So I watched a 1972 game btw the Lakers and the Bucks

[Dr Aki]

so here's a change of pace. I watched a 40 yr old game (the one the bucks ended the lakers 33 win game streak) because I wanted to see wilt, jerry and goodrich play. also there were a few cats by the name of kareem and oscar on the bucks team.

and here are my single game observations, i didn't watch the previous 33 games from that season, its just this game... (please take note that this is supposed to be light hearted)

general observations of the game:
- the bucks were more physical than the lakers, who relied a lot more on outside shooting from gail goodrich and jim mcmillian, with the occasional jerry west running layup, wilt (i'm assuming, was a shell of himself) was essentially a garbage man center this game. none of the lakers had much range outside of 18 ft, anything taken by anyone outside of 18ft was a brick. the majority of the laker's offense came through screen action in and around the elbow to free the ball handler up for an open shot, there was no rolls or pops from the pick-setter, if west/mcmillian/goodrich didn't shoot it, they passed around the perimeter for more screen action.

- meanwhile, the bucks looked like the triangle lakers, 90% of the half-court sets were post entry pass to kareem as much as they can, cutters running off for open shots if kareem couldnt get his. and while kareem was forcing (ala kobe) in the 1st half, kareem was much much more effective scoring in the 2nd, which eventually kept the lakers at bay and allowed.

- both teams ran and ran, there seemed a general rule that once you got the rebound, you tried to create the overlap and get an easy shot, in and around the rim, short jumpers were shots both teams took and if it missed, it was off to the races for the other team.

- teams ran offenses full of passing, the only real isolation plays were post-ups. defense was generally 1v1 except when backcourt players and forwards ventured near the rim, wilt was very good at cutting off the baseline to prevent layups.

- FT shooting was spectacular, any player (cept wilt, who stood 2 feet behind the FT line) just non-chalantly walked up to the stripe and threw in 2 FTs like they were making toast for breakfast.

- lots of passing turnovers, very reminiscent of garbage time where players just dont take care of the ball

laker player observations:
- it felt like gail goodrich was the star of the 1972 team this game; plays were run for him, he was gunning early and was the secondary ball handler after west and was generally allowed to do whatever he thought was best (ala kobe)
- west looked passive, he rarely looked for his own shot in the 1st half and only when the bucks were pulling away in the 2nd, did he try to force driving to the rim, which worked at first, but later, bucks collapsed on him and made him take tough running layups.
- wilt was a garbage man, he was trying to defend kareem all game and in the 1st half even got a few blocks on kareem. but generally he only got points off dunks from being set up or rebounds
- jim mcmillian was trying to get going all game but couldnt
- happy hairston was a baller in the 1st, fought for everything, even got a few nice shots at the rim because he went hard. kareem gave him a cheap punch to the temple in the 1st and he wasn't the same for the rest of the game.
- pat riley was garbage
- flynn robinson was quick, but played out of control

bucks players:
- kareem didn't have a left hand, and wilt knew it, overplaying kareem's left shoulder to prevent the skyhook, which led to a lot of reverse spins to off-balance jumpers, which missed in the 1st half and kept the lakers in the game. also threw a cheap shot at happy hairston, who fell while fighting for a rebound. the penalty? 1 FT for a foul after the whistle. in todays game he'd be ejected and given 3-5 games minimum.
- oscar didn't really turn it on, but kept up the steady production throughout the game. reminded me a lot of on-form baron davis
- dandridge (their 2nd highest scorer) had a really bad shooting game.
- block was an effort PF scrub who grabbed a crapload of offensive rebounds because wilt had to contest kareem. even gave an unexpected 20 something points, which kept the bucks ahead all game, lakers unable to get over the hump.
- can't name any other bucks players of note... but late in the game, the bucks ran the lakers off the floor because the lakers were chasing the game.

commentators:
- don't know who the white guy was, but if he was the milwaukee's local commentator, he was pretty damn good, and witty, and incredibly impartial, a rarity for today.
- the other commentator was bill russell, and he had an interesting tidbit on the kareem punch on hairston, basically felt like fighting happened every game and that kareem obviously won the fight (seeing as hairston was done after a punch that didnt really connect), and that the fight didn't count as a "good basketball fight", "a good basketball fight was when you and the other guy squared off 10 feet from each other)
- the commentary was devoid of statistical analysis, the closest any stats were being discussed were half-time points by each team and players.

overall:
if that was tl;dr, the 72 bucks looked a lot like the 09 lakers and the 72 lakers looked a lot like the 09 magic

if you want to dl it, i found it on the davka site. i wont provide the link but u can find it yourselves...

[Dr Aki]

what? no comments?

im disappointed noones got anything to say regarding 1970s NBA, or more specifically, the 1971/72 champions

[Rubberduck]

How would those teams fare in the modern age you think?

[KB24TBOTB]

I haven't seen any of the 70's games so sadly I can't offer any input ;(

[Sofa King]

Aki, your avatar is a distraction. How am I suppose to read a wall of text with that gif right there.

[Dr Aki]

there were some really simple offense and simple defensive structures by today's methods

and sk, if youd only scroll down just a bit

[miggs]

First off, EXCELLENT report Aki. You hit every point of that game, going into more than just players and stats, which is awesome. It brought the game to life as you talked about the commentating and fundamentals of players back then. I used to watch a lot of NBA TV in the summers, they'd show old games almost the whole day. I saw some 70s Lakers, I've only seen clips of young Jerry West, it seems by that 1972 team he was nearly done. He retires after that season didn't he???

[miggs]

One of my favorite players to watch from the 1970s is Kareem. At the time of that 1972 game, he was only in his 4th season I believe. Interesting how you caught the fact that Kareem had no left hand. Also shows just how good of a defender Wilt was considering his age, which brings to light, that he actually WAS a good defender. Bill Russell was just another beast, I still can't believe that dude is 6'10, he looks 8 ft tall!

[Imadogg]

You wrote up a lot, I enjoyed the read since I love watching older games and knowing the history of the game.

Can you talk about how many steals you think West had?

[Dr Aki]

he had a few, though it wasn't because west was a ball hawk, it was more because it looked like passes were being thrown without thinking

there were some pretty careless turnovers by both teams

[Imadogg]

he had a few, though it wasn't because west was a ball hawk, it was more because it looked like passes were being thrown without thinking

there were some pretty careless turnovers by both teams

Ah thanks. I watched a game where the commentators said he averaged 10+ stls a game and I was like WTFF!!! So wanted to see if you noticed a lot, like even 5

[DEEP3CL]

Aki, the the Bucks actually ran the Triangle......that's why it looked that way to you. Their coach Larry Costello played for Alex Hannum back in 1966 with the Sixer.Hannum was a teammate of Tex Winter at USC. They both learn the offense in college from Sam Barry who coached the Trojans and was the originator of the Triangle. Tex tweaked it when he became a coach.

[miggs]

Aki, the the Bucks actually ran the Triangle......that's why it looked that way to you. Their coach Larry Costello played for Alex Hannum back in 1966 with the Sixer.Hannum was a teammate of Tex Winter at USC. They both learn the offense in college from Sam Barry who coached the Trojans and was the originator of the Triangle. Tex tweaked it when he became a coach.

Damn Deep, droppin' that knowledge hot and heavy! It's not even Throwback Thursday yet!

[Dr Aki]

so what other teams in history have used the triangle?

[Tee212]

so how did you feel about wilt being that everyone keeps overrating his super athletic body, power, and skill level vs undersized white guys that paddle dribbles the ball.

[Dr Aki]

if i didnt know wilt was aged 36

id have though he was a scrub athletic center straight outta college, and thats by today's standards

[DrewBynum77]

seems we grabbed it from the same place