Hal Greer
Shooting guard
6"2
175+ lbs
13th overall pick in the 1958 draft
Selected to 10 all star games and 7 all nba 2nd teams
Career regular season stats:
35.5 mpg, 19.2 ppg on .452 fg%, 5.0 rpg, 4.0 apg, .801 ft% on 5.1 fta
Regular season peak (1967/68):
39.8 mpg, 24.1 ppg on .478 fg%, 5.4 rpg, 4.5 apg, .769 ft% on 6.7 fta
Career post season stats:
39.6 mpg, 20.4 ppg on .425 fg%, 5.5 rpg, 4.3 apg, .812 ft% on 6.2 fta
Post season peak (1966/67):
45.9 mpg, 27.7 ppg on .429 fg%, 5.9 rpg, 5.3 apg, .797 ft% on 7.9 fta
By all accounts, Greer was one of the best jumpshooters of his era. He had a quick, unconventional release, appearing to push the ball with both hands, waiting until the last instant to take his left hand off the ball...
http://youtu.be/eJaFNsa-Bqs?t=12m21s http://youtu.be/eJaFNsa-Bqs?t=25m40s http://youtu.be/eJaFNsa-Bqs?t=35m57s http://youtu.be/CW5-PEx0n2E?t=1m45sBilly Cunningham had high praise for Greer's jumpshot - "It was as good as anybody’s who ever played the game. I think the beauty of Hal Greer’s game is that he knew where he was most effective and he never shot the ball from an area where he was not completely confident and comfortable. He never went outside of 18-20 feet maximum, but he was deadly and he had the ability to get to that spot".
Alex Hannum once said - "He's so good on his jumper that it startles you when he misses".
In fact, his jumpshot was so reliable, he used it at the free throw line!!
http://youtu.be/eJaFNsa-Bqs?t=17m35sBut, Greer wasn't just a jumpshooter. He was a tenacious defender, a good passer and was considered to be the fastest man in the league throughout the 60s, making him dangerous on the fast break.
http://youtu.be/eJaFNsa-Bqs?t=21m45s His speed was also a factor in his great shooting ability, according to Alex Hannum - "Hal's quickness enables him to free himself for the moment of daylight that he needs".
Billy Cunningham recalled - “Hal Greer was such a smart player. In his mind he had a book about every player he played against and what he had to do to make sure that he got free to get shots. He was probably as fine a screener as a guard as anybody. The thing about it was he knew that if he set a good screen then he would be open because he would force a switch and he would end up being matched up with a bigger, slower player that he knew he could easily beat to get whatever shot he wanted”.
Progress was initially slow and steady for Greer upon entering the league as the 13th overall pick in the 1958 draft. He averaged 11 points in 24 minutes for the Dolph Schayes led Sycrause Nationals in his rookie campaign, which included a truly mind boggling explosion of 39 points in one half against the great Boston Celtics (is it just me or does this seem too bizarre to be true?!).
His minutes and touches steadily rose year by year (he averaged a 23/7/4 in the 61/62 season) and with the arrival of Chamberlain in 1965, the Philadelphia 76ers (the Nationals moved to Philadelphia in 63' and changed their name) now had a real shot at winning their second championship.
He had a bad post season in 66', scoring only 16 ppg on 35% shooting as the 76ers fell to Boston in 5 games (to be fair, the entire team shot poorly. Wilt was still in his selfish, "i'm gunna poor in a bucket load of points and hope it's enough to win", mode) but he came back next year with a vengeance, averaging a 28/6/5 throughout the playoffs and setting the tone, in the eastern finals against Boston, by pouring in 39 points in game 1. As you know, the 76ers went on to beat Rick Barry's Warriors in the finals.
Billy Cunningham recalls - “We had a team whose only goal was to win a championship...It was a very focused team and a very unselfish team—and that’s the way Hal Greer played. Hal Greer never forced things or did things that would not be beneficial to the team".
Greer was the second best player on one of the greatest teams of all time. Not bad.
He had another great playoffs the following year, averaging a 26/6/4, but the 76ers fell to boston in 7 games. Wilt decided to leave Philly for L.A in the off season and although Greer and Cunningham led the 76ers to 55, 42 and 47 wins between 69' and 71' they couldn't make it past the 1st round of the playoffs, with Greer having 3 pretty poor post seasons (this really hurt his legacy for me). Greer retired after the 72/73 campaign.
A Herald-Tribune sportswriter once claimed that "If there were an award given for a player who is most respected by basketball insiders, while getting the minimum public appreciation, Greer could win hands down".
At the time of his retirement Greer had appeared in more games (1,122) than any other player in nba history and his 21,586 points are still the 76ers franchise record....
VS
Sam Jones
Shooting guard
6"4
200+ lbs
8th overall pick in the 1957 draft
Selected to 5 all star games and 3 all nba 2nd teams
Career regular season stats:
27.9 mpg, 17.7 ppg on .456 fg%, 4.9 rpg, 2.5 apg, .803 ft% on 4.1 fta
Regular seaon peak (1964/65):
36.1 mpg, 25.9 ppg on .452 fg%, 5.1 rpg, 2.8 apg, .820 ft% on 6.5 fta
Career post season stats:
30.2 mpg, 18.9 ppg on .447 fg%, 4.7 rpg, 2.3 apg, .811 ft% on 4.9 fta
Career post season peak (1964/65):
41.3 mpg, 28.6 ppg on .459 fg%, 4.6 rpg, 2.5 apg, .869 ft% on 7.0 fta
Sam Jones was clutch.
Really clutch.
Really, really clutch.
In fact, he was so clutch that his peers called him "mr clutch" (how original )
Anyway, here is a list of his noteworthy clutch feats:
1962 ECFs, game 7 vs Philly - 27 points and the game winning jumper with 2 seconds left
1962 Finals, do-or-die game 6 vs Lakers - 35 points in L.A
1962 Finals, do-or-die game 7 vs Lakers - 5 of the Celtics 10 points in OT
1963 ECFs, game 7 vs Cincy - 47 points (oscar had 43)!!
1965 ECFs, game 7 vs Philly - 37 points
1966 ECSFs, series clinching game 5 vs Cincy - 34 points
1967 ECSFs, series clinching game 5 vs Knicks - 51 points
1969 Finals, game 4 vs Lakers - game winner at the buzzer
For his career, he averaged 27ppg in 9 game 7s (he wasn't even a starter for 2 of those game 7s).
Bill Russell - "Whenever the pressure was greatest, Sam was eager for the ball. To me, that's the sign of a champion...his presence gave me great comfort in key games. In Los Angeles, Jerry West was called "mr clutch", and he was, but in the 7th game of a championship series, i'll take Sam over any player who's ever walked on a court."
HOLY MOLY!
Jones was a teriffic athlete. Although he wasn't quite a fast as Greer on the fasbreak (he was no slouch mind, only Russell was as fast as him on the Celtics), he had a lightening quick first step
http://youtu.be/8UtG7-I2wBw?t=12m4shttp://youtu.be/8UtG7-I2wBw?t=16m5shttp://youtu.be/RtdF7j_m8hA?t=2m56shttp://youtu.be/z70rGJh9WbQ?t=5m18sand a sweet mid-range jumper
http://youtu.be/y8lEhiHw0Dg?t=2m25shttp://youtu.be/K_h34wT3SHc?t=5m52shttp://youtu.be/hmLe-ZSAHsk?t=29sHe wasn't the 1on1 defender that Greer was and i get the impression he was prone to lapses in concentration on that end but 'lock down' defenders were few and far between in the 50s/60s (K.C Jones and Wali Jones were probably the only 2 that really stood out).
Because of military service, Jones was a late comer to the nba. He was 24 years old in his rookie campaign and just like Greer, progress was initially slow and steady (he averaged just 5ppg in 10mpg his 1st year). It wasn't until the retirement of Bill Sharman following the 60/61 season that Jones became a starter, at the ripe old age of 28.
In 61/62, Jones averaged 18/6/3 in 31 mpg in the regular season and increased those numbers to 21/7/3 in the post season. That would be a theme of his career - he thrived in the playoffs. He didn't drop below 20 ppg in the post season for 7 straight years between 62' and 68'.
Ultimately, Sam Jones was the Celtics 2nd best player for 5 championships (62' through 66') and the 3rd best for another 2 (68' & 69'). How many players can say that? Scottie pippen and....ummmm.....hmmmmmmmm. Jones retired after the 68/69 campaign.
According to Red Auerbach, it was his attitude and dedication that made him stand out - "He'll do anything you ask him...he's always in shape and ready to play, and nobody works any harder at basketball than he does."
At the time of his retirement, Jones had scored the most points in the playoffs for the Celtics and his 51 points against the Knicks is still a Celtics playoff high (tied with RayRay)....
