interviewer's lack of knowledge/lack of skill combined with the interview subject's lack of patience. I have also seen examples of reporters deliberately asking a slanted question to a player, and then literally running to the opposing team's locker room to tell another player "Player X said this" without mentioning that Player X did not say that out of the blue but rather in response to a specific question.

Interviews should be about sharing information and spreading knowledge. That is how I have always approached interviews, and Silas was one of my favorite interview subjects.

Perhaps the most special exchange that I had with Silas was when we talked about the 1972 NBA-ABA All-Star Game. Silas played for the NBA in that legendary contest, and he shared with me his recollections of the most famous play from that game: Julius Erving's free throw line dunk (yes, Erving dunked from the free throw line not only in dunk contests, but--at least once--in an actual game). I am forever grateful to Silas, Erving, and Mel Daniels for sharing with me their memories of that spectacular sequence:

Silas will never forget a particular fourth quarter play from the 1972 game: "The one defining moment was, I had the ball and Doc stole the ball from me and went down and slammed this thing harder than I had ever seen anybody slam the ball in my life." Prior to the game Silas knew little about Erving: "Zelmo Beaty, who I had played with in St. Louis and Atlanta, had jumped leagues and when I saw him he was telling me about Doc--that he wasn't a good shooter but he just went by everybody. He just took up the slack, penetrated around and dunked on everybody. And I'm wondering how that happened. How could it happen? He developed a consistent shot, but it took time for him to do that. He was special."

Daniels had seen some great dunks before, including one by Hawkins over Daniels' Minnesota Muskies' teammate Sam Smith in the 1968 ABA playoffs, but nothing quite like Erving's flight in the 1972 Supergame: "He leapt from behind the free throw line, hung in the air for two or three seconds it seemed and dunked it. It was an absolutely amazing dunk and you had to see it to really appreciate it. Telling you about it does not do it the justice it deserves."

Erving recalls, "I stole the ball and got Oscar Robertson and Archie Clark caught back on defense and Archie went for the steal, which made me pick the ball up. I was around the top of the key, coming in transition…I took a step and a half and went airborne from somewhere around the foul line, just inside the foul line. I noticed Oscar Robertson was there and just looking at me like, 'What does this kid think he is going to do?' He figured that I was going to come out of the air before I made it to the basket, but I got all the way to the basket and I dunked the ball and the ball bounced up into his hands and there was a certain expression on his face at the time--as well as Archie's--almost like it was a moment. And I just ran back downcourt, but later on a lot of people talked about that play."

In many ways Erving's dunk symbolizes the ABA and the Supergames in one spectacular athletic flourish--it was amazing and yet no footage of it exists. Fortunately, Erving's free throw line dunk to win the 1976 ABA Slam Dunk contest was captured for posterity.

Silas' name often came up when I interviewed other players and coaches, and it was very obvious that Silas was highly respected around the league. Jack Sikma told me how much Silas helped him when Sikma was a young player and Silas was a savvy veteran: 

"Paul had a great effect helping me to become successful, both on the court and off of it--his approach to the game, how tough you have to be, how relentless you have to be, how focused you have to be," Sikma remembers. "Not just Paul, but the other veterans on the team kind of saw what could maybe happen (with my game) and were always encouraging me--but also challenging me. We always practiced really hard. We were a bunch of young guys trying to get it together. During those practice sessions I got a lot of input from Paul Silas, both verbally and physically"--Sikma chuckles as he says this--"about how to play the game. John Johnson, Fred Brown, Dennis Awtrey--all the guys who had been in the league for awhile--were really helpful and encouraging and challenged us every day."

One of my earliest memories about Silas is a statement of his that I read about when I was a kid. Silas' 1972-73 Boston Celtics went 68-14--including 32-8 on the road (the team played 39 home games, 40 road games, and three games on a neutral court)--and Silas talked about how the best sound that a road team hears is silence as the home fans leave after watching their team lose. Silas relished going into opposing arenas and figuring out how to win, and that tenacity is one reason why his teammates loved him and his opponents respected him. True competitors want to face the best opposition under the most trying circumstances--and then prevail, because that is the best way to measure who you are.

Rest in peace, road warrior/respected teammate Paul Silas.

Labels: Bobby Dandridge, Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers, Jack Sikma, Julius Erving, LeBron James, Mel Daniels, Paul Silas, Seattle Supersonics

posted by David Friedman @ 11:30 PM

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Olympic Star/ABA MVP/NBA All-Star Spencer Haywood Receives Overdue Hall of Fame Selection

Spencer Haywood, who has been selected as a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame's 2015 class, is a seminal figure in basketball history. He starred for the 1968 gold-medal winning U.S. basketball team after many black players boycotted that squad. Then, Haywood left the University of Detroit as an underclassman to play for the ABA's Denver Rockets, for whom Haywood won Rookie of the Year, All-Star Game MVP and regular season MVP honors in 1969-70 after leading the league in scoring (30.0 ppg) and rebounding (19.5 rpg). Hall of Famers Wilt Chamberlain (37.6 ppg, 27.0 rpg) and Walt Bellamy (31.6 ppg, 19.0 rpg) are the only other rookies in pro basketball history who averaged at least 30 ppg and at least 19.0 rpg.

After a contract dispute with the Rockets, Haywood jumped to the NBA and signed with the Seattle SuperSonics, precipitating a legal battle that eventually reached the Supreme Court:

Haywood's case involved a tangled web of legal issues: the Denver Rockets accused attorney Al Ross of convincing Haywood to breach his contract with them, while Haywood and Ross responded that the Rockets had signed Haywood when he was still a minor and did not have proper legal representation; the NBA objected to Seattle signing Haywood before his college class had graduated; the ABA wanted Haywood to be forbidden from playing for Seattle and compelled to fulfill the terms of his Rockets' contract; the NBA Buffalo Braves felt that they should have the rights to draft Haywood and attempt to sign him before any other NBA club dealt with him.

The NBA's four year rule was declared illegal by the courts and Haywood was permitted to play with the SuperSonics until the remaining legal issues were resolved. The legal wrangling wiped out most of Haywood's 1970-1971 season and he played in only 33 games for the SuperSonics, posting very respectable averages of 20.6 points and 12.0 rebounds. Haywood's case was eventually settled out of court, with the end result that he was allowed to remain with the SuperSonics permanently.

The overturning of the four year rule had a lasting impact on collegiate and professional sports. In 1971 the NBA instituted a "hardship" rule that allowed underclassmen to be drafted as long as they proved that they suffered from financial hardship. Needless to say, such declarations were a mere formality, as noted by writer Jackie Lapin in the April 1975 issue of Sport: "…almost anyone who has been any good at the game in the past decade would qualify--with the probable exception of Bill Bradley, the banker’s son."

Haywood's case paved the way for players to enter the NBA before their college class graduated. He thus affected the career paths of a host of Hall of Famers, from Magic Johnson to Isiah Thomas to Michael Jordan all the up to Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James.

Haywood's transition to the NBA was not easy. Haywood has often said that during his first season with Seattle the road team public address announcer would say Haywood's name and then declare that he was an "illegal player" who would not be permitted to participate. I have not been able to find a published account that includes that specific detail but, in a larger sense, Haywood's recollection is accurate. The Bulls sued the SuperSonics for $600,000 and the Trail Blazers formally protested a 121-118 loss because Haywood's presence on Seattle's roster was an illegal distraction. According to an article in the January 4, 1971 edition of The Bulletin, Haywood sat on the bench but did not play in the games in question versus Chicago and Portland.

For decades, Haywood has felt slighted by the NBA, its players and the Hall of Fame selection process. He believes that the NBA never forgave him for winning in court and that many of the players who came after him never heard of him and/or did not appreciate his role in changing the rules. In a 2004 interview, Haywood told me, "The young guys coming out now don't get to know who Spencer Haywood is. They (the NBA) have named the rule 'early entry.' So, 'early entry' was not a person. 'Early entry' never went to the Supreme Court and fought anybody."

Haywood is very proud of his performance in the 1968 Olympics, when he averaged a team-high 16.1 ppg and set a U.S. Olympic record by shooting .719 from the field as Team USA went 9-0. He is the first teenager (age 19) to play for the U.S. Olympic basketball team. Haywood told me, "In '68 we went to the Olympics and we had the black boycott and all these things, Harry Edwards and everybody was against us and all these things, but we looked at ourselves as Americans, Americans first, and that we had to defend our country against the oncoming enemy, which at that time was Russia, the Soviets, whoever. It's the same thing that is going on now in terms of sports. When you talk about international sports, you talk about the Davis Cup in tennis and the World Cup, I mean countries are going nuts over this. Why aren't we as Americans looking at it as something special?"

After carrying Team USA to the gold medal, Haywood made his aforementioned spectacular ABA debut. Haywood was a dominant player in the first portion of his career. He averaged 24.9 ppg and 12.1 rpg during his five seasons in Seattle, earning four All-Star selections and four All-NBA Team selections (including First Team honors in 1972 and 1973 when he finished fifth and seventh respectively in MVP voting).

Seattle traded Haywood to the New York Knicks in 1975 and his battle with cocaine addiction tarnished the latter part of his career. He bounced around to several teams and he only averaged more than 20 ppg once in his final seven seasons. Haywood averaged a career-low 9.7 ppg in 1979-80 as a member of the Lakers' championship team, though he was suspended during the playoffs and did not receive his championship ring for several years. He spent the 1980-81 season playing pro basketball in Italy. Haywood bounced back in 1981-82 as a solid contributor (13.3 ppg, 5.6 rpg) who helped Washington advance past the first round of the playoffs for the first time since the Bullets reached the NBA Finals in 1979.

Haywood averaged 20.3 ppg and 10.3 rpg in his 13 season professional career. His high performance level in college basketball, Olympic basketball and pro basketball should have earned him Hall of Fame induction years ago. When I spoke with Haywood about the slight, he was understandably upset but also philosophical about his situation: "What I do is I try to eat right, treat people right, and do right and pray right and just be righteous with people. In time, it will come. That's my thing."

Labels: ABA, Basketball Hall of Fame, Denver Rockets, NBA, Seattle Supersonics, Spencer Haywood, Washington Bullets

posted by David Friedman @ 12:42 PM

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Atlanta Hawks Seek to Win Championship Without a Superstar

Most NBA championship teams--and all NBA dynasties that have won at least three titles--are led by one or two of the 10 best players in the league. The 2014-15 Atlanta Hawks are built on a different model; they do not have one true superstar but they have several very good players. In my first piece for The Roar, where I am now a weekly columnist, I compare the Hawks to the 1979 SuperSonics and the 2004 Pistons, two teams that won titles without having a superstar player.

Here is the link to that article:

Atlanta Hawks Seek to Win Championship Without a Superstar

Labels: Al Horford, Atlanta Hawks, Detroit Pistons, Jeff Teague, Kyle Korver, Paul Millsap, Seattle Supersonics

posted by David Friedman @ 10:52 AM

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2005-06 Western Conference Preview

This article was originally published in two parts at Suite101.com on October 12, 2005 but those links have been taken down so I have combined both parts here as one article.

2005-2006 Western Conference Preview, Part I

I could post the complete rosters and statistics for each team, but I suspect that most readers of this article fall into one of two categories: (1) you visit NBA.com regularly and know the name of every team's 12th man or (2) you are a casual fan who is just looking for the bottom line: who I think is going to do well and who I think should book reservations for Secaucus, New Jersey in time for the 2006 Draft Lottery. So, without further ado, here is how I see the Western Conference stacking up in 2005-06.

Note: Division winners receive the top three playoff seeds regardless of the records of the other teams, so since the Spurs and Rockets are in the same division they cannot be seeded one and two. I am listing the teams based on how I perceive their chances to win the NBA title, without regard to playoff seeding.

1) San Antonio Spurs: Quite simply, this team is stacked. The NBA champions added Michael Finley, Nick Van Exel and Fabricio Oberto, a 6-10 teammate of Manu Ginobili's on Argentina's national team. If Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili stay healthy it is hard to see anybody beating the Spurs in a seven game series.

2) Houston Rockets: Houston also had an excellent offseason, adding Stromile Swift, Rafer Alston, Derek Anderson and Lonny Baxter. The dynamic duo of Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming is the key to everything for the Rockets and the two superstars played well together down the stretch last year. Their chemistry only figures to improve this season. The only down note is the questionable health of Bob Sura, who provided a lot of toughness and energy last year.

3) Dallas Mavericks: Coach Avery Johnson is trying to remake the Mavericks into a defensive-oriented team. The loss of Michael Finley to the already powerful Spurs is sure to hurt. Dirk Nowitzki gets a lot of criticism for a player who regularly puts up 25-plus points and 10-plus rebounds. As long as he maintains that kind of production Dallas will always be a factor.

4) Denver Nuggets: Denver was the hottest team in the league in the second half of the season after the hiring of George Karl as head coach. There is no way that the Nuggets will maintain that torrid pace for an entire season, but expect to see a career year out of Carmelo Anthony and steady play out of the point guard duo of Andre Miller and Earl Boykins. The key for the Nuggets is the health and productivity of Marcus Camby and Kenyon Martin. To beat Dallas, Houston or San Antonio it is vital that they provide an answer for Nowitzki, Yao or Duncan.

5) Phoenix Suns: Amare Stoudemire just had microfracture surgery on his knee and is expected to be sidelined for the first four months of the season, a devastating blow to a team that failed to retain the services of Quentin Richardson and Joe Johnson, two key members of the rotation last year. Even if the offseason had gone perfectly for the Suns they would have been hard pressed to match the record they posted in 2004-05. Now everything revolves around how quickly—and how completely—Stoudemire recovers from his knee surgery. The best case scenario is that Stoudemire returns in time for the second half of the season and is in peak form by playoff time. If that happens, Phoenix—regardless of their regular season record—could become a very dangerous team. The worst case scenario is that Stoudemire's knee ends up like Penny Hardaway's or Jamal Mashburn's, in which case Phoenix—regardless of their regular season record—will go nowhere in the postseason.

One of these five teams will win the Western Conference in 2006 (it will be the Spurs unless Duncan or Ginobili suffers a severe injury). Check out Part II to see who will earn the other three playoff berths and to find out if it is true that the Draft Lottery Studio will be renamed after Los Angeles Clippers' owner Donald Stirling.

Kobe and Phil have reunited—will it feel good? Can Seattle stay alive in the playoff chase after enjoying surprising success in 2004-05? Quick, read Part II of the Western Conference Preview before I make another reference to a 1970s song lyric!

Western Conference Preview, Part II

In Part I we looked at the Western Conference’s contenders. Part II examines the pretenders--those who will make cameo appearances in the postseason and those who won't even make it that far.

6) L.A. Lakers: As I mentioned in my Eastern Conference Preview, I don't buy the notion that the NBA is a "player's" game in which coaching doesn’t matter. Phil Jackson will absolutely have a significant impact on this team. Don’t forget that the Lakers were solidly in the top eight in the West before Kobe Bryant sprained his ankle. Bryant was never completely right after that, the team was further rocked by a mid-season coaching change and when Lamar Odom went down with an injury the life seemed to go out of the team. This team will win at least 45 games.

7) Sacramento Kings: Sacramento is no longer a championship contender, but any team with Mike Bibby, Peja Stojakovic and Shareef Abdur-Rahim should not miss the playoffs. As always, defense is a question mark for this squad, but their offensive fire power will be more than sufficient to keep them over .500.

8) Seattle SuperSonics: Seattle was one of the surprising teams in the league last year. Coach Nate McMillan left to take the Portland job and it will be interesting to see if new coach Bob Weiss can get similar results out of this group. I think that this team, like the Chicago Bulls in the East, overachieved a little bit and that they will fall back a bit this season.

Secaucus Here We Come!

Of the teams on the outside looking in, Golden State probably has the best chance to grab a playoff spot. Golden State excited its fans by winning some games down the stretch after the Warriors were out of postseason contention—the Cincinnati Bengals used to do that too, only to revert to their losing ways when the next season began. The Bengals seem to have gotten out of that rut this year, but I wouldn't bet on Golden State doing so just yet. The Warriors do have some young talent but I think it will take one more year of seasoning—and Baron Davis staying healthy--before they reach the playoffs. Memphis made the playoffs last year but their roster got a lot older after making several offseason moves; it is unclear if the Grizzlies actually got better.

The rest of the West is a mess. Two questions simply cannot be avoided: (1) How many frequent flier miles have the Clippers racked up over the years from their annual treks to Secaucus? (2) In the interest of fuel conservation shouldn't the Draft Lottery simply be moved to Clippers' headquarters?

While the Clippers' annual trips to New Jersey provide comic relief of sorts (except to Billy Crystal and three or four other Clippers fans), there is nothing funny about the Hornets' situation. The franchise just moved from Charlotte to New Orleans and now Hurricane Katrina has forced the team to relocate temporarily to Oklahoma City. They will be sentimental favorites but even if they somehow double last year's 18 wins they still won't be in the playoffs. Utah actually looked fairly decent last year before do-everything forward Andrei Kirilenko got hurt. Still, even a fully healthy Kirilenko will not be able to keep the Jazz in the top eight in the West for an entire season. Minnesota went from Western Conference finalist to complete train wreck; for that team to miss the playoffs with no major roster changes is inexcusable. The Timberwolves got rid of Latrell Sprewell and Sam Cassell, both of whom seemed to be causing a lot of the team's chemistry problems, but it is questionable if the overall talent level of the roster has been significantly upgraded. Portland has gone from once being a model franchise to looking something like Clippers Northwest.

Labels: Dallas Mavericks, Denver Nuggets, Houston Rockets, L.A. Lakers, Phoenix Suns, Sacramento Kings, San Antonio Spurs, Seattle Supersonics

posted by David Friedman @ 2:45 AM

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2005 NBA Second Round Playoff Preview: Miami versus Washington and San Antonio versus Seattle

This article was originally published at Suite101.com on May 7, 2005.

At this point--pending the results of Saturday night's two seventh games--I have correctly predicted the winner of four out of six NBA first round playoff series; in three cases I was also right about the length of the series. Of course, it should be pointed out that there was a typographical error in my Seattle-Sacramento analysis. The passage about Seattle's post players should have read, "Jerome James, who entered this season with career averages of 4.9 ppg and 3.7 rpg (3.8 ppg and 2.3 rpg in six postseason contests), is poised to become a double-double threat on a nightly basis. Sacramento's frontline will have no answer for him." OK, OK, I admit--I did not see that coming. What's next--Darko Milicic replaces Ben Wallace in the starting lineup for Detroit? James deserves much credit for his dominant performance against Sacramento--17.2 ppg, 9.4 rpg, 2.2 bpg, .581 shooting from the field and .824 free throw accuracy. My other miss so far is picking the Chicago Bulls over the Washington Wizards in seven games, when in fact Washington won in six games. The Bulls joined a short list of teams that lost a playoff series after winning the first two games. Phoenix, Miami and Detroit performed exactly as I projected, while San Antonio stumbled in its first home game and then actually had a slightly easier time than I expected, knocking off Denver in five games instead of six. I picked Boston and Houston to win the two series that are still going, but thought that both teams would win in six; in fact, both teams actually did win game six, but those wins did not close out the series.

The second round of the NBA playoffs will begin on Sunday with Miami facing Washington and San Antonio squaring off against Seattle. Here are previews of both matchups:

Eastern Conference Semifinals

Miami (1) vs. Washington (5)

Regular season records: Miami, 59-23; Washington, 45-37

First Round Result: Miami def. New Jersey, 4-0; Washington def. Chicago, 4-2

Head to Head: Miami, 4-0

Team Playoff Leaders:

Scoring--Miami: Dwyane Wade (26.3 ppg); Washington: Gilbert Arenas (23.0 ppg)

Rebounding--Miami: Udonis Haslem (11.8 rpg); Washington: Antawn Jamison (7.3 rpg)

Assists--Miami: Wade (8.8 apg); Washington: Arenas (6.5 apg)

Analysis/Prediction: Despite the fact that injuries reduced Shaquille O'Neal to pedestrian first round statistics (18.3 ppg, 8.8 rpg, .75 bpg), Miami dispatched New Jersey in four straight games. Three top perimeter players plus Nenad Krstic is clearly not a recipe to stop the Heat. Washington's high scoring trio of Gilbert Arenas, Larry Hughes and Antawn Jamison is younger and healthier than the Nets' Vince Carter, Jason Kidd and Richard Jefferson but also less playoff tested and more erratic. Washington does not have a big man as good as Krstic but has more overall frontcourt depth than New Jersey, with Brendan Haywood, Etan Thomas and Jared Jeffries platooning effectively against Chicago. Of course, going against the Bulls, who were missing Eddy Curry, is a lot different than trying to put a roadblock in front of Shaq Diesel. Dwyane Wade performed at an amazingly high level against New Jersey, joining Oscar Robertson, Wilt Chamberlain, Bob Cousy, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan as the only players in NBA history to average at least 25 ppg, 8 apg and 6 rpg in a playoff series while shooting at least 50 percent from the field. Read that list of names again and you will note that basketball fans are on a "one name" basis with each of those players: nobody asks "Who are you talking about"?" if you mention Oscar, Wilt, Cooz, Bird, Magic or Michael. Shaq still requires double-teaming even in his present condition and containing Wade may require supernatural assistance, which means that Damon Jones and Eddie Jones are shooting a lot of wide open three pointers--17-34 for Damon and 13-25 for Eddie. As ESPN football analyst Sean Salisbury likes to say, "That's like shooting fish in a barrel--I've never done it before, but it looks easy."Unless Shaq or Wade miss significant playing time, Washington has no chance to win this series. Shaq figures to be rejuvenated after having a week off between games and is sure to be out to make a statement in light of the preliminary reports that he lost a close MVP race to Phoenix point guard Steve Nash. However, as New Jersey showed, it is possible to compete against Miami, at least in short stretches, particularly if Shaq is still less than 100% healthy. Miami will win this series in five games.

Western Conference Semifinals

San Antonio (2) vs. Seattle (3)

Regular season records: San Antonio, 59-23; Seattle, 52-30

First Round Result: San Antonio def. Denver, 4-1; Seattle def. Sacramento, 4-1

Head to Head: Tied, 2-2

Team Playoff Leaders:

Scoring--San Antonio: Manu Ginobili (22.8 ppg); Seattle: Ray Allen (32.4 ppg)

Rebounding--San Antonio: Tim Duncan (11.2 rpg); Seattle: Jerome James (9.4 rpg)

Assists--San Antonio: Tony Parker (5.8 apg); Seattle: Allen (5.2 apg)

Analysis/Prediction: While Jerome James' first round performance was most impressive, it is highly unlikely that he will maintain that level of production against a Spurs' frontline anchored by Tim Duncan. Ray Allen was magnificent in the first round, but will not find the going so easy against either Bruce Bowen or Manu Ginobili. While both teams won 4-1 in the first round, San Antonio knocked off a hot Denver Nuggets team by a dominant 10.2 ppg differential while Seattle won by a much less convincing 4.4 ppg. Without James' surreal numbers Seattle would have been in big trouble against Sacramento. The Spurs seemed to lock in to what it takes to shut down Seattle as the season progressed; Seattle scored 113 points in its first game versus San Antonio and has put up fewer points in each successive contest, culminating in an 89-76 loss on March 30 (neither Duncan nor Seattle All-Star Rashard Lewis played in that game). The Spurs may have started the postseason one game late and Duncan may still not be at 100% but the Spurs will defeat Seattle in six games.

Labels: Miami Heat, San Antonio Spurs, Seattle Supersonics, Washington Wizards

posted by David Friedman @ 12:43 AM

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2005 NBA First Round Western Conference Playoff Preview

This article was originally published at Suite101.com on April 21, 2005.

Phoenix (1) vs. Memphis (8)

Regular season records: Phoenix, 62-20; Memphis, 45-37

Team leaders:

Scoring--Phoenix: Amare Stoudemire (26.0 ppg); Memphis: Pau Gasol (17.8 ppg)

Rebounding--Phoenix: Shawn Marion (11.3 rpg); Memphis: Lorenzen Wright (7.7 rpg)

Assists--Phoenix: Steve Nash (11.5 apg); Memphis: Jason Williams (5.6 apg)

Last 10 games: Phoenix, 7-3; Memphis, 4-6

Head to Head: Tied, 2-2

Analysis/Prediction: Memphis slid to the eighth spot as the season drew to a close and made a run at ninth (i.e., missing the playoffs) before Minnesota finally gave up the ghost on its wasted season. Phoenix has been consistently strong all year, led by the playmaking of MVP candidate Steve Nash, the inside play of Amare Stoudemire and the three point shooting of Quentin Richardson, Joe Johnson, Shawn Marion and Nash. Although Memphis did play well against Phoenix earlier in the season, there is no reason to believe that Memphis is going to reverse its late season slide and knock off the number one seed. Memphis may take one game, but it is more likely that Phoenix wins in a sweep.

San Antonio (2) vs. Denver (7)

Regular season records: San Antonio, 59-23; Denver, 49-33

Team leaders:

Scoring--San Antonio: Tim Duncan (20.3 ppg); Denver: Carmelo Anthony (20.8 ppg)

Rebounding--San Antonio: Duncan (11.1 rpg); Denver: Marcus Camby (10.0 rpg)

Assists--San Antonio: Tony Parker (6.1 apg); Denver: Andre Miller (6.9 apg)

Last 10 games: San Antonio, 6-4; Denver, 8-2

Head to Head: Tied, 2-2

Analysis/Prediction: Denver is the proverbial "team that no one wants to face" but the Spurs counter with the man Shaquille O'Neal calls "The Big Fundamental"--Tim Duncan, a smooth and deceptively strong post player who combines impeccable footwork with a deadly bank shot form the wing and a very effective top of the key jump shot (which makes it all the more mystifying that he only shot 67% from the free throw line this year). He dueled Marcus Camby and Kenyon Martin in the 1999 and 2003 NBA Finals respectively and produced Finals MVP performances on both occasions. Duncan also has a major impact on the defensive end of the court; he is not thought of as an explosive leaper but he annually ranks among the league's best shot blockers, enabling Bruce Bowen, Manu Ginobili and the rest of the Spurs' perimeter players to play very aggressively because they know that Duncan will take care of any guards or forwards who think that they have a clear path to the hoop. If Duncan is healthy, Denver's tremendous record down the stretch will not matter one bit. Watching Houston's Dikembe Mutombo dominate the Nuggets--albeit without Camby--a week before the playoffs start does not speak well of Denver's ability to deal with legitimate post players. However, if Duncan cannot play or if he performs significantly below par then Denver has an excellent chance. Ginobili is an "X" factor for the Spurs, a guy who can score 30 points on any given night and who always wreaks havoc with his hustle and savvy. Denver will fight valiantly, but the Spurs will win in six games.

Seattle (3) vs. Sacramento (6)

Regular season records: Seattle, 52-30; Sacramento, 50-32

Team leaders:

Scoring--Seattle: Ray Allen (23.9 ppg); Sacramento: Peja Stojakovic (20.1 ppg)

Rebounding--Seattle: Reggie Evans (9.4 rpg); Sacramento: Brad Miller (9.3 rpg)

Assists--Seattle: Luke Ridnour (5.9 apg); Sacramento: Mike Bibby (6.8 apg)

Last 10 games: Seattle, 2-8; Sacramento, 6-4

Head to Head: Seattle, 3-1

Analysis/Prediction: A lot depends on the status of Kings' sharpshooter Peja Stojakovic and center Brad Miller. Getting back sparkplug guard Bobby Jackson is a big plus for the Kings. Seattle burst out of the gates with a gaudy 27-9 record, but has been fading for most of the second half of the season. Injuries to Rashard Lewis and Vlad Radmanovic contributed to Seattle's problems, but do no entirely explain Seattle's drop off; you can only get so much mileage out of a frontcourt featuring Reggie Evans, Jerome James, Nick Collison and Danny Fortson, who averages 5.6 rpg and 4.3 fouls per game. Seattle has the home court advantage but has actually won nearly as much on the road as at home. Sacramento will win in six games.

Dallas (4) vs. Houston (5)

Regular season records: Dallas, 58-24; Houston, 51-31

Team leaders:

Scoring--Dallas: DirkNowitzki (26.2 ppg); Houston: Tracy McGrady (25.7 ppg)

Rebounding--Dallas: Nowitzki (9.7 rpg); Houston: Yao Ming (8.7 rpg)

Assists--Dallas: Jason Terry (5.4 apg); Houston: McGrady (5.7 apg)

Last 10 games: Dallas, 9-1; Houston, 7-3

Head to Head: Tied, 2-2

Analysis/Prediction: Dallas (nine game winning streak) and Houston (seven game winning streak) were the two hottest teams in the Western Conference at the end of the season. That makes this matchup intriguing and disappointing at the same time--intriguing because both teams are strong enough to make it to the Conference Finals, but disappointing because one of them will be bounced in the first round. The two teams tied in the regular season series, but both Dallas wins came before the Rockets really hit their stride. Each team won once on the other's court. Expect to see big scoring numbers from Nowitzki and McGrady--even though McGrady has not yet made it to the second round of the playoffs he has career playoff averages of 29.4 ppg, 6.6 rpg and 5.4 apg. McGrady's lowest scoring average in three playoff appearances with Orlando was 30.8 ppg. This series looks like a toss-up and normally in that case one would go with the team that has the seventh game at home, but I think that Houston will get a split in the first two games and close out the series in six games.

I predict that San Antonio will defeat Houston in the Western Conference Finals. Then, in a battle between the only teams other than the Lakers to win NBA titles since Michael Jordan's 1998 retirement, Detroit will match the achievement of the 1989-90 "Bad Boys" Pistons, repeating as champions.

Labels: Dallas Mavericks, Denver Nuggets, Houston Rockets, Memphis Grizzlies, Phoenix Suns, Sacramento Kings, San Antonio Spurs, Seattle Supersonics

posted by David Friedman @ 12:10 AM

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The NBA in the 1970s: Sonic Boom

I wrote the chapter about the NBA in the 1970s for the 2005 anthology Basketball in America: From the Playgrounds to Jordan's Game and Beyond. This is the 11th of 12 installments reprinting that chapter in its entirety.

I have removed the footnotes that accompanied the original text; direct quotations are now acknowledged in the body of the work and I will post a bibliography at the end of the final installment. I hope that you enjoy my take on one of the most fascinating and eventful decades in NBA history.

Sonic Boom

The 1978 off-season featured plenty of action. Free agent Rick Barry left the Warriors for Houston but some of the impact of this move was lessened when the Warriors were awarded point guard John Lucas as compensation. Philadelphia traded George McGinnis to Denver for Bobby Jones--perhaps the best defensive forward in the league--and guard Ralph Simpson, a former ABA All-Star. Pat Williams later wrote about how the Sixers' perceived McGinnis at the time: "For the third year in a row, George--a productive player in regular season--had let us down in the playoffs. In a strange way, it boiled down to the fact that George was not all that enamored with the game of basketball. He had great agility, strength, and skills and the game had been good to him--but he wasn't intense in his approach to the game. He didn't have a good work ethic, and he hardly ever touched a basketball in the off-season. George's mind was just not in the game."

Undoubtedly, the strangest transaction occurred when Buffalo owner John Brown and Boston owner Irv Levin swapped franchises. Levin wanted to relocate to the West Coast and knew that he could not transplant the storied Celtics. Instead, after completing the deal with Brown he moved the Braves to San Diego and renamed them the Clippers. Brown and Levin also traded some players in the process but Boston's Red Auerbach wisely refused to give up the rights to Boston's top draft pick, a junior eligible by the name of Larry Bird. Meanwhile, Bill Walton's sad saga continued. After doctors informed Walton that he would have to miss the entire season due to his foot injury, he blasted the medical treatment that he received from the Blazers and announced that he would not return to the team when his contract expired; in 1979, Walton signed with the Clippers but he only played 14 games in the 1979-1980 season due to his continuing injury problems.

While the Bullets and Sonics were surprising visitors to the Finals in 1978, they were favorites in 1979. Washington marched to a league best 54-28 record, and the Sonics nipped right at their heels at 52-30. Portland dropped to fourth place in the Pacific Division without Walton, barely nabbing the last playoff spot with 47 wins. The surprising Kansas City Kings won the Midwest Division at 48-34, one game better than the Nuggets. The Kings featured star guards Otis Birdsong and Phil Ford. Birdsong led the team with 21.7 points per game, while Ford scored 15.9 points per game, ranked fourth in the league with 8.6 assists per game, and finished fifth in steals (2.2 steals per game). Ford won Rookie of the Year and All-NBA Second Team honors. The Suns and Lakers earned the other two playoff spots in the West.

George Gervin and the Spurs (48 wins) narrowly beat the Rockets (47) and Hawks (46) for their second consecutive Central Division title. The Atlantic Division was not nearly as close. The Sixers had become more defensive minded and team oriented but a midseason injury to Doug Collins (19.5 points per game) left the team seriously bereft of scoring. Julius Erving raised his average to 23.1 points per game but he also battled lingering injuries. With Collins out, the Sixers could have used World B. Free, who had been dealt to the Clippers for a first round pick just before the start of the season. Free, who always complained about his lack of playing time while he was with the talent laden Sixers, finished second in the league in scoring (28.8 points per game) to Gervin (29.6 points per game). Philadelphia slumped to 47 wins and did not have the best record in the conference for the first time since Erving joined the team. The Nets, led by guard "Super" John Williamson (22.2 points per game) and second year forward Bernard King (21.6 points per game), snared the last Eastern playoff berth with 37 wins.

Both Eastern Conference Semifinals featured great drama. The Bullets took a three to one lead against the Hawks but stumbled badly in the next two contests and barely survived game seven at home, 100-94. In the other bracket, Gervin's Spurs won the first two against Erving's Sixers and led three to one after a 115-112 win in Philadelphia in game four. The Sixers responded by blowing out the Spurs in San Antonio in game five and narrowly winning game six at home, 92-90. The series shifted back to Texas for game seven and the Spurs outlasted the Sixers, 111-108. In the Eastern Finals the Bullets jumped to a three to one lead versus the Spurs only to again end up in a do or die seventh game. This time Washington escaped by two points, 107-105.

The Western Conference Semifinals were not nearly as close. The Sonics eliminated the Lakers four to one, although two of the games went to overtime. Phoenix wiped out Kansas City by the same margin. The Seattle-Phoenix encounter was much more competitive, although it did not seem that way at first when the Sonics comfortably won the first two games at home. The Suns tied the series by taking games three and four in Phoenix and then grabbed the lead by winning game five in Seattle. The Sonics narrowly avoided elimination with a 106-105 victory in Phoenix and closed out the Suns with a 114-110 win in Seattle.

The Bullets stormed to an 18 point lead against the Sonics in game one of the Finals, but Seattle came all the way back only to lose when Dennis Johnson fouled Larry Wright during a shot attempt as time expired. The Sonics derived a great amount of confidence from their ability to come back from such a deficit against the defending champions. Seattle promptly stole home court advantage with a 92-83 win in game two and then took the lead in the series after a 105-95 victory in game three. The next two games were close, but Seattle won both of them to claim the title in five games. Versatile guard Johnson avenged his horrible game seven performance from the previous year, winning Finals MVP honors. The Sonics are one of the few teams in NBA history to win a championship without the services of at least one player from the 1996 50 Greatest Players in NBA History list.

Speaking of great players, the Pro Basketball Writers Association of America selected Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the Player of the Decade for the 1970s, the Knicks' Red Holzman as Coach of the Decade and the following quintet as the Team of the Decade: Abdul-Jabbar at center, Erving and John Havlicek at forward and Walt Frazier and Jerry West at guard.

Labels: Dennis Johnson, Julius Erving, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Seattle Supersonics, Washington Bullets

posted by David Friedman @ 1:38 AM

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The NBA in the 1970s: The Dynasty That Never Was; the Opera Isn’t Over Until the Fat Lady Sings

I wrote the chapter about the NBA in the 1970s for the 2005 anthology Basketball in America: From the Playgrounds to Jordan's Game and Beyond. This is the 10th of 12 installments reprinting that chapter in its entirety.

I have removed the footnotes that accompanied the original text; direct quotations are now acknowledged in the body of the work and I will post a bibliography at the end of the final installment. I hope that you enjoy my take on one of the most fascinating and eventful decades in NBA history.

The Dynasty That Never Was; the Opera Isn’t Over Until the Fat Lady Sings

The 1976-1977 season was a breakthrough for Bill Walton and the Blazers. Injuries cost Walton 47 games in his rookie season and 31 games in his second year but he missed "only" 17 games during Portland’s title run. During his outstanding college career at UCLA he had experienced some knee troubles but it later became clear that Walton had congenital structural problems with his feet. Altering his movements to accommodate his foot injuries led to the knee ailments. Dr. James Nicholas, a New York physician whose clients included Jets' quarterback Joe Namath, once examined Walton and told him simply, "You don’t belong in this league, young man."

During the brief stretch that Walton was relatively healthy he was a dominant player and his Blazers looked like a dynasty in the making. By the 1978 All-Star Break, Portland was 40-8 and had won 44 straight home games. They pushed their record to 50-10 after a 113-92 win over the 76ers on February 28, but Walton badly sprained his left ankle in that game and missed the rest of the regular season. Portland went 8-14 the rest of the way without Walton, but still finished with the best record in the league. Walton's impact was so profound that he won the MVP even though he only appeared in 58 of 82 games. Denver again won the Midwest Division, this time with 48 wins, while Phoenix, Seattle, Los Angeles and Milwaukee completed the playoff field in the Western Conference.

The 1977-1978 season concluded with the closest, most exciting contest for the scoring title in league history. Pete Maravich seemed to be heading for his second straight scoring crown until he was slowed by injuries, culminating in a blown out knee that ended his season before he played enough games or scored enough points to qualify for the title. From then on it was a race between ABA standouts George Gervin and David Thompson. They dueled until the last day of the regular season, April 9, 1978. That afternoon Thompson seemed to clinch the scoring title with a stunning 73 point outburst (tied for third best in NBA history) in a 139-137 loss to the Pistons. He scored a record 32 points in the first quarter, breaking Wilt Chamberlain's mark for points in one period (31), which had been set in his famous 100 point game. Thompson scored 53 points in the first half. Overall, he shot a blistering 28-38 from the field and 17-20 from the free throw line. Gervin's Spurs faced the Jazz in the Superdome that evening. The Iceman broke Thompson's hours-old record by scoring 33 points in the second quarter. He also had 53 points by halftime. Gervin knew that he needed 59 points to pass Thompson and he finished the game with 63. Amazingly, he played only 33 minutes (Thompson logged 43) as the Spurs lost 153-132. Gervin launched 49 shots, making 23, and he matched Thompson by converting 17-20 from the free throw line. Less than two weeks later, Thompson became the highest paid player in NBA history, signing a five year, $750,000 per year contract with the Nuggets. This surpassed the salaries of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar ($650,000 per year) and Maravich ($600,000 per year). Thompson later won the 1979 All-Star MVP (becoming the only player to win All-Star MVPs in the ABA and the NBA), but a drug problem soon diminished his production considerably. His career ended prematurely after he sustained leg injuries falling down a staircase while partying at New York’s Studio 54.

Gervin led the Spurs to the Central Division title with a 52-30 record. Sixers' Coach Gene Shue, already on thin ice after his team's collapse in the 1977 Finals, was fired after Philadelphia stumbled to a 2-4 start. New Coach Billy Cunningham, only recently retired as a player after a severe knee injury, rallied the Sixers, who won their second straight division title with a conference best 55-27 record. The other Eastern Conference playoff teams included the Bullets, Cavaliers, Knicks and Hawks, none of whom won more than 44 games. Julius Erving (20.6 points per game), George McGinnis (20.3 points per game) and Doug Collins (19.7 points per game) seemed to be poised to make a return trip to the Finals. The Sixers easily swept the Knicks in the Eastern Semifinal but had to wait a week while San Antonio and Washington slugged it out in the other Eastern Semifinal. The underdog Bullets eventually prevailed in six games. Bob Dandridge, who won a title playing alongside Abdul-Jabbar and Oscar Robertson with the 1970-1971 Bucks, joined Washington as a free agent before the 1977-1978 season and proved to be a key addition, particularly in the playoffs. The Bullets were devastated during the regular season by injuries, hence their mediocre record, but their strong frontline, anchored by Elvin Hayes, Wes Unseld, Bob Dandridge and Mitch Kupchak, peaked during the postseason. They took the Sixers' homecourt advantage with a 122-117 game one win and closed out the series in six games.

In the West, Walton got an extra week of rest because Portland earned a first round bye. Then the Blazers faced Seattle in the Western Semifinals. The Sonics started the season 5-17 but closed with a strong 42-18 mark after Coach Bob Hopkins was replaced by Lenny Wilkens. Seattle was an excellent defensive team whose offense was built around the talents of guards Gus Williams, Fred Brown, and Dennis Johnson. The Sonics knocked off Abdul-Jabbar and the Lakers in the first round but Portland beat Seattle three out of four times in the regular season. The big question was whether Walton could perform effectively after being out of action for nearly two months. In game one he scored 17 points and grabbed 16 rebounds in 34 minutes, but Seattle won, 104-95. Although Walton's statistics were not bad, he limped noticeably throughout the game and could not walk without pain the next day, spending most of the time in the whirlpool. Two days later he practiced but did not run. His availability for the second game was questionable at best. Early in his career Walton refused to take painkilling injections, but this time he relented. Walton scored 10 points with six rebounds in 15 first half minutes. He did not play in the second half but the Blazers hung on to win, 96-93. When Walton's foot was x-rayed the next day a fracture was found in the tarsal navicular bone below his left ankle. Blazers' team doctor Robert Cook denied that the injections contributed in any way to the fracture, stating that the painkilling drugs were administered in a part of his foot "completely separated from the area of the break." In the other Western Semifinal the Nuggets took a three games to one lead over the Bucks, but Milwaukee won two straight before losing game seven 116-110 in Denver. The Sonics finished off the Walton-less Blazers, took the home court advantage in the Western Finals with a 121-111 win in game two in Denver and eventually captured the series in six games.

It is unlikely that too many preseason prognosticators selected Washington and Seattle for the 1978 Finals. Washington was built around its veteran frontcourt, while Seattle's strength was its young guards. These differences lent some intrigue to the matchup. Due to scheduling problems, Seattle faced the same disadvantage that the Bullets had dealt with in the 1975 Finals: playing game one at home and then going on the road for the next two. Seattle was not fazed by this, winning the first game 106-102 and taking a three games to two lead in the series. The Bullets faced the prospect of their third final round loss without a single championship but Washington Coach Dick Motta picked an appropriate slogan for his scrappy team: "The opera isn't over until the fat lady sings." The Bullets blew Seattle out 117-82 in game six and the series came down to a seventh game in Seattle. Johnson, who played valiantly in the postseason, went 0-14 from the field and his backcourt mate Williams shot 4-12. The Bullets became only the third NBA team to win a game seven in the Finals on the road. Unseld was awarded the Finals MVP for his rebounding, passing, and bone crushing picks.

Labels: Bill Walton, Elvin Hayes, Seattle Supersonics, Washington Bullets, Wes Unseld

posted by David Friedman @ 1:25 AM

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Memorable Moments and Milestones in Sonics' History

As a Cleveland Browns fan who lost his team in 1995 and had to endure three years in NFL exile followed by nearly a decade of on field ineptitude, I have great empathy for Seattle SuperSonics' fans. Here is a look back at some key moments from each of the 41 seasons of Sonics' basketball:

1967-68: The Sonics posted a 23-59 record in their first season, finishing fifth in the six team Western Division; the San Diego Rockets, also an expansion team, went 15-67. Walt Hazzard--a 6-2 guard who later converted to Islam and changed his name to Mahdi Abdul-Rahman--ranked seventh in the NBA in scoring (1894 points, 24.0 ppg) and fifth in assists (493, 6.2 apg). Hazzard became the first All-Star in Sonics' history, scoring nine points in the midseason classic.

1968-69: The Sonics traded Hazzard for Hall of Famer Lenny Wilkens, who ranked ninth in the NBA in scoring (1835 points, 22.4 ppg) and second in assists (674, 8.2 apg). Wilkens made the All-Star team. Second year center Bob Rule emerged as a big time player, ranking fourth in the NBA in scoring (1965 points, 24.0 ppg). The Sonics improved to 30-52.

1969-70: Rule and Wilkens both make the All-Star team as the Sonics finished 36-46 and missed qualifying for the playoffs by just three wins. Wilkens not only served as player-head coach but he also became the first Sonic to lead the NBA in a major statistical category (9.1 apg).

1970-71: The Sonics again missed the playoffs by just three wins (38-44). After prevailing in a case that went all the way to the Supreme Court and paved the way for underclassmen and high school players to sign with NBA teams, Spencer Haywood jumped from the ABA to the Sonics and averaged 20.6 ppg and 12.0 rpg in 33 games. Wilkens won the All-Star Game MVP and ranked second in the NBA in assists (9.2 apg).

1971-72: Haywood became the first Sonic to make the All-NBA Team, earning a First Team selection after ranking fourth in the NBA in scoring (26.2 ppg). The Sonics went 47-35 but again narrowly missed making the playoffs, this time by four wins. Wilkens ranked second in the NBA in assists (9.6 apg) in his final season as Seattle's player-head coach; the Sonics traded him to Cleveland after the season.

1972-73: The Sonics took a big step backwards without Wilkens, plummeting to 26-56 despite Haywood setting a franchise single season scoring record (29.2 ppg, third in the NBA) and earning a second straight All-NBA First Team selection.

1973-74: Hall of Famer Bill Russell became Seattle's coach and led the Sonics to a 36-46 record as Haywood ranked among the league leaders in scoring (23.5 ppg, eighth) and rebounding (13.4 rpg, seventh). Haywood made the All-NBA Second Team.

1974-75: Russell guided the Sonics to a 43-39 record and the franchise's first playoff berth; they fell 4-2 in the Western Conference semifinals to eventual champion Golden State. Haywood ranked ninth in the NBA in scoring (22.4 ppg) and made the All-NBA Second Team.

1975-76: Fred Brown emerged as the team's best player after the Sonics traded Haywood to the Knicks. Brown ranked fifth in the NBA in scoring (23.1 ppg). His backcourt partner Donald "Slick" Watts led the NBA in assists (8.1 apg) and steals (3.2 spg). The Sonics again went 43-39 and lost 4-2 in the Western Conference semifinals, this time to the Suns.

1976-77: Bill Russell resigned after the Sonics slipped to 40-42 and missed the playoffs.

1977-78: The Sonics fired Coach Bob Hopkins after a 5-17 start, paving the way for the triumphant return of Lenny Wilkens. Three years removed from his playing days and fresh off of a two year run as Portland's coach, Wilkens led the Sonics to a 42-18 record down the stretch. The Sonics made their first trip to the NBA Finals but lost 4-3 to the Washington Bullets.

1978-79: The Sonics finished with the best record in the Western Conference (52-30) and defeated the Bullets 4-1 in a Finals rematch, claiming the first and only championship in Sonics history. Dennis Johnson won the Finals MVP. Second year center Jack Sikma ranked fifth in the NBA in rebounding (12.4 rpg) and made the first of seven straight All-Star Game appearances.

1979-80: The Sonics won 56 games, setting a franchise record that stood until 1993-94, but the L.A. Lakers beat the Sonics 4-1 in the Western Conference Finals to end Seattle's quest to make a third straight trip to the Finals. Sikma again ranked fifth in the NBA in rebounding (11.1 rpg), while Dennis Johnson and his backcourt partner Gus Williams each made the All-NBA Second Team.

1980-81: The Sonics traded Dennis Johnson to Phoenix for Paul Westphal and Gus Williams sat out the entire season because of a contract dispute. The Sonics fell to 34-48, missing the playoffs for the first time since 1977. The always consistent Sikma ranked fifth in the NBA in rebounding (10.4 rpg).

1981-82: Gus Williams returned to action and made the All-NBA First Team, averaging 23.4 ppg (seventh in the NBA) and 2.2 spg (seventh in the NBA). Sikma ranked second in the NBA in rebounding (12.7 rpg) and the Sonics finished second in the West with a 52-30 record but lost 4-1 to San Antonio in the Western Conference semifinals.

1982-83: The Sonics won their first 12 games of the season but limped to a 48-34 record and a 2-0 loss to Portland in a first round miniseries. Sikma ranked sixth in the NBA in rebounding (11.4 rpg).

1983-84: Sikma ranked sixth in the NBA in rebounding (11.1 rpg) as the Sonics posted a great home record (32-9) and a lousy road record (10-31). The season ended with a 105-104 overtime loss to Dallas in the fifth game of a first round playoff series.

1984-85: The Sonics slipped to 31-51, missing the playoffs. After the season, Wilkens resigned as coach and accepted a front office position with the team. Bernie Bickerstaff became the new head coach.

1985-86: After another 31-51 season, Sikma requested to be traded to a contender and was shipped to the Milwaukee Bucks, who had gone 57-25 and made it to the Eastern Conference Finals. Rookie Xavier McDaniel provided hope for the future, averaging 17.1 ppg to finish second on the team behind Tom Chambers (18.5 ppg).

1986-87: Dale Ellis (24.9 ppg, eighth in the NBA), Tom Chambers (23.3 ppg, 13th in the NBA) and Xavier McDaniel (23.0 ppg, 14th in the NBA) each averaged at least 23 ppg as the Sonics posted a 39-43 record but got hot at the right time and advanced all the way to the Western Conference Finals before being swept by the Lakers. Chambers, a late addition to the All-Star team, won MVP honors after scoring a game-high 34 points in a 154-149 overtime victory for the West.

1987-88: The trip to the Western Conference Finals raised expectations but the Sonics won just five more games than they did in the previous season and fell to Denver 3-2 in the first round of the playoffs. Ellis (25.8 ppg, seventh in the NBA), McDaniel (21.4 ppg, 14th in the NBA) and Chambers (20.4 ppg, 18th in the NBA) each averaged at least 20 ppg.

1988-89: Chambers left to sign with Phoenix as a free agent but the Sonics added some muscle by acquiring 1988 rebounding champion Michael Cage. Ellis ranked third in the NBA in scoring (27.5 ppg) as the Sonics went 47-35 and beat Houston in the first round of the playoffs before being swept by the Lakers.

1989-90: The Sonics went 41-41 and missed the playoffs for the first time since 1985-86 as injuries limited Ellis to 55 games. Shawn Kemp, a 20 year old rookie forward who did not play major college basketball, averaged 6.5 ppg and 4.3 rpg and ranked second on the team with 70 blocked shots despite playing just 1120 minutes. After the season, the Sonics fired Bickerstaff, replacing him with Hall of Famer K.C. Jones, who coached the Celtics to championships in 1984 and 1986.

1990-91: The Sonics again went 41-41 but this time that was good enough to make the playoffs, where they lost 3-2 in the first round to number one seeded Portland. Early in the season the Sonics traded McDaniel to Phoenix for Eddie Johnson and then in February the Sonics sent Ellis to Milwaukee for Ricky Pierce. Kemp's playing time more than doubled and he averaged 15.0 ppg and 8.4 rpg. Rookie point guard Gary Payton averaged 7.2 ppg and led the team in assists (6.4 apg).

1991-92: The Sonics fired Jones after an 18-18 start. Interim Coach Bob Kloppenburg went 2-2 before George Karl took over and led the Sonics to a 27-15 mark in the second half of the season. The Sonics beat Golden State 3-1 in the first round before losing 4-1 to Utah. Pierce led the team in scoring (21.7 ppg). Kemp averaged 15.5 ppg and 10.4 rpg, increasing those numbers to 17.4 ppg and 12.2 rpg in the playoffs.

1992-93: The Sonics tied Houston for the second best record in the West (55-27), earned the second seed based on a 3-1 head to head record and beat the Rockets in overtime in game seven of the Western Conference semifinals. Number one seeded Phoenix defeated Seattle in game seven of the Western Conference Finals. Pierce again led the team in scoring (18.2 ppg) but the Sonics increasingly were becoming Kemp and Payton's team. Kemp averaged 17.8 ppg and 10.7 rpg to earn his first All-Star selection, while Payton averaged 13.5 ppg and 4.9 apg while ranking ninth in the NBA in steals (2.2 spg). Nate McMillan ranked fourth in the NBA in steals (2.4 spg) and was a steadying influence at both ends of the court.

1993-94: The best regular season yet in Sonics' history (63-19, best record in the NBA) came to a shocking ending with a 3-2 first round loss to eighth seeded Denver. Kemp led the team in scoring (18.1 ppg) and rebounding (10.8 rpg), while Payton ranked second in scoring (16.5 ppg) and led the Sonics in assists (6.0 apg). Both players made the All-Star team; Kemp also made the All-NBA Second Team and finished seventh in MVP voting, while Payton made the All-NBA Third Team and the All-Defensive First Team, the first of nine straight selections to that squad. Payton finished sixth in MVP voting. McMillan led the NBA in steals (2.97 spg), while Payton ranked seventh (2.3 spg). Newly acquired Detlef Schrempf and Kendall Gill provided depth.

1994-95: Another strong regular season (57-25) ended in first round failure, this time a 3-1 loss to the Lakers. Kemp (18.7 ppg, 10.9 rpg) and Payton (20.6 ppg, 7.1 apg) both made the All-Star team again. Kemp joined Payton on the All-NBA Second Team. Payton ranked third in the NBA in steals (2.5 spg), while McMillan slipped to fifth (2.1 spg).

1995-96: Seattle posted the best record in the West (64-18) and survived a tough seven game Western Conference Finals versus Utah to advance to the NBA Finals, where the 72-10 Chicago Bulls won the first three games en route to a 4-2 victory. Kemp (19.6 ppg, 11.4 rpg) and Payton (19.3 ppg, 7.5 apg, league-best 2.9 spg) both made the All-NBA Second Team. Payton also won the Defensive Player of the Year award and finished sixth in MVP voting.

1996-97: The Sonics tied for the second best record in the West (57-25) but this time the head to head tiebreaker favored the Rockets, who beat Seattle in seven games in the Western Conference semifinals. Payton finished sixth in MVP voting and made the All-NBA Second Team after ranking 10th in the NBA in scoring (21.8 ppg) and third in steals (2.4 spg). After the season the Sonics traded Kemp in a three way deal that brought Vin Baker to Seattle.

1997-98: The Sonics again tied for the second best record in the West (61-21) but suffered another second round playoff loss, this time a 4-1 thumping by the Lakers. Payton averaged 19.2 ppg, ranked seventh in the NBA in assists (8.3 apg) and finished fourth in steals (2.3 spg) to earn his first All-NBA First Team selection and claim third place in MVP voting. Baker averaged 19.2 ppg and 8.0 rpg, making the All-NBA Second Team and finishing eighth in MVP voting. After the season, George Karl left to become Milwaukee's head coach and was replaced by Paul Westphal.

1998-99: The Sonics missed the playoffs after posting a 25-25 record in the lockout shortened season. Payton ranked seventh in the NBA in scoring (21.7 ppg), fourth in assists (8.7 apg) and seventh in steals (2.2 spg). He made the All-NBA Second Team but Baker's numbers dropped precipitously (13.8 ppg, 6.2 rpg).

1999-2000: The Sonics improved to 45-37 but lost 3-2 to Utah in the first round of the playoffs. Payton returned to the All-NBA First Team after having the best all-around season of his career, ranking seventh in the NBA in scoring (career-high 24.2 ppg), fourth in assists (8.9 apg) and eighth in steals (1.9 spg).

2000-01: The Sonics posted a solid 44-38 record but missed the playoffs. Westphal was fired early in the season and replaced by Nate McMillan. Payton made the All-NBA Third Team after averaging 23.1 ppg (13th in the NBA) and 8.1 apg (fifth in the NBA). Third year forward Rashard Lewis finished second on the team in scoring (14.8 ppg).

2001-02: The Sonics squeaked into the playoffs with a 45-37 record but pushed San Antonio the distance in the first round before being blown out 101-78 in game five. Payton made the All-NBA Second Team after ranking 11th in the NBA in scoring (22.1 ppg) and third in assists (9.0 apg).

2002-03: Payton feuded with management during the first half of the season before being dealt to Milwaukee with Desmond Mason for Ray Allen, Kevin Ollie, Ronald Murray and a draft pick. The Sonics finished 40-42 and did not make the playoffs.

2003-04: Allen averaged 23.0 ppg but missed 26 games. The Sonics went 37-45 and did not qualify for the playoffs. Lewis averaged 17.8 ppg and scored a career-high 50 points in the second game of the season, a 124-105 victory over the Clippers in Tokyo, Japan.

2004-05: The Sonics won the newly formed Northwest Division with a 52-30 record and beat Sacramento 4-1 in the first round of the playoffs before falling to the eventual champion San Antonio Spurs in six games. Allen ranked 10th in the NBA in scoring (23.9 ppg) and made the All-NBA Second Team, while Lewis averaged 20.5 ppg (20th in the NBA) to earn his first and only All-Star selection. After the season, McMillan resigned and became Portland's coach. The Sonics replaced him with Bob Weiss.

2005-06: Weiss lasted just 30 games (13-17) before being fired and replaced by Bob Hill, who was not able to turn things around (22-30). The Sonics missed the playoffs despite another strong season from Allen (25.1 ppg, 10th in the NBA) and Lewis (20.1 ppg). An Oklahoma City based group bought the Sonics, prompting concerns that the team might relocate.

2006-07: The Sonics slipped to 31-51 and missed the playoffs but the bigger concern for Seattle fans was the declaration by majority owner Clay Bennett that he would move the team unless the city helped to finance construction of a new arena. Allen averaged a career-high 26.4 ppg but played in just 55 games. After the season, the Sonics replaced Hill with P.J. Carlesimo and traded Allen to the Celtics for fifth overall pick Jeff Green, Wally Szczerbiak and Delonte West. The Sonics also drafted Kevin Durant with the second overall pick.

2007-08: The Sonics posted the worst record in the West (20-62). Durant struggled with his shot for most of the season but finished strongly and won the Rookie of the Year award after averaging 20.3 ppg. After the season, the team reached a settlement with the city of Seattle and finalized plans to move to Oklahoma City. NBA Commissioner David Stern--reversing his previous stance--left open the possibility that the city would get another NBA team to continue the Sonics' legacy.

Labels: Bob Rule, Dennis Johnson, Gary Payton, Gus Williams, Jack Sikma, Kevin Durant, Lenny Wilkens, Ray Allen, Seattle Supersonics, Shawn Kemp, Spencer Haywood, Walt Hazzard

posted by David Friedman @ 12:47 AM

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The Score, the Key Stat, the Bottom Line: Sunday's Tripleheader

Sunday featured an NBA tripleheader: two ABC games with playoff implications for all four teams followed by an NBA TV nightcap between the Denver Nuggets and Seattle SuperSonics. New Orleans moved one step closer to clinching the top seed in the West by beating Golden State, Dallas moved one step closer to securing a playoff berth by beating Phoenix and Denver moved one step closer to missing the playoffs altogether by losing to Seattle in a double overtime thriller.

The Score: New Orleans 108, Golden State 96

The Key Stat: David West and Peja Stojakovic each scored 25 points, Chris Paul notched his fourth career triple double (16 points, 13 assists, 10 rebounds) and Golden State shot 3-29 (.103) from three point range.

The Bottom Line: Will somebody please pull the plug on the "Stephen Jackson should have been an All-Star/is the best player on the Warriors" campaign? Baron Davis leads the Warriors in scoring (21.9 ppg) and assists (7.6 apg). Monta Ellis is averaging 20.1 ppg on .533 field goal shooting this season and in the last four games (including this loss) he increased those numbers to 23.8 ppg and .575. Meanwhile, with the Warriors' playoff hopes in serious jeopardy, Jackson--who has the same scoring average as Ellis but the worst field goal percentage (.406) of any player in the Warriors' main rotation--scored six points on 3-11 shooting from the field (including 0-6 from three point range), grabbed one rebound, passed for eight assists and committed five turnovers. If that line sounds familiar perhaps it is because in his previous three games he shot 6-13, 1-11 and 2-12 from the field. The Warriors have dropped three of their last four games in no small part due to Jackson's 12-47 (.255) bricklaying. After the New Orleans game, Jackson sagely observed, "We just have to shoot better. We shoot better and we win. It's that simple." You think?

I realize that the Warriors will be living off of last year's first round upset of Dallas for at least another 10 years but it will be interesting to see how many more playoff series the Warriors win in the next decade. With the arrival of Jason Kidd in Dallas, Coach Avery Johnson is finally loosening the reins and letting his team run a little and several other squads seem to have figured out that there is no reason to be scared to run against the Warriors. The element of surprise is gone and I would not hold my breath waiting for the Warriors to win a playoff series any time soon.

The Score: Dallas 105, Phoenix 98

The Key Stat: After a Shaquille O'Neal basket gave Phoenix a 91-78 lead early in the fourth quarter, the Mavericks outscored the Suns 27-7 to close out the game. Dirk Nowitzki scored 12 of Dallas' points during that stretch. With the outcome hanging in the balance, Nowitzki scored seven of Dallas' nine points from the 3:22 mark to the :27 mark of the fourth quarter. Nowitzki finished with 32 points and 12 rebounds.

The Bottom Line: Dirk Nowitzki gets a bad rap in some quarters for allegedly being soft and for not doing enough to help his team win in the 2006 NBA Finals or the first round of the 2007 NBA playoffs. The reality is that he has produced big time in clutch situations on many occasions, including a 37 point, 15 rebound outburst in game seven of the 2006 Western Conference semifinals as the Mavs eliminated the defending champion Spurs. Now he has not only come back quickly from a painful lower leg injury but he has performed magnificently, averaging 25.7 ppg on .526 field goal shooting as Dallas won two out of three games to move up to seventh place in the West.

This loss makes it much more difficult for the Suns to catch the Lakers and win the Pacific Division but it is still safe to say that they have worked out most of the kinks in terms of integrating Shaquille O'Neal into their offensive and defensive schemes; since the much publicized rough transition right after acquiring O'Neal, the Suns have gone 11-4. The Mavs simply needed this game more desperately or, as Steve Nash put it after the game, "We were feeling good about everything, everything was going our way and their backs were against the wall, not only in this game but in the season. We played like two teams in different psychological places."

Even in this defeat the Suns showcased some of the reasons that they will be a very tough out in the playoffs. For instance, early in the game Mavs point guard Jason Terry drove to the hoop only to receive a hard (but clean) foul from O'Neal. ABC's Mark Jackson explained, "There is a price to be paid now when you penetrate against the Phoenix Suns." Previously, teams could venture into the paint at will against Phoenix, much like you still can against Golden State and Denver. This is an example of something that basketball's "sabermetricians" cannot measure but that definitely changes the dynamics of a team.

Another positive for the Suns is that swapping Shawn Marion for O'Neal has turned Amare Stoudemire loose as a big-time scorer. O'Neal spoke of the "Amare Stoudemire Project"--his plan to turn Stoudemire into the best power forward in the league--but what is happening here is a multi-factor process. O'Neal is content to receive fewer touches and scoring opportunities than Marion did (an adjustment that O'Neal refused to make as a Laker but learned to accept during his time in Miami); essentially what has happened is that Stoudemire is getting those extra touches and picking up the slack from the difference between Marion's scoring average as a Sun and O'Neal's scoring average. Also, O'Neal's arrival straightens the Suns out from a position standpoint. He is a true center, which means that Stoudemire now can play power forward. Previously, Stoudemire was an undersized center and Marion was an undersized power forward--and people wondered why Phoenix was a terrible rebounding team that got pounded every year in the playoffs by bigger, stronger teams!

There were a couple interesting sequences from this game that are worth mentioning. After the Suns successfully ran a screen/roll play with Steve Nash and Stoudemire, Mark Jackson said, "Give Steve Nash a lot of credit but you're only as good as the scorer (who receives the pass)...You have to put yourself in a position where you can be a threat rolling to the hoop." This is a very significant point that should be obvious but is too often overlooked: there is a lot of talk about how Nash makes his teammates better and it is certainly true that his vision, ballhandling and passing create scoring opportunities--but if he did not have teammates who know how to roll to the hoop and who are capable of catching passes and completing plays then all of his wonderful passes would go to waste. Pistol Pete Maravich suffered through that while playing for the expansion New Orleans Jazz; we've also seen a vivid example of both sides of this issue with this season's Lakers: Kobe Bryant's apg average went up as soon as the team acquired Pau Gasol because now Bryant was passing to a legit NBA big man instead of Kwame Brown. This goes back to something that I've been saying for several years now: if Bryant and Nash had switched places the past three years, the Suns would have been at least as good and most likely would have been better due to his superior ability to score and defend; given the opportunity to pass to players like Stoudemire and Marion, Bryant would have shot less often, made a better percentage of his shots and increased his assists--exactly what he has already demonstrated in just 22 games playing alongside Pau Gasol. Meanwhile, Nash's passes would have bounced off of Kwame Brown's hands just like Bryant's did, only Nash would not be able to simply say, "Forget this mess" and go out and score 50-60 points to carry the team to victory. After seeing what Bryant has done with Gasol in a fourth of a season with no training camp can anyone still seriously believe that a Bryant-Stoudemire-Marion nucleus would not have even been more formidable than the Nash-Stoudemire-Marion trio was?

Of course, that prospect will forever reside in a hypothetical realm; the reality is that Nash now has a complete team around him: a legit center, a stud power forward, a healthy small forward who used to be a perennial All-Star and who still seems to have some mileage left and a good supporting cast of role players who have plenty of postseason experience. The Suns can still hit teams with a fast break attack but now in the half court set they can run postups for O'Neal or screen/roll plays with Nash featuring either O'Neal or Stoudemire. Instead of being outrebounded the Suns are now outrebounding their opponents and their interior defense is better, though certain point guard matchups will still pose problems for Nash and necessitate that he is hidden in some way (or at least provided some extra help).

During the third quarter, ABC's Jeff Van Gundy talked about how difficult it is to defend Phoenix' screen/roll play now and he criticized how the Mavericks were attempting to do so. Van Gundy said that the first priority for the defense when Stoudemire and Nash run the screen/roll must be to prevent Stoudemire from dunking. That means that the man guarding O'Neal must slide over to protect the hoop and the forward watching Grant Hill on the baseline must sag in to put a body on O'Neal and prevent him from receiving a pass. If Hill catches the skip pass and buries a three pointer then--as Van Gundy put it--you shake the Suns' hands and move on but you cannot just let Stoudemire repeatedly dunk the ball. Van Gundy added that O'Neal's presence is a major complicating factor for the opposing defense because now that team's center does not want to leave O'Neal in order to provide help.

O'Neal is not the dominant scorer that he used to be but as a Sun he has proven that he can put up double doubles while playing 30-plus mpg and shooting .550-.600 from the field. He is playing harder than he has at any time since he helped Miami to win the 2006 NBA Championship. Considering the amount of talent that Phoenix has, that level of production is all that the Suns need from O'Neal. I wonder how many teams could now beat the Suns four times in a seven game series; that number is certainly smaller than it was in recent years when the Suns lacked the paint presence that O'Neal provides.

The Score: Seattle 151, Denver 147, 2OT

The Key Stat: Seattle rookies Kevin Durant (37 points) and Jeff Green (35 points) each established new career highs in scoring. Durant also had eight rebounds, three steals and a career-high nine assists. All eight Nuggets who played scored in double figures, three Nuggets had at least 22 points and Carmelo Anthony scored 38 points on 17-31 field goal shooting--but Denver's defense could not maintain a five point lead with :32 left in the first overtime against the worst team in the West, a squad that the Nuggets had beaten three times by an average of 37 points in their previous games this season.

The Bottom Line: Baltimore linebacker Ray Lewis likes to say that the same thing that will make you laugh will make you cry. The Nuggets thought that it was pretty amusing to hang 168 points on the Sonics about three weeks ago and to keep firing up three pointers well after the outcome was no longer in doubt--but high scoring games suddenly are not quite so funny when one of the league's doormats rises up and deals a serious blow to your playoff aspirations. No one likes being embarrassed and even the worst NBA teams have some talented players, so on Sunday the Nuggets faced a Seattle team that was determined to avenge previous losses and play a spoiler role regarding Denver's playoff hopes.

Denver and Golden State will both finish with good records but only one of them will make the playoffs and, quite frankly, with their "shoot first and don't play defense later" mentalities neither team is making a strong case that it really deserves to join the postseason party (I fully realize that there are a few teams in the East that one could also say don't deserve playoff berths but that is a story for another day).

As for Seattle, this was a coming out party of sorts for Durant and Green. The light actually seemed to go on for Durant about a month ago in terms of shot selection, shooting percentage and just poise in general. Green has been a solid player for most of the season but in this game he made nice plays throughout the contest instead of making a play here or there and then disappearing. Durant is demonstrating improvements in all aspects of his game, though his lack of strength still hinders him at times on the glass and when he drives into the paint. Seattle has not been in a lot of close games this year but it is a good sign that when the Sonics have been in those situations that Durant has been willing and able to make big shots. Against Denver he hit a late three pointer to send the game to overtime and another late three pointer to force double overtime. Ironically, on a percentage basis he is not a great three point shooter and he had missed both of his earlier three point attempts; prior to his late game heroics I thought that one of the best things he did against Denver was move his game inside the three point line and focus on his midrange game. With his height and length he can get off a jump shot pretty much whenever he wants so he needs to be sure that he shoots when and where he wants to and does not drift out of his high percentage areas or attempt off balance shots.

Nothing will alter my opinion that last summer was way too early to start calling Durant a "sensation" but if he puts on some weight this offseason and continues to improve then he can make strides toward turning the hype into reality.

Labels: Chris Paul, Dallas Mavericks, Denver Nuggets, Dirk Nowitzki, Golden State Warriors, Kevin Durant, New Orleans Hornets, Phoenix Suns, Seattle Supersonics

posted by David Friedman @ 6:59 AM

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