Dutchball97 wrote:If it was peak Schayes then I don't think there would be any question between him and Hagan but Dolph Schayes' last really great post-season came in 55. In fact you could argue his 5 best post-seasons were all in the early 50s. In this era it looks like a very strong regular season with a decent post-season for Schayes vs a decent regular season and a very strong post-season for Hagan. I think that undervalues Hagan in the regular season though. Dolph Schayes was 1st in WS with 13.7 in 58, while Hagan was 7th with 10. In the play-offs it was Hagan that led the league in WS with 2.7 (a full point clear of number 2 Frank Ramsey), while Schayes was 10th with 0.8 WS.
I think that Schayes was excellent in postseason during 1958-60 period. Sure, he usually didn't go deep but in 1959 he played 9 games including 7 games series agaisnt the Celtics when he averaged 28 ppg on 51 TS%.
1956-60 Schayes: 25/15/3 on 51 TS%, 24 PER and .187 WS/48
These are excellent numbers and it's not from single season either. I don't think that Schayes peaked before 1956 to be honest, his scoring got better and better.
Hagan peaked even higher in playoffs, his numbers are ridiculous for that era:
1957-60 Hagan: 24/11/3 on 53 TS%, 23 PER and .213 WS/48
These stats include his rookie year when he wasn't at his best yet.
Actually, I decided to go with
1957/58 Cliff Hagan over Schayes. His postseason stats are out of mind in that season and he had a case for the best player on the title team:
28/11/3 on 58 TS%, 27.5 PER and .312 WS/48It's arguably the best second option postseason run ever, at least major candidate for that title. Schayes was amazing as well, but I think I'd go with Hagan this time.
His hook was famous, but he was excellent athlete, willing passer and very good rebounder. His shooting touch is also underrated - he's career 80% FT shooter and he shot a lot of midrange shots while having high FG%. On top of that, he's the kind of player who fits well with other stars because he did most of his damage without the ball but he could also handle the ball if necessary.