KevinMcreynolds wrote:There were 8 teams in the league when the Celtics had their run and Russell and Cousy were playing against Maury the neighborhood dentist and Eddie the tax accountant.
I do not totally disagree, but I think the dominance of the Celts was more attributable to the depth and breadth of talent on their teams, the brilliance of their coach, and a selfless style of beautiful play, not all that dissimilar to that of GS. Even today I would worry about a team that could bring guys like Hondo Havlicek, Sam and KC Jones off the bench.
And we sometimes forget that in addition to Maury and Eddie, they faced some guys who I think worked part time at White Castle or McDonalds, but were still pretty good, like: Chamberlain, Robertson, Mikan, Pettit, Lucas, Baylor, West, Mikkleson, Arizin, Schayes, Neil Johnson, and others.
I've heard about guys like Michael, Magic, Larry, Tim/Karl, Shaq, and others, but I cannot help myself. To this day, the Big O, West, Baylor, and Pettit are still my favorites. I cannot make up my mind about my center. It would probably be Kareem. But I still remember, as a kid, laying across my bed, with my ear an inch from the radio, listening to that Chamberlain game in Hershey, Pa. And then there were those wars with Russell. I get so confused.