ThaRegul8r wrote:NBA Finals – Boston Celtics (48-34) vs. Los Angeles Lakers (55-27)Going into the Finals, the Celtics faced the Los Angeles Lakers. Jerry West averaged 25.9 points, 4.3 rebounds and 6.9 assists in 39.2 minutes per game and was All-Star Game MVP, Second Team All-NBA and Second Team All-Defense; Elgin Baylor averaged 24.8 points [4th], 10.6 rebounds and 5.4 assists [10th] in 40.3 minutes per game, was First Team All-NBA and finished fifth in the MVP voting; Wilt Chamberlain averaged 20.5 points on 58.3 percent shooting, 21.1 rebounds and 4.5 assists in a league-leading 45.3 minutes per game. Chamberlain was coming off back-to-back MVP seasons, and Baylor finished third in the MVP voting in 1967-68.
April 28, 1969
...and That Old Celtics Wheel Rolls Again
Boston goes into the finals against Los Angeles graying with age, with no backup man for Russell and its best shooter ready to retire, but that was also the sad situation before the New York series
Frank Deford
They are always around at playoff time, the former Celtics, the alumni—back to visit. It seems almost the way it is when Tex Ritter calls the honor roll of oldtimers in Hillbilly Heaven, only with the Celtics, of course, this is invariably a happy time. After all the who-shot-John that goes on from October to March, the Celtics just go out and win the playoffs. So the old players come in and joke with Red Auerbach, the headmaster emeritus, and shake the few remaining familiar hands on the team. Every year, though, each alumnus appears as a somewhat hazier image—like hearing an old song that you know was very important to you at one time but now you can't remember precisely why. There are so many old Celtics who figured in so many old championships.
Bill Russell sits at his locker and tries to find new ways to explain the Celtics, because they have just beaten the New York Knicks for their 12th Eastern playoff title in 13 years. Russell goes along with the ritual, but the odd thing is that he best described what was to become the Celtic experience before he ever got to Boston. He was still at the University of San Francisco, and K.C. Jones had been lost to the team for the NCAA tournament. Someone asked what effect this would have on the team. "You change the spokes," Russell said, "but the wheel keeps rolling."
And that is the way it is. Some Celtics play alongside Russell, some sit on the bench, some retire and come back to shake hands. The spokes change. Each supporting star leaves, as Sam Jones will now and the soothsayers forecast doom. The wheel keeps rolling.
Win the playoffs? The Celtics are a fourth-place team that did not even play .500 ball the whole last half of the season. The Celtic regulars average over 31 years of age. That is about three years older than the world champion Detroit Tigers last year, six years older than the New York Jets. Of course, the Celtics will be younger next season since Sam, who is almost 36 and the oldest player in the league, will assume his duties as athletic director at Federal City College in Washington.
"Finis. End. Through. This is it," Sam says. Certainly he looks it. In a narrow-lapel, three-piece herringbone he moves through the mod Age of Aquarius like some fine old period piece. For diversion during the playoffs he has been studying Tommy Armour's golf tips for the middle-aged. His oldest of five children is Aubre, 11, who prefers hockey to basketball and roots for the Philadelphia 76ers. Never trust any team over 30.
Sam—the surname is seldom used except in box scores—has played old this year, too. He was injured, missed 12 games and did not come back fast enough to please Russell. He has had some good games in the playoffs, but he began to run down. The Celtics won the fourth game over the Knicks despite Sam—he shot 4 for 18—and then he was 1 for 8 when New York won to cut the Boston series lead to 3-2.
The Knicks had been putting pressure on the corners, so Russell decided that it was time his guards exploited the opening in the middle. Walt Frazier, just voted the best defensive player in the league, had pulled a groin muscle in the last seconds of the fifth game, and his lameness would make New York even more vulnerable. "I put myself into a higher pivot," Russell explained. "We would start our play like before, as if we were going to the corners, then turn them around and head things back to the middle, where the guards could use me as a pick."
Wasn't this a gamble—to have the offense depend on an old man who was shooting five for 26? Russell was pained. "That is two games," he said. "You know what Sam can do. I had to have him come out shooting."
Sam, in his stoical way, was ready. He has prospered in the league for so long, many think, in large measure because his attitude insulates him. He relaxes, away from the court, neither bugged by the last game nor anxious for the next one. "You get out there," he says, "and sometimes you have it, passing, shooting—sometimes you don't. It's all split seconds, and I just don't worry about it."
So Sam came out shooting—he was to put up 31 shots—and got free off Russell at the top of the key for the game's first basket. Frazier, pushing one hand against his sore muscle to try to still the pain, dogged Jones manfully, but Sam hit six baskets in the first half and Russell decided to start him in the third quarter, too, which he has seldom done lately. Sam broke it open with five baskets that put the Celtics 10 up. Moreover, the Knicks often double-teamed him, and this left Emmette Bryant wide open for 19 points. Sam had 29.
He was on the bench, though, when John Havlicek made the shot that won the series. New York had come back to two behind, and the teams traded baskets to 101-99. With 45 seconds left, Havlicek got the ball with only eight remaining on the 24-second clock. He cut left at the top of the key, but the Knicks were on him and no one was open.
Tom Sanders had been in the same predicament a minute before and had taken a desperation jumper that had gone in. Now Havlicek was obliged to try another. He was thinking that at least the Celtics might get the rebound. Willis Reed, under the basket, could see that Havlicek would have to take a bad shot, and when Havlicek went up at 0:40 Russell, standing by Reed, thought John was forced to jump sideways as he shot. The ball flew, just clearing the two hands in his face, and suddenly Havlicek was astonished to note that he actually felt it was on target. The ball hit the left side of the rim and banged back and forth, dropping in like a pinball. On the bench, Larry Siegfried turned to Sam. "Baby," he said. "I can't believe it."
"That's the ones that win ball games," Sam said.
The game, first ever on prime-time national TV, was followed by the Sunday contest in Los Angeles, which gave the West title to the Lakers, 4-1 over Atlanta. Thus the confrontation in the final that begins this week offers the ultimate in beat-Boston possibilities. Through the years the perennial Celtic playoff foes have been, first, Wilt Chamberlain teams (1-6 against Boston) and then the Lakers (0-6). Boston has usually handled them like taking a shot of whiskey and following it with a beer chaser. The mixture, in one gulp, may be somewhat tougher to manage.
Tactics start in the middle, as usual, where Russell must contain Wilt, who is playing extremely well. Last year in this endeavor Russell had help in the person of Wayne Embry (now commissioner of recreation for the city of Boston). He would relieve Bill for long stretches and lean on Wilt. This wore Chamberlain down and also made him mad as hell. Further, it convinced everyone that Russell could no longer go 48 minutes in the playoffs. So much for that notion. He went the route five times against Willis Reed, and worked even harder than usual on offense, since he found the middle open. Anyway, with Embry gone he will have to go all the way against Wilt, too. Bad News Barnes, the backup man, is so deep in Russell's doghouse that he may soon be waived to the American Kennel Club.
Elgin Baylor has not adjusted well to playing with Wilt and had only one good game, the last one, in the series with Atlanta. Any edge up front should go to the team whose reserve forward comes in with a hot hand—Celtic Don Nelson, an ex-Laker, or Laker Mel Counts, an ex-Celtic.
Jerry West gives the Lakers the better backcourt, even if the other L.A. guards do have a hard time getting the ball upcourt. West should have an easier time moving against the Boston man-to-man press than he did against Atlanta's double-teaming zone. Certainly if Sam wants to go out a winner he must offset West with some good-shooting games.
"Hey, you know what someone said?" Sam asked Russell. "They said the team wanted to win this year especially for me." Sam laughed. "I told them there was a certain amount of money involved, too."
Russell roared and struck a delicate pose. "What do they think we are now?" he said, waving limply. "Win thith one for Tham. Oh." They both laughed so loud that it was difficult to hear the sound of the wheel rolling.
The Lakers were 7-5 favorites to win the title. "Boston finished fourth in the East and we finished first in the West, and by all logic Boston shouldn't be in the finals," Chamberlain wrote. The Lakers won four of their six games against Boston in the regular season.
Los Angeles won Game 1 in LA 120-118 behind Jerry West's career playoff high of 53 points (20-41 FG, 11-13 FT) and 10 assists. “Jerry West was just great,” said John Havlicek. “With his 10 assists, that gives him 73 points” (
Beaver Country Times, Apr. 24, 1969). “I suppose it’s one of the greatest games I’ve ever played,” said West. “However, there have been games when I’ve scored a lot fewer points and still felt I helped the team more with assists and playing defense” (
The Rock Hill Herald, Apr. 17, 1969). Elgin Baylor had 24. John Havlicek led Boston with 37, Sam Jones had 21, and “Bill Russell of the Celtics won his personal battle with longtime rival Wilt Chamberlain, pulling down 27 rebounds and scoring 16 points to 22 and 15 for Chamberlain.”
LA won Game 2 118-112 to take a 2-0 lead. “Boston tried guarding West with three different men […] but failed to cork the flow. Russell had better luck with foe Wilt Chamberlain. The towering centers fought each other to a standoff. Russell had the statistical edge, 21-19 in rebounds and 9-4 in scoring” (
The Palm Beach Post, Apr. 25, 1969).
Boston won Game 3 111-105, John Havlicek leading Boston with 34 points, and Larry Siegfried coming off the bench to score 28 points on 10-for-16 shooting (62.5%) from the floor and 8 of 9 free throws after averaging 5.5 points in the two losses in LA. “Siegfried was the difference,” said Laker coach Bill van Breda Kolff. Player-coach Russell said, “He gave us a big game offensively and defensively—and don’t forget he was hurting too.” Siegfried was hampered by a hamstring pull and hip injury “and had relinquished his starting guard to Emmette Bryant” (
The Milwaukee Journal, Apr. 28, 1969). “He hasn’t played very much,” West said of Siegfried, “so when he comes up with a ball game like that, it really hurts.” In the fourth quarter, Havlicek scored 13 and Siegfried 11. “Jerry West, who averaged 47 in the first two Laker victories in Los Angeles, again led the Western Division champions, but was held to 24 in the series opener in Boston before a crowd of 14,037 at Boston” (
St. Petersburg Times, Apr. 28, 1969). Russell had 11 points and 18 rebounds, Chamberlain 16 points and 26 rebounds.
Boston won Game 4 to tie the series at 2-2. The Lakers led 88-87 with 15 seconds left, and Emmette Bryant stole the inbounds pass and passed to Jones, who missed the shot. Boston got the ball out of bounds with seven seconds left, and set up Jones for the last play. Jones stumbled and took an off-balance 15-footer, and the ball rolled around the rim and dropped through to give the Celtics a 89-88 win. “That’s the play we called,” Russell said. “He wasn’t supposed to stumble though. That was his own innovation.” Jones said, “I tried to get it high and get backspin. That way if I missed, I knew Russell had a chance for the rebound.” The only problem was that Russell had benched himself to put his best free throw shooters on the floor in case the Lakers fouled. John Havlicek led Boston with 21, Larry Siegfried had 20, and Sam Jones and Bailey Howell had 16. Russell had six points and 29 rebounds to Chamberlain’s eight points and 31 rebounds. Boston shot 32 percent, and the Lakers 39 percent. West had a game-high 40 points in the loss, and Keith Erickson was the only other Laker in double figures with 16.
As expected, the two giants, player-coach Bill Russell of Boston and Wilt Chamberlain, have nullified each other. Statistics for four games show Chamberlain with a slight edge. The 7-foot-2 veteran has 43 points and 99 rebounds to 42 points and 95 rebounds for his 35-year-old arch rival.
The big men as far as scoring is concerned have been West, the talented 6-foot-3 guard, and the Celtics John Havlicek, the tireless forward-guard. West is averaging 39.5 points in the four encounters including a career playoff high of 53 points while Havlicek has a 33.7 averaged with 43 points in one game for a personal playoff best.
The Lakers won Game 5 117-104 in LA to take a 3-2 series lead. West had 39 points, and Chamberlain had 13 points and 31 rebounds, out-playing Russell, who had seven points and 13 rebounds. West suffered a hamstring pull in his left leg.
The Celtics won Game 6 in Boston 99-90 to tie the series at 3-3. Don Nelson led Boston with 25, Havlicek scored 19, and Emmette Bryant 18. West and Baylor had a game-high 26 points. “Player-Coach Bill Russell of the Celtics again outplayed Wilt Chamberlain, with 9 points and 19 rebounds to Chamberlain’s 8 points and 18 rebounds” (
The Milwaukee Journal, May 2, 1969). Robert Cherry wrote,
Los Angeles was up three games to two, and the main question for Game 6 was whether West would play and, if so, how well. With a heavily bandaged left thigh, he gutted out 26 points. Although Wilt had 18 rebounds (1 less than Russell), his eight points were not nearly enough to make up for West’s diminished offensive production. Baylor, after a horrible first half, ended up with 26 points. Wilt had one field goal on five shots and was 6 for 10 from the foul line—nothing to brag about. Would that Wilt had risen to greatness by scoring say, 30 points (an average night for him not that many seasons before). Coming up big is what the game’s highest-paid player, the game’s all-time leading scorer, and the game’s self-described greatest player would be expected to do. But Wilt failed and Boston won, 99–90.
The Celtics held the Lakers to three baskets in the second quarter, taking a 55-39 lead at the half.
The Celtics won Game 7 108-106 in LA before a Forum-record crowd of 17,568 to win their eleventh NBA championship. John Havlicek led Boston with 26 points on 11-for-19 shooting (57.9%), nine rebounds and five assists in the full 48 minutes, Sam Jones had 24 points on 10-for-16 shooting (62.5%) with seven rebounds before fouling out with 7:05 remaining (
St. Petersburg Times, May 6, 1969) with 32 minutes played, Emmette Bryant had 20 points, five rebounds and three assists, Don Nelson had 16 points and six rebounds, and Bill Russell grabbed a team-high 21 rebounds, scored six points and had a team-high six assists in 48 minutes. LA trailed 59-56 at the half. Boston led 91-76 going into the fourth quarter. Jerry West had 42 points (14-29 FG), 13 rebounds and 12 assists in 48 minutes. West scored 14 points in five minutes to cut the lead to 103-100. Elgin Baylor had 20 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists, and Wilt Chamberlain' had 18 points and 27 rebounds.
“This is my most frustrating loss,” said Baylor (
The Deseret News, May 6, 1969).
Jerry West won the first NBA Finals Most Valuable Player award, averaging 37.9 points. “The award should have gone to a player on the winning team,” said West. Associated Press sportswriter Bob Myers wrote, “The consensus: Havlicek” (
Gettysburg Times, May 5, 1969).
INGLEWOOD, CALIF. (UPI) — Ageless Bill Russell gave no hint of when he would call it quits after leading the Boston Celtics to their 11th NBA title Monday night.
“I have four years left to go on my contract,” he said. “I wish people would stop asking me if I was going to retire.”
The 35-year-old defensive genius was relaxed and smiling after his club defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 108-106 in the final game of the championship series.
“What makes the Celtics great?” he asked no one in particular. “I could say me. . . but I won’t.”
Russell took a crack at Los Angeles’ talkative center, Wilt Chamberlain.
“I’ve been reading that the big center of the Los Angeles team said that we’ve been lucky. Now you can see that it just isn’t so.”
The bearded Boston center then said:
“This has to be one of my greatest thrills. It’s always tough to come back but we did. We’re not a one or two-man team. Everyone is good.
“Winning this isn’t unexpected. I never thought of losing. And this wasn’t the toughest playoff series I’ve ever been in. I’ve been in a lot of these games and they’ve all been exciting.”
Russell was asked about the Lakers’ comeback.
“We didn’t lose our poise. We just missed our shots. I didn’t think we’d be safe with a 17-point lead. The only time you’re safe with that kind of a lead is with 30 seconds to go.”
Russell paid tribute to the Lakers’ Jerry West and said he was “one of the greatest players ever . . . a world champion.”
John Havlicek, the Celtics’ leading scorer in the seven-game series, said, “This is the toughest series I’ve ever been in. And I savor this win above all the others. Russ should be given all the credit. We didn’t have a strong bench. But he knew just when to substitute. West’s injury was unfortunate for them.”
Sam Jones, who played his final game as a pro, looked like all the pressure in the world had been taken off his back. “I don’t think I made a bad shot all night,” he said in reference to his 10-for-16 night from the field. “I went out and practiced hard before the game, and when it started I just began finding the range.”
Chamberlain, who twisted his knee midway through the last quarter, was fuming in the Lakers’ dressing room and directed his ire at Laker coach Bill van Breda Kolff.
“I asked the coach five time to put me back in the game, but he didn’t,” Wilt said. “I felt I could have gotten the ball. But someone has to lose and it was us.”
Then he said: “I don’t really know how I feel at this point. I may never get into this position again. I still have two years on my contract.”
Los Angeles Times writer Charles Maher wrote,
Now that the seventh and perhaps pivotal game of the NBA Finals is in the can, it may be appropriate to pause and reflect for a while. Say five months.
Analysis of whatever technical errors the Lakers may have committed will be left to keener basketball minds. In this period of re-examination, I’d just like to raise one point, one I think can properly be raised by even a casual spectator.
The point is that the past season suggests, if it does not actually prove, that Wilt Chamberlain is not worth $250,000 a year. And if that’s what he’s really getting, his teammates are being insulted.
This is not the intemperate response of an embittered fan. A good friend of mine is connected with the Lakers, but I have had no real emotional attachment to the team, and never have had.
At any rate, the Lakers, with Chamberlain, lost the seventh playoff game by two points — on the Lakers’ floor. So they have come no closer with Wilt than they did without him.
But the intent here is not to charge Chamberlain with unsatisfactory performance. To be sure, there are some things he can’t do. His field goal average, on shots taken from more than a few feet from the hoop, is rotten. His free throw average, on the other hand, is even worse. Nor can he move with the ball the way Bill Russell can.
But you can’t fault a man for not doing things he is physically incapable of doing. Norm Van Brocklin was hardly a great scrambler. But you didn’t rap him for that. The man just couldn’t run. Chamberlain, from any distance, just can’t shoot.
But some say there are things Wilt is capable of doing that he does not do. They say he could play more evenly. They say he loafs.
Since I know nothing of the man’s exhaustion threshold and have not been given access to his mind, I have no business commenting on that.
Neither am I qualified to judge the effect of the animosity between Chamberlain and his coach, nor to say which party is more at fault.
But I can question Chamberlain’s salary. The man has scored 27,000 points and is certainly a considerable force on defense. But is he worth 2½ times as much as Jerry West? Is he worth 2½ times as much as Elgin Baylor (even when Baylor is in a slump)? The answer, of course, is hardly.
Viewed purely as a business investment, Wilt’s $250,000 salary may be defensible. Maybe the Lakers sold enough tickets this season to get their money back.
Further, their situation after eight seasons in Los Angeles was this: They had repeatedly fallen short, sometimes just short, of winning the NBA title. The reason, in the judgment of many, was that they lacked just one thing, a big man. Finally, they were given an opportunity to get him. The price was perhaps much higher than it should have been, but if this was the one piece without which the machine would not run right, should money be any object?
The trouble is there is another dimension to Chamberlain’s salary. When you announce you are giving a man $250,000 a year (or do not deny published reports that that’s what he’s getting), you are telling your fans, in effect, that you have acquired a super force. The magnitude of the sum almost suggests here is a man against whom there can be no defense.
But it can be seen now by every Laker fan that, while Chamberlain may be a great player, he is not the ultimate weapon. The same thing can be seen by his teammates. For the record, they may tell you, “more power to the guy. He’s entitled to anything he can get.” Privately, however, they must deeply resent the fact that Chamberlain is being paid five to 10 times as much as a lot of players he is not five to 10 times greater than. It would be irrational to believe this resentment has not adversely affected the team.
But as the other Lakers would say for publication, Chamberlain cannot be blamed for consenting to sign a $250,000 contract.
But if you can’t knock Chamberlain for taking the money, you can question the wisdom of the people who agreed to give it to him.
Now consider that the Celtics were the oldest team in the league. No one pegged them to win. Russell went down with an injury and missed five games, and the Celtics promptly when on a five-game losing streak, which was their longest losing streak in almost 20 years. Russell returns, and they win. For those who value home court advantage, the Celtics didn't have HCA for any round of the playoffs. Consider the impact Russell had in the Celtics beating teams they weren't supposed to beat. Consider the fact that he was coaching in addition to playing 46.1 minutes per game. This might just be the most impressive accomplishment of Russell's career. Now after reading all this and taking this into account, at least you'll be informed enough to make your decision for this season.
