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Overview
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781641251242 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Triumph Books |
| Publication date: | 10/09/2018 |
| Series: | 100 Things...Fans Should Know Series |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 256 |
| File size: | 8 MB |
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CHAPTER 1
The 1971 NBA Championship
After a loss to the New York Knicks in Game 5 of the 1970 Eastern Conference Finals, Milwaukee Bucks center and New York City native Lew Alcindor (later Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) was serenaded by his fellow New Yorkers. As the 22-year-old rookie left the floor, the Madison Square Garden crowd taunted him with a song: "Good-bye Lewie, good-bye Lewie, good-bye Lewie, we're glad to see you go."
Despite a Rookie of the Year season in which he averaged 28.8 points and 14.5 rebounds per game and helped the Bucks win 29 more games than they had in their previous, inaugural season, Alcindor did not leave New York happy. Instead, the singing left him determined to come back in 1971 and triumph over the mighty Knicks. As he left the floor, he told Bucks general manager John Erickson, "We'll be back, Mr. Erickson."
In the off-season, the NBA added three new teams and the Bucks moved to the Western Conference, which meant Alcindor & Co. would have to wait until the NBA Finals to perhaps enact their revenge against the Knicks.
For that to be possible, the Bucks needed to give Alcindor a true running mate and that is exactly what Erickson and Bucks president Ray Patterson set out to do. They didn't waste any time either, trading for 10-time All-Star and former MVP Oscar Robertson on April 21, 1970, the day after losing to the Knicks.
"When I heard that Oscar was coming to play with the Bucks, I was very happy," Abdul-Jabbar later said. "I thought that really made it easy for us to win because of his abilities on both ends of the court. Getting to work with him every day really helped me see his greatness."
Entering his 11 NBA season, Robertson was no longer in his prime as an athlete, but he still represented a massive upgrade for a Bucks team desperately needing more scoring and dynamism from its guards. Since he was feuding with Cincinnati Royals head coach Bob Cousy at the time, Milwaukee only gave up shooting guard Flynn Robinson, coming off a career season, and previous seventh-round pick Charlie Paulk to acquire the 10-year-veteran.
The pairing worked out terrifically. Robertson's scoring average dipped in Milwaukee, but it wasn't needed in the same way it was when he was the lead man in Cincinnati. With Alcindor in the middle leading the league in scoring and winning NBA MVP for the first time, Robertson could focus on being a floor general and keeping his teammates involved.
Both Bobby Dandridge and Jon McGlocklin recorded the best shooting percentages of their careers in the 1970–71 season with "The Big O" at the helm. Erickson acquired a little bench help with a trade for Lucius Allen and Bob Boozer shortly before the season and the Bucks turned into a well-oiled machine running the Triangle offense implemented by head coach Larry Costello. Ultimately, the Bucks put together a 66–16 record, good for the first seed in the Western Conference and a franchise record for wins.
The Western Conference didn't pose much of a challenge to Milwaukee as the team needed only five games to vanquish each of its conference foes. In the first round, they blew past Nate Thurmond, Jerry Lucas, and the San Francisco Warriors, with a 106–104 loss in Game 4 serving as their only hiccup. Alcindor outplayed Wilt Chamberlain as the Bucks blew past the Los Angeles Lakers — who were without Elgin Baylor and Jerry West due to injuries — in the Western Conference Finals. The Bucks won their four games over the Lakers by an average of 20 points per game.
And with that, the Bucks awaited their rematch with the Knicks — but it never came. The Knicks fell to the Baltimore Bullets in a seven-game series in the Eastern Conference Finals and the Bucks have not met the Knicks in the playoffs since. But the Bullets paid a price to get through the Knicks, as forward Gus Johnson and guard Earl Monroe got banged up in the series. Each player missed two NBA Finals games, while center Wes Unseld dealt with injuries throughout the playoffs.
A healthy Bullets squad might have made for a tough matchup, but given their injuries they had little chance in this series and the Bucks swept the 1971 NBA Finals. Alcindor was brilliant, posting 27 points, 18.5 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game in the series and adding a Finals MVP to go along with his regular season MVP. Robertson averaged 23.5 points and 9.5 assists per game, while Dandridge added 20 points per game as well. The Bucks were the better team and they simply took care of business.
"I joined the Bucks," Robertson later said. "I knew we were going to win the championship that year as soon as I got there. Destiny, confidence. I just knew we were going to win."
In just three years, the Bucks went from expansion team to NBA champion and, if you ask those involved, there was never a doubt in their minds.
CHAPTER 2Game 6 of the 1974 NBA Finals
"Oscar Robertson throws to Kareem," described Bucks radio announcer Eddie Doucette. "Seven seconds. Finkel. The skyhook is good! Kareem with the big pressure shot!"
Abdul-Jabbar's incredible shot gave the Bucks a 102–101 lead with just three seconds left in double overtime of Game 6 of the 1974 NBA Finals. It would cap what Bucks forward Jon McGlocklin calls "one of the great games in NBA, not just Bucks, history." When taking a closer look at the game, it's obvious why he would come to such a conclusion.
Trailing 3–2 in the series, the Bucks were forced to fight for their playoff lives with a depleted roster in the Boston Garden. Lucius Allen missed the entirety of the playoffs with a knee injury. A torn calf hampered McGlocklin's movement throughout the series and a torn groin kept Robertson at less than 100 percent. No one felt too bad for the Bucks, since they had three-time MVP Abdul-Jabbar and the league's best record going into the series, but those injuries hampered them throughout the series.
Milwaukee led for much of the game, but Boston chipped away at the deficit and eventually Celtics guard John Havlicek hit a jumper to tie the game at 86–86 with just under a minute left in regulation. On the following possession, the Bucks ran a pick and roll with Robertson and Abdul-Jabbar on the right wing late in the shot clock. Celtics center Dave Cowens switched onto Robertson and capably defended for a few seconds before poking the ball away from "The Big O" with three seconds left on the shot clock. Cowens sprinted after it, dove, and eventually the referees correctly assessed a shot clock violation.
The defensive play would lose some of its luster as the game went on, but it was a perfect encapsulation of the entire series — Cowens with a dogged effort defensively, Robertson unable to take advantage of the switch, a possession ending in a turnover for Milwaukee. Neither the Celtics nor the Bucks scored again, with McGlocklin missing a baseline jumper short off the rim, sending the game to overtime.
Both teams struggled to get much of anything going in the first overtime with a combined eight points between the two teams. The Bucks were so out of sorts that Robertson failed to even get a shot attempt up as time expired and the game moved to a second overtime, tied at 90–90.
The first 90 seconds of the second overtime seemed to be following a similar script as fouls, deflections, and missed shots marred the start of the period. A short baseline jumper for Havlicek, plus a free throw to give the Celtics a 93–92 lead, got the action started as the game transitioned from a messy slog to the late rounds of a marquee heavyweight fight with both fighters connecting on haymakers.
Abdul-Jabbar immediately answers with a hook shot. Bucks lead, 94–93.
Havlicek retaliates with a pull-up baseline jumper over the outstretched right arm of the 7-foot-2 Abdul-Jabbar. Celtics lead, 95–94.
Robertson dribbles down the floor on a cleared-out right side and dribbles into a pull-up jumper over Jo Jo White. Bucks lead, 96–95.
Abdul-Jabbar blocks a Havlicek runner. Out of bounds. Havlicek inbounds. White hits a baseline jumper. Celtics lead, 97–96.
Abdul-Jabbar kicks out of a double team to Robertson, who dribbles into a runner as the shot clock expires. Bucks lead, 98–97.
Outlet to Havlicek, who cans a pull-up jumper from the right elbow. Celtics lead, 99–98.
Cowens picks up his sixth foul on an Abdul-Jabbar postup. Boston subsequently forces a shot clock violation.
After the two teams combined for scores on six straight possessions, sometimes on seemingly impossible shots, the Celtics got a stop and shifted the pressure back to the Bucks, who now trailed 99–98 with 1:02 left on the clock and Boston in possession of the ball.
They would need to make a play defensively and that is exactly what Robertson did. Havlicek caught the ball on the right wing after coming around a few screens, but Robertson stayed in front of the All-Star guard, who eventually dribbled the ball off his foot with 44 seconds left. Milwaukee struggled mightily getting the ball up the floor, but eventually Mickey Davis attempted a contested baseline jumper and hit it with 23 seconds left to grab a 100–99 lead for the Bucks.
The Celtics brought the ball up the floor and coach Tommy Heinsohn called for a timeout as nothing developed, but no one could hear him. His team played on and eventually Havlicek got the ball on the right wing as he ran off a baseline screen. He ripped the ball through low and in front of his body to get a slight advantage on Robertson to the baseline. Abdul-Jabbar once again came from the backside to attempt to block his shot and even ended up hitting Havlicek's right arm with his right arm, but his contest didn't matter. Havlicek made it for his ninth point of the second overtime period and a 101–100 lead for the Celtics with just seven seconds left.
The Garden erupted and the Bucks immediately called a timeout to draw up a play. With the game on the line, things got a little chaotic on the Bucks' bench as coach Larry Costello grabbed for his yellow legal pad and started to draw up a play.
"Larry was kind of like, frantic, trying to think up a great play," Abdul-Jabbar later told OnMilwaukee.com. "And, we just couldn't figure it out all the way, who was supposed to get free."
As the team broke the huddle, there was mass confusion.
"I was a player who always knew what I was supposed to do," McGlocklin told Fox Sports Wisconsin. "I knew the plays. I knew my assignments and I did them. So, I'm standing on the free throw line down in front of the Boston bench. Oscar has it out of bounds. Mickey Davis is standing next to me. I said, 'Mickey, I have no idea what I'm supposed to do.' On Larry's legal pad, he had me in three different places. Oscar has the ball yelling, 'Break! Break!' We don't know what to do."
Abdul-Jabbar knew what to do: get the ball and score.
The MVP center got position at the elbow and made sure to go to the basketball. He collected it with Hank Finkel on his back a few feet outside of the lane slightly above the right elbow. He pivoted to look for Davis cutting down the middle of the lane and then attacked with a single dribble to the baseline. Finkel stayed on his left hip, forcing him to dribble parallel to the sideline instead of toward the basket. From about 17 feet out Abdul-Jabbar collected the basketball, even with Don Chaney trying to poke it away after chasing him down from Robertson. Planting off his left foot and extending his right arm high, the game's most dominant player released his patented skyhook and it splashed through the net.
Bucks up 102–101 with three seconds left.
The Celtics would have one last-ditch effort, but White's jumper was no good and the Bucks had won Game 6 of the 1974 NBA Finals to force the series back to Milwaukee for a Game 7. It was one of the greatest Finals games ever played and one few would soon forget.
CHAPTER 3The Lew Alcindor Coin Flip
There were no doubts about what was at stake. Phoenix Suns general manager Jerry Colangelo called it a "monumental, once-in-a-lifetime flip of a coin." And that's exactly what it was.
National Basketball Association commissioner J. Walter Kennedy would flip a 1964 Kennedy half-dollar into the air with his right hand, catch it with his right hand, and turn it onto the back of his left hand. The results of the flip would be given to the participating teams over the phone. The winner of the flip would be rewarded with the first pick in the 1969 NBA Draft and the right to draft UCLA Center Lew Alcindor.
The Phoenix Suns and Milwaukee Bucks would be the two participants in the coin flip by virtue of their records during the 1968–69 season. Both teams were new to the NBA as expansion teams and finished with the worst records in their respective divisions.
The Bucks finished last in the Eastern Division with a 27–55 record, while the Suns finished rounded out the Western Division with a 16–66 record. At the time, in the 14-team NBA, the teams in last place in their respective divisions would participate in a coin flip for the first pick of the draft. With the worst record overall, the Suns were given the right to call heads or tails.
To figure out what to call, the Suns held a poll asking their fans to choose either heads or tails. The poll ended with a majority of fans deciding on heads. Then 29-year-old Suns GM Jerry Colangelo decided to roll with the fans' decision and called heads.
It was tails.
In Phoenix, devastation. In Milwaukee, elation.
Wes Pavalon, principal owner of the Bucks, and John Erickson, Bucks vice-president and general manager, were listening to the call together and celebrated the moment they heard that they had won the first pick. In the excitement, Pavalon actually burned his colleague with a lit cigarette he accidentally jammed into Erickson's right ear.
"It stung a little, but I didn't notice it," Erickson told Sports Illustrated. "I didn't care, once we had Lew."
(Continues…)
Excerpted from "100 Things Bucks Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die"
by .
Copyright © 2018 Eric Nehm.
Excerpted by permission of Triumph Books LLC.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Table of Contents
1 The 1971 NBA Championship 1
2 Game 6 of the 1974 NBA Finals 4
3 The Lew Alcindor Coin Flip 9
4 Herb Kohl Purchases the Bucks 11
5 The Big Three 14
6 Wayne Embry 17
7 Nellie's Last Game 21
8 Drafting Giannis Antetokounmpo 23
9 Retired Jerseys: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's No. 33 27
10 Retired Jerseys: Oscar Robertson's No. 1 31
11 Larry Costello 33
12 Edens and Lasry Buy the Bucks 36
13 Retired Jerseys: Sidney Moncrief's No. 4 39
14 The Creation of the Bucks 43
15 Game 6 of the 2001 Eastern Conference Finals 46
16 Bucks Finally Beat Sixers 48
17 The Bradley Center 52
18 Jim and Jon 54
19 Redd's 57-Point Night 57
20 Jennings' Double Nickel 60
21 The Big Dog 64
22 Allen Hits 10 Threes in One Game 67
23 Abdul-Jabbar's Punch 69
24 Bucks Win 2005 NBA Draft Lottery 72
25 Bayless' Buzzer-Beater 75
26 Kohl Doesn't Sell to Jordan 78
27 Bucks in Six 80
28 Monroe Chooses Milwaukee 83
29 Jabari Parker's Journey 86
30 24-1 89
31 Antetokounmpo's First All-Star Game 92
32 Dr. J in Milwaukee? 95
33 Trading for Oscar Robertson 99
34 The 1974 NBA Finals Disappointment 101
35 Retired Jerseys: Bob Dandridge's No. 10 104
36 The 20-Game Win Streak 108
37 Retired Jerseys: Jon McGlocklin's No. 14 110
38 Squad 6/Clutch Crew 113
39 Bucks Trade Abdul-Jabbar to L.A. 116
40 Retired Jerseys: Brian Winters' No. 32 119
41 NellieBall 122
42 Bucks Sweep Bird and the Celtics 125
43 Bucks and Spurs Combine for 337 Points 128
44 Terry Cummings 130
45 Retired Jerseys: Bob Lanier's No. 16 133
46 Saving the MECCA Floor 135
47 Eddie Doucette 137
48 Don Nelson 141
49 The Inaugural McDonald's Open 143
50 Paul Pressey 146
51 Alvin Robertson's Playoff Performance 148
52 Retired Jerseys: Junior Bridgeman's No. 2 151
53 The Ray Allen Trade 153
54 The 2017 Comeback That Almost Was 157
55 The Rest of the Big Three Bucks 160
56 The 2001 Eastern Conference Finals Conspiracy Theory 162
57 George Karl 165
58 Robert Indiana's MECCA Floor 168
59 Listen to "Light It Up!" 171
60 Vin Baker 174
61 Del Harris 177
62 Mike Dunleavy 180
63 The MACC Fund 182
64 Ricky Pierce 184
65 Chris Ford 187
66 Terry Porter 189
67 Terry Stotts 192
60 Larry Krystkowiak 194
69 Marques Johnson 196
70 The MECCA 200
71 The Wisconsin Entertainment and Sports Center 203
72 Bango 205
73 Bogut Goes Down 208
74 Scott Skiles 210
75 Larry Drew 213
76 Jason Kidd 215
77 John Erickson 218
78 John Hammond 221
79 The "Fear the Deer" Court 224
80 Bucks in the Olympics 226
81 Shoot a Skyhook 229
82 Larry Harris 231
83 Mo Williams' Game-Winner 233
84 The Game That Just Wouldn't End 236
85 Quinn Buckner 239
86 Jon Horst 241
87 Ernie Grunfeld 243
88 Play as the Bucks in NBA Jam 246
89 Take a Trip to the Basketball Hall of Fame 248
90 Alton Lister 250
91 Get to Know Mike Budenholzer 253
92 A Stop in Milwaukee for Moses Malone 256
93 Bango's Backflip 258
94 Bob Weinhauer 260
95 Try the Sikma 263
96 The 1977 NBA All-Star Game 265
97 Find an Original Copy of "Green and Growing" 267
98 Rep a Deer Jersey 269
99 Michael Redd and His Jump Shot 271
100 Test Your Knowledge of Bucks Trivia 274
Acknowledgments 276
Sources 279