Author Topic: Celtics Stuff Live! W/Elrod Enchilada-Mon. 8:00PM.  (Read 1003 times)

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Celtics Stuff Live! W/Elrod Enchilada-Mon. 8:00PM.
« on: August 31, 2008, 09:01:13 PM »

Offline JB_Celticsstuff

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Which was the greatest Celtics team of all time?

Most would say the 1985-86 Bird led team, which had a won lost record of 67-15. 8 hall of famers on the  roster in 1959-60 went  59-16, but the best regular season record belongs to the Tommy Heinsohn coached,72-73 team which went 68-14.

Why has this team's greatness and historical significance  been so badly overlooked? There are several reasons and we will certainly address those with our this week's guest, Elrod Enchilada, long an advocate of that group's place in the NBA pantheon.

Here is Elrod's perception of that mid seventies group from his stirring article on Real GM: "That 70s Show: Shining Light On The Most Underappreciated Team"  from  this past August 7th.

   
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If I had a nickel for every time a Knicks fan waxed about the glory days of Holzman, Reed, DeBusschere and Frazier, or for every time I heard tales of the mighty Bad Boys of Detroit, I could afford to run for U.S. Senate. And the 70s Celtics were better than those teams. Yet if I got a nickel for every time I hear praise for the 70s Celtics I would be lucky to have enough for a slice of pizza and a diet coke.

    ...the 70s Celtics were a magnificent team with legendary players who won titles over some impressive and worthy competitors. ... In my view it was the best team of its era. Its record ranks with the greatest teams in NBA history. It is a team for the ages. We should be so lucky that the current Cs equal their accomplishments.

How did Red rebuild his team so quickly after the last of the Russell years (1968-69), with only one starter, John Havlicek remaining? Well a lot of it had to do with Drafting Dave "Big Red" Cowens in 1970.

 Here's Elrod's take on Dave from his same article:

 
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  In the 1970 draft, Red took Dave Cowens with the 4th pick overall and the 70s dynasty was officially born. The Cs were lucky it was such a deep draft because in most years a player of Cowens talent would have gone first or second overall. Cowens was a dominant player his first six years in the league. He finished in the top 4 of MVP voting for four consecutive years. A rebounding lunatic with unmatched intensity, excellent skills and superb athletic ability, the 6-8 Cowens made Kevin Garnett look like Mark Blount on sleeping pills in the passion department.

There was a lot of other wheeling and dealing, like picking up Jo-Jo White in the middle of the 1st. round in 1969 and trading a late round pick for Paul Silas in 1970. Red just rolled up his sleeves. That it only took two years for the team to become contenders again, was miraculous and unrivaled in NBA history.

While this team did not extend it's greatness for thirteen years like the Russell teams, it's duration and success pretty much  equals the Bird years.

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    - 1975-76: 54-28, .659, 1 (0 GB)…won NBA title over Phoenix Suns

    - 1974-75: 60-22, .732, 1 (0 GB)…lost ECF in Washington Bullets

    - 1973-74: 56-26, .683, 1 (0 GB)…won NBA title in historic 7 game series with Abdul Jabbar-Robertson Bucks

    - 1972-73: 68-14, .829, 1 (0 GB)…with Havlicek injured, lost in ECF to eventual champion Knicks in highly controversial series

    - 1971-72: 56-26, .683, 1 (0 GB)…lost in ECF to Knicks

Those teams could play any style you wanted, but their trademark, like most of Red's teams was to run your ass of the floor on offense and defend you so tightly you didn't even want to come out for the second half.

We'll have a lot of fun reminiscing with Elrod and analyzing those great seasons.

Of course we will also be covering the relevant subjects of the day, but the chance to get first hand information on one of the golden eras of Celtics history from a great scholar and fan like Elrod  may not come again.

We hope you will join us.

 Our next show and last in this series will (tentatively) be on Sept. 14th with Steve Bulpett, who will cover the teams from the 80's.

 If you want to participate in the show you can call our toll free number (1.866.751.9649), send us an e-mail to CSL@CelticsBlog.com, or join us in the “Pit” (the chat) during the broadcast.
 

« Last Edit: September 01, 2008, 04:09:05 PM by JB_Celticsstuff »
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