This One's For SouthBeach

[LAZERUSS]

Just easier to start a new topic than continue to butcher up another one...


Even though his scoring dropped every single postseason, which he should receive at least some criticism for, I can't put too much blame on Wilt not winning a title on the Warriors. He was frequently playing against a far superior Celtics team, and pushed them razor thin 7 game series on multiple occasions. '66-'70 though, Wilt really does deserve criticism for those defeats, and it REALLY hurt his case for GOAT he only won 1 title in that span.

In '66, his first full season on the 76ers, they actually finished with a better record than the Celtics, and had a first round bye while Boston had to win 2 elimination games just to get out of the first round. In typical Wilt fashion, his numbers dipped going from averaging 34/25/5 on 54% in the regular season to 28/30/3 on 51% in the playoffs in a 5 game defeat to Boston, including just 23.5 ppg through the first 4 games of the Celtics series, before scoring 46 in the Celtics Game 5 clincher.

In '68 his team blew a 3-1 lead a la the Warriors this year, dropping Games 5 & 7 at home, with Wilt scoring just 14 points in Game 7, making 4 shots from the field all game.

In the '69 Finals his team blew a 2-0 & 3-2 lead, as Wilt went from averaging 21 ppg in the regular season to 12 ppg in the Finals, one of the biggest drop offs in history up there with 2011 LeBron & Curry this year. With a chance to go up 3-1 in Game 4, Wilt scored 8 points in a 1 point defeat, and again With a chance to clinch the title in Game 6, Wilt scored 8 points, and somehow lost a Game 7 at home with West dropping a 40 point triple double and winning FMVP in a series LOSS.

Then again in the '70 Finals, he had one monster game in Game 6 with Reed out, and proceeded to average just shy of 20 ppg the games Reed played in. And with his opponent on 1 leg and barely able to move in Game 7, Wilt scores 21 points, a decent amount coming in garbage time to lose a Game 7 for the third year in a row, including back to back Finals Game 7's.

If you can't put ANY blame on Wilt for failing to win a title from '68-'70, including losing Game 7 THREE seasons in a row, then you simply aren't being fair with your evaluations.

I apologize up front, as this may take some time.

But I will try to address these, one-by-one.


Even though his scoring dropped every single postseason, which he should receive at least some criticism for.

The "bashers" love this one. Of course, they never use CONTEXT, though.

Let's start with this. Wilt actually had three different periods in his career. His "scoring" prime, from '59-60 thru '65-66. The "balanced" Wilt, a Chamberlain who was asked to do everything well, which was from '66-67 thru '68-69 (actually, you could make a separate case for '68-69, since he had an incompetent coach that season, whose hatred for Wilt exceeded his own will to coach a team successfully.) And the post-injury Wilt (and again, you could make a separate case for the first nine games of the '69-70 season, as a rejuvented Chamberlain, who was once again asked by his new coach, to become a "scoring" Wilt again. Unfortunately that went down when he blew out his knee in that ninth game.)

Now, let's break those down in the playoffs. He played in a total of 160 playoff games in his career. A "scoring" Wilt played in 52 playoff games from '60 thru '66 (and his team was so awful in '63, a season in which he averaged 45 ppg on 53% shooting, that they missed the playoffs.) And in those 52 games, he went up against the greatest dynasty, the GOAT defensive player, and one of the GOAT defensive teams of all-time...in 30 games! Or 60% of a "scoring" Wilt's playoff games were against an all-time great team.

And again, 52 games out of his career 160 playoff games...came in his "scoring" seasons. That is less than ONE-THIRD. And again, 30 of those were against Russell's Celtics.

In the span of those 52 games, Chamberlain averaged 33 ppg. Which was down somewhat from his 40 ppg average in that same span in the regular season.

A couple of points...one, he missed the playoffs in his '63 season...the second highest scoring season of his career. And two...60% of those games came against Russell.

Why is that important, you ask? I won't bother posting the numbers, but they are easily accessible at basketball-reference.com, and at nbastats.net...but think about this. Chamberlain faced the Celtics from '60 thru '66, FIVE times. Now, trust me...take a look at Jordan's numbers against the Bad Boys in his four playoff series from '88 thru '91 (and really, you can throw out '91, as the Pistons were already a crumbling shell by that time.) They declined CONSIDERABLY from his regular season numbers against the entire NBA in that same span. Especially his efficiency, which nose-dived.

How about Shaq against Robinson's Spurs in his three playoff battles from '98 thru '02. Both his scoring and efficiency declined CONSIDERABLY from his regular season play against the NBA in that same span.

Then there was a PEAK Kareem...from '71 thru '73, he had a cumulative average of 32 ppg on a .563 FG% against the entire NBA. In that same span, in his FIVE playoff series against both an aging Thurmond, and past-his-prime Wilt...he averaged 26 ppg on a .456 FG%. A HUGE drop.

Continued...

[Dray n Klay]

2/6

[LAZERUSS]

2/6

Lebron was a Draymond game suspension away from "2-7" so what's your point?

[Nilocon165]

SouthBeachTalents is the best poster on the board :applause:

Unbiased and I've never disagreed with anything he's said

[SouBeachTalents]

SouthBeachTalents is the best poster on the board :applause:

Unbiased and I've never disagreed with anything he's said

http://i.imgur.com/fWeFMv1.gif

[Dray n Klay]

SouthBeachTalents is the best poster on the board :applause:

Unbiased and I've never disagreed with anything he's said

I like SouthBeach as well.


We basically agree on every point except the 2011 Finals :cheers:

[LAZERUSS]

Continuing...

Psileas has pointed this before, but Wilt played in 29 post-season series, and in 14 of them, he had a higher scoring average against the team he facing in that playoff series, than what he had against them in their regular season H2H's.

But let's use Russell's Celtics, as an example.

'60: Regular season: 39.1 ppg
Playoffs: 30.5 ppg (on a considerbaly higher FG% BTW.)

'62: Regular season. Against Boston...42.7 ppg. However, in his 10 H2H games against Russell... 39.7 ppg.
Playoffs: 33.6 ppg (on an identical FG%.)
As you can see, that 50 ppg to 35 ppg drop was not nearly as dramatic as it would seem.

'64: Regular season. 29.1 ppg
Finals: 29.2 ppg (on a nearly identical FG%.)

'65: Regular season: 25.4 ppg (on a .473 FG%.)
Playoffs: 30.1 ppg (on a .555 FG%.)

'66: Regular season: 28.3 ppg.
Playoffs: 28.0 ppg (on a much higher FG%.)

'67: Regular season: 20.3 ppg
Playoffs: 21.6 ppg (again...on a slighter higher FG% .556 to .549.)

'68: 17,2 ppg
Playoffs: 22.1 ppg (nearly same FG%.)

'69: 16.0 ppg.
Finals: 11.7 ppg (on a slightly higher FG%.)


So, overall... 4 series over, and 4 series under. And yes, a slightly lower overall ppg.

And you could do the same for the rest of his 29 playoff series.


Once again, in his "scoring seasons" from '60 thru '66, he played in 52 playoff games, and averaged 33 ppg. In that same span, he playoff 30 of those games against Russell's Celtics, and averaged 31 ppg (on a .507 FG% BTW...which was about a full 8-9 percent above the post-season NBA average in that same span.)

Continued...

[LAZERUSS]

Continuing...

Psileas brought this a while back, and I expounded on it.

Russell basically built his post-season numbers against the Lakers in his five Finals against them in the 60's. He actually played in six, but the last one came against Wilt, and he did nothing offensively in that series.

Why is that important?

Because Chamberlain NEVER faced LA even ONCE in the post-season in the decade of the 60's. In fact, he had to battle Russell's Celtics EIGHT times in the decade, and seven of them came in either the first, or second playoff series. A prime Wilt, from '60 thru '69, only had TWO post-seasons of at least THREE playoff series (and unfortunately for him, one of them was in his last season in that decade, and with a clown for a coach.) He didn't have the benefit of 1-2 rounds of cannon-fodder, and 3-4 total rounds.

And the Lakers would have been a great example. Here is why: Chamberlain played exactly ONE playoff season, from '60 thru '68, in the Western Conference, and away from the Eastern Conference, which housed the Celtics. And guess what? In that ONE series, and facing a center who had an outstanding NBA career in Zelmo Beaty...he hung a seven game series of 38.6 ppg, 23.0 rpg, and on a .559 FG% (in a post-season NBA that shot .420 overall.) A near 40 ppg series.

And back to the Lakers...

Russell had Finals against them of 23 ppg on a .543 FG%; 24 ppg on a .538 FG%; and 18 ppg on an amazing .702 FG%.

Now, Chamberlain faced the Lakers in 86 regular season games in the decade of the 60's...and he had 42 games of 40+ points, which included 19 of 50+, 7 of 60+, and 2 of 70+.

Think about this...Russell's game seven in the '62 Finals against LA, is considered one of the greatest Finals games in NBA history. 30 points and 40 rebounds.

How about this...in that same season, Chamberlain hung a 78-43 game on that Laker team.

So, had Chamberlain had the good fortune to have been in the weaker conference in the 60's, as Lebron has been in his entire career, he likely would have put up a considerable amount of staggering scoring games, and series. BTW, he also had seasons against the Lakers of as high as a .759 FG% (on 25 ppg scoring.)

CONTEXT.

Continuing...

[LAZERUSS]

4 MVP's, 3 FMVPs, Better career stats (PER) > 4 MVPs, 1 FMVP, Worse career stats




LeBron > Wilt

Russell and Wilt split the MVPs in the decade of the 60's, 4-4. BUT, Chamberlain was voted First Team All-NBA by a margin of 7-2 over Russell in that same span. Furthermore, Chamberlain did not win the MVP in his '62 season. The WORST MVP voting in NBA history!

As a side-note, Russell did win the MVP in the '65 season, and would surely have won the FMVP had the award existed. He led Boston to a 4-1 series romp over LA in the Finals...and with an 18-25 .702 FG% Finals.

BUT, in the EDF's, Chamberlain led his 40-40 Sixers to a game seven, one point loss against Russell's 62-18 Celtics. And in the process, administered the worst beatdown ever by one GOAT upon another. He outscored Russell, per game, 30 ppg to 16 ppg; outrebounded Russell, per game, 31 rpg to 25 rpg; outshot Russell from the field by a .555 to .440 margin (and even outshot him from the line by a .583 to .472 margin); held a .565 to .450 margin in TS%, and even outblocked Russell in known blocks, 35-22.

That should give you a better idea who the real best player was that season.

[LAZERUSS]

In '66, his first full season on the 76ers, they actually finished with a better record than the Celtics, and had a first round bye while Boston had to win 2 elimination games just to get out of the first round. In typical Wilt fashion, his numbers dipped going from averaging 34/25/5 on 54% in the regular season to 28/30/3 on 51% in the playoffs in a 5 game defeat to Boston, including just 23.5 ppg through the first 4 games of the Celtics series, before scoring 46 in the Celtics Game 5 clincher.

Looks like you have been reading the junk that was at RealGM. They post typical "basher" material all the time. And of course, with ZERO CONTEXT, and NO RESEARCH.

REALITY:

Yes, the Sixers did finish with a better W-L record than Boston. By a 55-25 to 54-26 margin. And they had to win their last 11 straight games to do so. BUT, the Celtics had a TON of missed games by their key players. Russell missed 2 games, Satch Sanders missed 8, Havlicek missed 9, and Sam Jones missed 13. Furthermore, they were the seven-time defending champs, and weren't particularly worried about the post-season.

Chamberlain missed one game that season...against Boston, and of course, Boston won handily. However, the Sixers went 6-3 in the rest of those H2H's. And Chamberlain averaged 28.3 ppg, 30.7 rpg, 4.2 apg, and shot .473 from the field in those nine H2H's.

The two teams would meet in the EDF's, and the Celtics romped to a 4-1 series win. Wilt's fault, right?

For the series, Chamberlain averaged 28.0 ppg, 30.2 rpg, 3.2 apg, and shot .509 from the field. Regular season again? 28.3 ppg, 30.7 rpg, 4.2 apg, and on a .473 FG%...or nearly IDENTICAL. So what happened? What changed from a team that went 6-3, to losing 4-1?

How about this...Wilt's teammates shot a combined...get this... .352 from the field in that series.

You mentioned Wilt's first four games as if 23.5 ppg on a .487 FG% was terrible. Well, how about Russell's first four games, then? 13.0 ppg on a .396 FG%. BTW, I won't take the time to find PHILA's article, but in game four, Russell outscored Wilt 18-15. YET, the recap credited Wilt for SINGLE-HANDEDLY keeping his team in the game.

Oh, and that clinching game five performance... 46 points, on 19-34 shooting, with 34 rebounds. Find me ONE game by Russell against Wilt like that. In fact, how about the very next season, when it was RUSSELL who was now facing a 3-1 series deficit, and the prospect of elimination? Did he rise up and hang a 45-34 game on Wilt, when it was obvious his teammates needed him to do so? Not quite...in fact, he quietly led his Celtics, like lambs to slaughter, with a meager FOUR point game, in a blowout loss.

Continued...

[LAZERUSS]

In '68 his team blew a 3-1 lead a la the Warriors this year, dropping Games 5 & 7 at home, with Wilt scoring just 14 points in Game 7, making 4 shots from the field all game.

I'm surprised you bothered with this. Really.

Why? Because ClippersFan brings this series up almost once a week, and then, once-a-week, I have to rebutt it.

Here we go...

The Sixers team that ran away with the best record in the league during the regular season, was NOT the same team that would lose to the Celtics in game seven, by four points.

If you recall your NBA history, just the year before, Chamberlain and his Sixers annihilated the eight-time defending (and 60-21) Celtics, 4-1. In fact, they were a mere four points away, in game four, of SWEEPING the Celtics.

So, what could have changed so dramatically, when their rosters were nearly identical in each year?

How about this (thanks to PHILA BTW)...

http://www.insidehoops.com/forum/showpost.php?p=9328011&postcount=14

INJURIES...including Wilt himself, who played nearly every minute of that grueling seven game series with a tear in his right calf (a similar injury which basically rendered Willis Reed a statue in the last three games of the '70 Finals...missing a half of one of them, three-quarters of another, and then completely missing another.)

More...

http://www.insidehoops.com/forum/showpost.php?p=9328006&postcount=13

In Robert Cherry's book on Chamberlain, he mentioned that Wilt was NOTICEABLY LIMPING throughout that series. Russell went so facr to claim afterward, that "a lessor man would not have played."

But to recap their injuries...


Club Rated 'Most Courageous' By Hannum as Injuries Mount

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - The Philadelphia 76ers could be billed as the best touring troupe In basketball. All they need is a doctor to complete the cast.

Going into the fourth game Sunday of their National Basketball Association playoff series with the Boston Celtics, the 76ers are hurting from head to toe.

So what's new? Injuries have plagued the defending NBA champions since the opening of the season.

"Alex Hannum says this is the most courageous team he's ever coached," says Harvey Pollack, the 76ers' statistician. "The locker room looks like a hospital ward every time I walk in."

Pollack ticked off some of the cases, which read like a medical diary:

-Wilt Chamberlain (partial tear of the calf muscle in his right leg, a strain in his right thigh and an injured right toe):

-Wally Jones (injured knee cartilage):

-Luke Jackson (pulled hamstring muscle):

-Hal Greer (bursitus in his right knee):

-And, Billy Cunningham (broken right wrist).

"That's not mentioning (rookie) Jim Reid who had a knee operation after injuring it the first game of the season," said Pollack, "and Larry Costello," the veteran guard who tore an ankle tendon after one-third of the season was gone.

The most recent injury was to Chamberlain in Friday night's Eastern Division playoff contest with the Celtics. The dipper was given whirlpool treatments for the calf muscle tear, but Pollack wasn't sure how he'd respond.

The 76ers have nine men in uniform for the best-of-seven playoffs, which they lead, two games to one. But whether they'll have anybody left for the finals against the Western Division winner is anybody's guess.

The team's troubles multiplied in the Eastern Division semifinals against the New York Knickerbockers. Cunningham broke his wrist, knocking him out for the season, Jones and Jackson suffered their injuries and Chamberlain aggravated his perennial toe injury.

And when Boston thumped the 76ers in the opening game of their playoffs here last Friday, some predicted a quick knockout of the injury-riddled champs.

But Philadelphia whacked Boston two straight, including Thursday where an injury actually helped the 76ers cause, points out Pollack.

How so?

"Well, Chamberlain was hurt and he couldn't turn around to score-so he kept feeding Greer, and he scored 31," explained the statistician.

Of course, the biggest one, aside from Wilt, was that HOFer Billy Cunningham had broken his wrist in the previous series, and missed the entire EDF's.

So, it was a MIRACLE that the Sixers ever went up 3-1 in the series. BTW, you mention games six and seven. Why not game 5? It could have been the clincher. Did Wilt "choke" in that potential game five? Hell no, he slaughtered Russell. Outscored him, 28-8; outshot him 11-21 to 4-10; outrebounded him, 30-24; and outassisted him, 7-4. What happened? In the third quarter of that game, TWO more STARTERS went down, Luke Jackson, and Wali Jones. This, on a team that was not a deep team to begin with.

True, Wilt played poorly in game six. And Greer was brilliant, with 40 points. But without anyone else, they didn't have enough. Game seven? Wilt TOUCHED the ball a TOTAL of NINE times in the entire second half...TWO in the last quarter! Meanwhile, the Greer that had the 40 point game six... 8-25 from the field. Chet Walker... 8-22. Wali Jones ... 8-22. Jackson... 7-17. And Guokas... 2-10. Meanwhile, Chamberlain went 4-9 for the entire game. Oh, and he still outscored Russell, 14-12, and outrebounded him, 34-26.

Should Wilt have DEMANDED the ball? Oh sure...the Chamberlain that had been labeled selfish earlier in his career (even though it was his COACHES that asked him to shoot)...and in a season in which he led the league in assists? For once, his COACH, Alex Hannum, took at least some responsibility, and agreed that he should have asked the team to get the ball into Wilt.

In any case, Wilt, and his Sixers had been DECIMATED by injuries.

And all "the choker" could do was hang a 22-25-7 series.

Continued...(tomorrow)...

[Nilocon165]

1973 NBA Finals
Lakers had HCA but lost the series in 5 games. Lakers lost by 4 points in Game 2 in which Wilt shot 1-9 from the freethrow line. Wilt put up 5 points in Game 3 which the Lakers lost by 4 points again. In Game 5 Wilt shot 5-14 from the freethrow line. This capped off Wilt's 5th series loss with HCA to end his career.

Wilt's FT shooting for the series: 14-38 (36.8%)

1970 NBA Finals
Another Game 7 loss for the Lakers. Wilt shot 1-10 from the freethrow in a Game 1 loss. In Game 7 Wilt shot 11 freethrow attempts, only making 1.

Wilt's FT shooting for the series: 23-67 (34.3%)
Wilt's FT shooting in Game 7: 1-11 (9.1%)

1969 NBA Finals
Lakers had HCA and were up 2-0 in the series and also 3-2 after Game 5. Lakers managed to lose the next 2 games including a 2 point loss in Game 7 in which Wilt missed 9 freethrows (4-13) while Jerry West put up 42-13-12 and won Finals MVP. Wilt shot 1-5 from the filed and missed 8 freethrows in a Game 6 loss and 1-5 from the field in Game 2. In a pivotal Game 4 Wilt shot 2-11 from the line in a 1-point loss, a win would have gave the Lakers a 3-1 series lead. Boston Celtic Sam Jones outscored Wilt Chamberlain again in Game 7, doing so in all 4 Game 7s.

Wilt's FT shooting for the series: 24-66 (36.4%)
Wilt's FT shooting in Game 7: 4-13 (30.8%)

1968 Division Finals
Another HCA series loss for Wilt. Wilt shot 6-21 from the field and missed 15 freethrows in a Game 6 loss. In Game 7, Wilt made 4 field goals and missed 9 freethrows in a 4 point loss. Wilt was the 9th leading scorer and the 5th leading scorer on his own team in that game 7 with 14 points

Wilt's FT shooting for the series: 39-91 (42.9%)
Wilt FT shooting in Game 7: 6-15 (40.0%)

1966 Division Finals
His Sixers lost to Boston in 5 games. In the elimination Game 5, Wilt missed 17 freethrows (8-25) in a 8 point loss.

Wilt's FT shooting for the series: 28-68 (41.2%)

1965 Division Finals
Wilt shot 7-21 from the field in a Game 3 loss. The Sixers lost by 1 point in Game 7, Wilt missed 7 freethrows (6-13) in that game. Wilt was once again outscored by Sam Jones in a Game 7.

1964 NBA Finals
His team lost the series in 5 games. Wilt shot 4-12 from the freethrow line in a Game 1 loss.

Wilt's FT shooting for the series: 22-48 (45.8%)

1963 Regular season
Wilt led his team to a 31-49 record, a record too poor to make the playoffs.

1962 Division Finals
Coming off his 50.4 ppg season, his PPG in the Playoffs dropped down by 15 points. In Game 7, Wilt was the 4th leading scorer with 22 points in a loss.

Wilt's FT shooting for the series: 22-48 (45.8%)

1961 Division Semifinals
Wilt's Warriors had HCA and were facing the 38-41 Nationals. The result? The sub .500 Nationals swept Wilt's team 3-0. In an elimination Game 3 Wilt shot 7-14 from the freethrow line in a 3-point loss.

Wilt FT shooting for the series: 21-38 (55.3%)

1960 Division Finals
After a regular season of 38.4 ppg, Wilt followed that up with a 30.5 ppg series in the Division Finals vs. Boston.

Wilt FT shooting for the series: 35-65 (53.8%)

[LAZERUSS]

I don't have a clue, so I just post someone's else's garbage

Two can play that game my friend...


'60: Wilt joins a LAST PLACE roster and IMMEDIATELY takes them to a 49-26 record. In the first round of the playoffs he hangs a monster 39-23 series on the Nats, including an at-the-limit 53-22 game (the first of THREE "must win" 50 point playoff games...the ONLY three by a GOAT candidtae.) In the EDF's and against the HOF-laden 59-16 Celtics, he puts up a 31-27 series against series against RUSSELL, on a .500 eFG% (in a post-season NBA that shot .402 overall), including his SECOND 50 point "must win" game (along with 35 rebounds.) He single handedly takes that POS roster to a game six, two point loss. And had he not badly injured his hand at the end of game two, and played poorly (for him) in the next two games, they might very well have stunned the heavily favored Celtics. As it was, he went 3-1-2 against Russell in those six games, and again, he was playing hurt in two of the them. Just to give you an example...in game three, Russell outscored Wilt, 26-12, and outrebounded him, 39-15...in a 120-90 blowout win. It would be the ONLY time in their 49 career playoff battles in which Russell had a decided edge. And it just proved what everyone knew...if Wilt played poorly, his team had no chance. Oh, Russell then dominated a much more stacked Laker roster, that had BOTH West and Baylor, in a seven game Finals. Unfortunately for Wilt, he would never have the opportunity to face the center-less Lakers in the post-season in the decade of the 60's...a team he routinely destroyed in the regular seasons. One can only imagine the unfathomable post-season numbers he would have put up had he been so lucky.

'61: Wilt averages a 37-23 in the first round playoff series loss. His teammates collectively shoot .332. His three "HOF" teammates (two of them have no business being in the HOF)... Guy Rodgers, Paul Arizin, and Tom Gola shoot .368, .328, and .206 respectively.

'62: Chamberlain takes essentially the same LAST PLACE roster that he had inherited two years earlier, now older and worse, to a 49-31 record. He single-handedly carries them past the Nats in the first round of the playoffs with yet another 50+ point "must win" (at-the-limit) game of 56-35! Then, with his teammates collectively shooting .345 against the 60-20 HOF-stacked Celtics, he takes them to a game seven, two point loss. He slaughters Russell with three 40+ point games, and outplays him, 4-2-1 in that series. Overall, he hung a 34-27 series on Russell and his swarming teammates. BTW, in that seventh game...newspaper recaps (and Bob Cousy) praised Wilt for his DEFENSE. And again, btw, the "choker" Wilt scored Philly's last five points, including a game tying three point play. But, as would almost always be the case in these Russell-Wilt H2H's, a Russell TEAMMATE, Sam Jones, hit the game-winner. BTW, the Celtics were favored in all seven games, and Wilt's teammate made the comment, that Boston had an edge, player-for-player...and yet, Chamberlain nearly won that series by himself.

'64: Wilt finally gets a great coach, and then single-handedly takes a roster of mis-fits that had gone 31-49 the year before, to a 48-32 record. In the first round of the playoffs he hangs a staggering seven game series of 39-23 .559% on the much more talented Hawks, including an at-the-limit game seven of 39-26-10. Then, outgunned by HOFers, 8-3, his Warriors are beaten by Russell's 57-23 Celtics, 4-1, in the Finals. However, the last two games of that series were decided in the waning seconds. Wilt outscores Russell, per games, 29-11, outrebounds Russell, per games, 28-25, and outshoots Russell from the field in the series, .517 to .386 (in a post-season NBA that shot .420 overall.) For those keeping track, Wilt outplays Russell in every game (5-0.)

'65: Wilt is traded at mid-season for three players, to a Sixers team that had gone 34-46 the year before. Even Chamberlain could only get them to a 40-40 overall record. Then, in the first round of the playoffs, Wilt single-handedly carries them past Oscar's stacked 48-32 Royals, including a clinching 38-26 performance. Then, going up against a 62-18 Celtics team that was at the peak of their dynasty, Wilt slaughters Russell with the worst beatdown ever administered by one GOAT upon another, but alas, the Sixers lose a game seven, by one point. In that game seven, Wilt outscores Russell, 30-15, outrebounds Russell, 32-29, and outshoots him from the field, 12-15 to 7-16. Oh, and with Boston leading 110-101, Wilt scores Philly's last eight points, including 2-2 from the line, and a thunderous dunk over a helpless Russell with 5 secs remaining, to pull to within 110-109. The "clutch" Russell then hits a guidewire with his inbounds pass giving the ball back to Philly under their own basket. Unfortunately for Wilt...Russell is once again saved by a teammate, as... "Havliceks stole the ball!" In the series, Chamberlain outscores Russell, per game, 30-15, outrebounds Russell, per game, 31-25, and outshoots Russell from the field, .555 to .447. Oh, and he also outshot Russell from the line, .583 to .470. Overall, Wilt had a TS% margin of .565 to .450. Again, the worst beating ever administered on a GOAT candidate. And almost took a pathetic roster to the greatest post-season upset in NBA history. Oh, and Wilt goes 6-1 in H2H performance against Russell in those seven games.


'66: Wilt leads the Sixers to the best record in the league, all while leading the league in scoring, rebounding, and FG%. Then, in the EDF's, his team is beaten by Russell's Celtics, 4-1. Was it Wilt's fault you ask? All Chamberlain did in that series was average 28 ppg, 30 rpg, and shoot .509 from the field, including a clinching loss performance of 46 points and 34 rebounds. How about Wilt's teammates? They collectively shoot .352 from the field. H2H... Wilt wins 3-1-1.

Continued...

[LAZERUSS]

And yet again...


Continuing...

'67: Wilt FINALLY has a roster the EQUAL of Russell's. The result? He leads them to a then record of 68-13. Now, with a great coach, and a good supporting cast, his role changes to more of a facilitator, and he puts up a 24-24-8 .683 season. In the first round of the playoffs he hangs a 28-27-11 (yes a triple double) .617 series on the Royals. Just to prove he can still score when needed, he hangs games of 41 (the Sixers team playoff high BTW), and 37, in the first two games. In the third game he puts up a 16-30-19 (yes, 19 assists), and with an estimated 20+ blocked shots. Then, he annihilates Russell and his 60-21 Celtics in the EDF's, leading his Sixers to a 4-1 series blowout win (and four points away in game four of a SWEEP.) In the clinching game five, Wilt outscores Russell, 29-4, outrebounds, Russell, 36-21, outassists Russell, 13-7, and outshoots Russell from the field, 10-16 to 2-5. He even takes time to swat 7 shots. For the series, Chamberlain outscores Russell, per game, 22-10, outrebounds Russell, per game, 32-23, outassists Russell, per game, 10-6, and outshoots Russell from the field by a .556 to .358 margin. The second greatest beatdown ever administered by one GOAT upon another. Chamberlain waxes Russell, 4-1 in their H2H's. In the Finals, Wilt overwhelms Nate Thurmond, in his greatest season BTW, and leads his Sixers to a 4-2 series title. For the series, Wilt outscores Thurmond, per game, 18-14, outrebounds him, per game, 29-27, outassists per game, 7-4, and outshoots him from the floor by a .560 to .343 margin. Arguably the single greatest season ever.

'68: Wilt leads the Sixers to a runaway best record in the league, and puts up a 24-24-9 .595 season. In fact, he would lead the league in assists. However, he and teammates are decimated by injuries in the playoffs. Still, he hangs a 25-25-7 .584 series on HOFer Walt Bellamy (holding Bellamy to a .421 FG% btw.) But without HOFer Billy Cunningham, and injuries to virtually key teammates, as well as noticeably limping in the EDF's, his Sixers lose a game seven by four points. For the series, a one-legged Wilt puts up a 23-25-7 stat-line. Overall, Russell finally pulls even with Wilt in their H2H's, 3-3-1.

'69: Wilt is traded to the Lakers for three players, but they still put up a team best (at the time) record of 55-27. This while losing HOFer Gail Goodrich in the expansion draft, and West missing 20 games due to injury. In the first round of the playoffs, Wilt outplays Thurmond once again, and leads his team back from a 2-0 deficit to a 4-2 series win, including a clinching 117-77 win on the road. He then leads them to a 4-1 series win over the Hawks (19-22 .638 FG%.) In the Finals, and shackled by an incompetent coach, he plays poorly, by his standards anyway, but still outplays Russell. However, in the seventh game, he pulls up lame while leading his team to a furious comeback from a 17 point deficit, now down to seven, with five minutes left. He asks to go back in, but his goofball coach proves he would rather lose without Wilt, then win with him...and LA loses a game seven by two points. Wilt still easily outplayed Russell in that game seven...outscoring him, 18-6, outrebounding him, 27-21, and outshooting him from the field, .875 to .286. Oh, and for those that value TS%...Wilt had the highest in the game, at .621 (Russell was at .333 BTW.) Unlike Kareem, who could completely miss a clinching game six, in which Magic hung 42 points in a blowout win...Wilt misses five minutes, in a game in which he puts up a triple double of 18-27-10...and his team loses. For those keeping track...Wilt goes 3-2-2 in the Russell H2H.

BTW, none other than the GOAT coach, John Wooden, claimed that had Wilt and Russell swapped rosters, (and coaches), that it would have been Wilt holding all those rings.

[LAZERUSS]

And finally...


'70: Wilt's new coach realized the coaching debacle in '69, and immediately went to Chamberlain and asked HIM to to become the focal point of the offense. And Wilt eagerly obliged. In fact, by game nine he was leading the NBA in scoring at 32.2 (on a .579 FG% and with 20.6 rpg)...when he went down with a devastating knee injury. The same injury that basically shelved Elgin Baylor for a year-and-half (and in fact, he was never the same again.) Virtually all medical opinion had Wilt, at the very least, missing the rest of the season. And there were those that felt that a 32 year old, 7-1, 300 lber, would never return again.

Wilt shocked even the most optomistic medical observations when he returned to play the last three games of the regular season. BTW, he returned, even though he knew he was nowhere near 100%, because he wanted to help the Lakers.

BTW, in his only H2H game with Kareem (Alcindor) before his injury, he easily outplayed KAJ. He outscored, outrebounded, outassisted, and massively outshot Kareem. He even outblocked him, including two skyhooks.

A rusty Wilt did little in the first four games of the first round of the playoffs, and as expected, LA fell behind 3-1. Chamberlain, even at way less than 100% exploded in the last three games, and led LA all the way back to a 4-3 series win, culminated with a 30-27-10 clinching game seven. Interesting, too, that a healthy Wilt had put up a 66 point game against that same roster just the year before.

Wilt then led LA to a sweep of the Hawks, who, btw, had HCA.

In the Finals, a one-legged Wilt faced a peak Willis Reed, who had won the regular season MVP. BTW, just the year before, a healthy Chamberlain SLAUGHTERED Reed in their two H2H's (outscoring him, per game, 28.0 to 20.0 ppg, outrebounding him, per game, 22.0 to 9.5 rpg, and outshooting him from the floor, .688 to .459.

However, a post-surgery Wilt had his hands full with a peak Reed. Still, the two split their H2H's in their first four games (as did the Lakers and the heavily-favored Knicks.) Reed went down in game five, with the same injury that Wilt had sustained in the '68 playoffs. The difference between Wilt and Reed? Chamberlain played every minute of a seven game series...and put up a 22-25-7 statline in '68. Reed? Missed the last three quarters of game five (a stunning come-from-behind Knicks win), the entire game six (in which Chamberlain smoked the same type of competition that Shaq faced in his '00 and '02 Finals) with a 45-27 "must win " game, and then barely played a half in game seven (and was saddled with foul trouble.)

Of course, the Knicks were a stacked roster with FOUR HOFers and a HOF coach, who could overcome a Reed injury. And with Walt Frazier just destroying Jerry West in game seven, the Knicks rolled to a 113-99 win. Still, Wilt outscored Reed, 21-4, outrebounded Reed, 24-3, and outshot Reed, 10-16 to 2-5. Interesting too, that Reed crushed KAJ in their clinching game five of the '70 ECF's, in a 132-96 win.

A one-legged Wilt put up the ONLY 20-20 .600+ FG% Finals in NBA history (23.2 ppg, 24.1 rpg, and on a .625 FG%.) And had his teammates showed up for game seven, they might have upset the Knicks.

'71: Wilt, only a few months removed from major knee surgery, and now 34, had the worst season of his career (20.7 ppg, 18.3 rpg, and on a .545 FG%.) Meanwhile the 23 year old Kareem had the best overall season of his career (regular season and post-season included.) And unfortunately for Wilt, when the two met in the '71 WCF's, Chamberlain was facing a 66-16 Bucks team without both Baylor and West. Incredibly, Chamberlain went 3-1-1 in their five H2H's, and statistically outplayed a peak Kareem. Oh, and as he left the floor in the last minute of the clinching loss, he received a standing ovation...and the game was played in MILWAUKEE.

'72: Chamberlain, with a new (and great) coach, leads the Lakers to a then best-ever NBA record of 69-13, including 33 straight wins. Meanwhile, KAJ put up his greatest regular season of his career, and the 63-19 Bucks were favored to repeat.

The two would meet in the '72 WCF's, and KAJ easily outplayed Wilt in the first two games. Chamberlain then took over the series, and LA won three of the next four, to win the series, 4-2. KAJ was reduced to a shot-jacking brick layer in the last four playoff games (.414...and Wilt was knocking the "unblockable" sky hook all over the gym.) And while Kareem heavily outscored Wilt, by virtaully ALL accounts, including even the MILWAUKEE PRESS, Chamberlain was acclaimed as having outplayed Kareem. In fact, TIME MAGAZINE went so far as to claim that Wilt DECISIVELY OUTPLAYED Kareem.

IMHO, Kareem would never be the same dominant force that he had been up until that meltdown.

Interesting too, that a PRIME Chamberlain was FAR more dominant against the SAME centers that a PRIME Kareem would face just a few years later. A prime Wilt just crushed the likes of Reed, Bellamy, Dierking, Fox, and Thurmond...far more than a peak Kareem did.

Chamberlain then overwhelmed the Knicks, and their FIVE HOFers in the Finals, 4-1. In fact, he plays the clinching game five with a badly sprained wrist, and the other wrist, FRACTURED, and then hung a 24-29-8 game on the Knicks. As a sidenote, Jerry West won his first ring...with a Finals in which he shot .325 from the floor.

'73: Wilt leads the Lakers to a 60-22 record. And Kareem leads the Bucks to a 60-22 record. However, Kareem once again takes his team down in flames...this time in the first round against Thurmond's 47-35 Warriors...in a series in which KAJ would shoot .428. Chamberlain then leads LA to a 4-1 series rout of Thurmond and his Warriors, including a 126-70 blowout win in Oakland. Wilt was, again, more dominant against Thurmond, than a peak Kareem had been.

Wilt takes his Lakers up against the Knicks and their SIX HOFers (Chamberlain's teams were almost always outgunned in HOFers...some by huge margins.) The Knicks win the last four games, but all four are decided in the last minute.

And while Reed certainly did not outplay Wilt...SOMEONE had to win the FMVP. Oh, and in Wilt's very last game of his career... 23 points, and 21 rebounds.

Interesting too, that a prime KAJ would not win another ring in his last eight years of the decade of the 70's...all in a decade which featured some of the weakest champions in NBA history. Hell, a prime Kareem lost with 63-19, 60-22, 59-23, and a 53-29 team that had the best record in the league. He also was blown out in two straight playoffs by a Sonics team that had one borderline HOF player. On top of that, he missed two straight years of the playoffs in the middle of the decade. It wasn't until MAGIC arrived that he would a ring again. And in Magic's first year, he carried the Lakers, sans Kareem, and on the road, to a rout of the Sixers in game six of the Finals.

One can only wonder how many rings Chamberlain would have won had he had Magic for 10 years.

Thanks for playing though...

[Mr Feeny]

https://s33.postimg.io/45sr4jhpb/40_Ld_YTs.png

[Mr Feeny]

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/8b/d8/1a/8bd81a50eb70b4f479f5a77d891c133d.jpg

THIS is what a top 2-3 GOAT looks like:pimp:

"Iggy with a layup. ..Oh BLOCKED by James! Lebron james with the rejection!"
"That's it! It's over ! Cleveland is a city of champions again. Lebron james has done it! "

:rockon:

[Mr Feeny]

WOW, thats a great way to summarize it!


I agree 100%


:cheers: :banana:

I wrote that myself btw! Totally did NOT just copy paste it from another great poster on this site :coleman: "

[LAZERUSS]

In the '69 Finals his team blew a 2-0 & 3-2 lead, as Wilt went from averaging 21 ppg in the regular season to 12 ppg in the Finals, one of the biggest drop offs in history up there with 2011 LeBron & Curry this year. With a chance to go up 3-1 in Game 4, Wilt scored 8 points in a 1 point defeat, and again With a chance to clinch the title in Game 6, Wilt scored 8 points, and somehow lost a Game 7 at home with West dropping a 40 point triple double and winning FMVP in a series LOSS.

Most all of this has been covered in other topics in the last couple of days, but here goes...

And save myself some time here...


The Lakers were again headed to the Finals. This would be there sixth trip in eight years, and for the first time, they came in as favorites. Why? Because they finally had an answer for Bill Russell.

Not only that, but LA, who had started the playoffs down 0-2, were coming into the Finals with eight wins in their last nine games.

Meanwhile, Boston, which had struggled all season long, and only finished 4th in their conference, were beginning to peak at the right time. They stomped Wilt's former team, the 55-27 Sixers, in the first round, 4-1 (despite Wilt's "replacements" putting up a combined 36 ppg, 20 rpg, and .510 FG% series.) Then, with Russell suddenly rising up offensively, they stunned the favored Knicks, 4-2. Russell, who had only averaged 9.9 ppg during the regular season, elevated his scoring to 16.3 ppg in that series, which included games of 21 and 25 points.

And while virtually no one gave Boston much of a chance going into the Finals, they did have one enormous advantage over LA, and that was depth. They could go go a solid nine deep, and all nine players could be productive (as we would see in the most pivotal game of the series.)

Russell continued to surprise in the post-season, and in game one, he outplayed Wilt, outscoring him, 16-15, and outrebounding Wilt, 27-23. This was totally unexpected, as Chamberlain had owned Russell durihg their six regular season H2H's.

Still, behind West's spectacular 53 points and 10 assists, the Lakers escaped with a game one win, 120-118. And even Baylor had played reasonably well, with 24 points, on 10-21 shooting.

The Lakers took firm control of the series in game two, with a 118-112 win. However, for the second consecutive game, Russell outscored and outrebounded Wilt. West was just brilliant again, with 41 points, and even Baylor played well, pouring in 32 points on a stunning 11-15 shooting.

The Lakers now led the series, 2-0, and heading back to Boston they were poised to win their first ever title in Los Angeles. And while Russell had outplayed Wilt in the first two games, no one expected that trend to continue, and with West playing at an unfathomable level, and Baylor seemingly coming out of his slump, there was now a possibilty of a Laker sweep. And how sweet would that have been for Laker fans, as well as Wilt?

Any thoughts of a sweep went down the drain in game three. Boston rebounded with a 111-105 win. Chamberlain easily outplayed Russell in that loss, outscoring him 16-11, and outrebounding him, 26-18. However, BOTH Baylor and West fell apart in the 4th quarter, shooting a combined 1-14 from the field. Baylor was particularly putrid, scoring 11 points on 4-18 shooting.

Game four would ultimately decide the series. The game was sloppily played throughout, and neither team played well offensively. Still, the Lakers had the lead, 88-87, and the ball, with 15 seconds left. For all of his incompetence, Laker head coach Butch Van Breda Kolff, made one of his two biggest coaching blunders at the worst possible time. Instead of putting the ball into "Mr. Clutch's" hands, he had Johnny Egan holding the fate of the series in his hands, instead. And the result was as expected. Egan was stripped by Em Bryant, and then Sam Jones, while falling down, banked in the game winner at the buzzer. That ONE PLAY cost the Lakers a series romp, and in fact, cost them the title.

Still, it was not all Egan's fault. Only West had played well, with a monster 40 point game on 15-30 from the field, and 10-10 from the line. Wilt had a miserable offensive game, scoring a meager 8 points, on 3-8 from the field, and 2-11 from the line. However, his counterpart, Russell, was no better, as he only scored 6 points on 2-12 from the field, and 2-4 from the line. Furthermore, Wilt outrebounded him, 31-29. No, the real blame lied in the play of Baylor. Baylor scored a pathetic 5 points, on a horrific 2-14 shooting from the field, AND 1-5 from the line.

The Lakers stormed back on their home floor in game five, with a solid 117-104 win. Chamberlain waxed Russell in this game, outscoring him 13-7, and outrebounding him, 31-13. West poured in 39 points, and even Egan finally made a contribution with 23 points. However, Baylor once again struggled, scoring 8 points on 4-13 shooting. In his last three games, Baylor had gone 10-45 from the field, or an unfathomable, ... .222 from the field.

With a chance to wrap up the series back in Boston in game six, Wilt let his team down. He played a lethargic game, and for the third time in the series, Russell outplayed him. Chamberlain scored a meager 8 points on 1-5 from the field, and was outrebounded by Russell, 19-18. West also had his worst game of the series, with 26 points on 9-19 shooting, but Baylor finally snapped back from his horrible slump with a 26 point game, on 9-18 shooting. Boston extended the series to a game seven, with a 99-90 win.

The series headed back to Los Angeles for a game seven...

Continued...

[LAZERUSS]

Continuing...


The '69 Finals were the sixth meeting in eight years between the Lakers and Celtics, but for the first time, LA had home court advantage.

Laker owner Jack Kent Cooke was so confident that his Lakers would win their first ever title in Los Angeles, that he hung "victory" balloons from the rafters, and had champagne on ice in the dressing room.

If Boston needed an additional motivation, that was it. Russell pointed out the balloons to his teammates, and from the opening tap, the proud Celtics took control of the game. By late in the third period they had opened up a 15 point lead. To make matters even worse, Chamberlain picked up his 5th personal foul before the end of the quarter.

And when Boston extended the lead to 17 with a little over 10 minutes left, all looked bleak for LA. Then Russell picked up HIS 5th personal foul. For all the undeserved criticism Wilt received for his supposed weak play with five fouls, which was just ridiculous, since he seldom even committed even three in a game...how about Russell? Immediately after Russell picked up his 5th foul, the Lakers went into Wilt, who went right around the "matador" defense of Russell for an easy layin.

Alas, with BVK's coaching, Wilt did not receive the ball in the low post again. Shortly after Russell's 5th personal, Sam Jones fouled out. Jones had been brilliant in his final game of his career, with 24 points, on 10-16 shooting. And with Russell in hiding the rest of the game, the Lakers surged back. With six minutes remaining, Wilt grabbed a rebound that led to a fast break basket, and the margin was now nine. However, Chamberlain had landed awkwardly, and injured his knee. He stayed in long enough to grab another rebound, and his outlet to West led to a foul. Wilt had to come out. West hit both FTs, and with deficit was now seven. In a span of a little over four minutes, the Lakers had outscored the Celtics by 10 points. Boston was now clearly running on fumes.

LA continued to cut into the deficit, and with about three minutes remaining, Wilt asked to go back in. Van Breda Kolff would make the worst coaching decision of his career. He kept Wilt on the bench, and instead rode the great Mel f***ing Counts down the stretch. Still, LA cut the margin to 103-102 late. Then, with Counts missing a wide open shot, and then committing a horrible turnover in the last minute, and with Boston getting yet another miracle shot, this time from Don Nelson, the Celtics escaped with a 108-106 win, and yet another bitter defeat for LA.

Chamberlain badly outplayed Russell in the game. He outscored him, 18-6; he outshot him, 7-8 to 2-7; and he outrebounded him, 27-21. He also had 10 blocked shots, for an 18-27-10 triple double. And for those that blame Wilt's FT shooting...he had the highest TS% in that game seven, at .621 (and Russell was near the bottom at .333.) And while Wilt was on the bench in the last five minutes of the game, Russell was nowhere to be found in the entire 4th quarter. In fact, Chamberlain, on an injured knee, and in two straight possessions, had matched Russell's entire rebounding for the 4th quarter (and Wilt, playing five minutes less in that period, outrebounded him, 7-2.)

Boston did get great play from Sam Jones, but their real hero was John Havlicek, with his 26 points on 11-19 shooting. And as I pointed out earlier, the Boston "role" players came up huge. Nelson not only hit the game-winner, he kicked in with 16 points. And Em Bryant, one of the heroes in the game four win, poured in 20 points.

Meanwhile on the LA side, there was blame to go all around. West had played brilliantly, as he did the entire series, scoring 42 points, grabbing 13 rebounds, and handing out 12 assists, but even he missed 4 FTs, two in the last period, and overall, shot 14-29 from the field. Of course, no one played worse than Baylor, who shot 8-22 from the field, and overall, "led" LA as their worst shooter in the post-season (.385.)

Of course, the real blame for the Laker loss lay directly on the shoulders of Van Breda Kolff. He repeatedly made coaching blunders the entire series, and his stubborn disdain for Wilt, not only cost LA a title, but basically his coaching career, as well. When West found out what had transpired in the last few minutes, he was furious. VBK quickly "resigned" before suffering the embarrassment of a well deserved firing.

Russell, who once again, was a non-factor in the 4th period, shocked Wilt when he claimed that "nothing short of a broken leg would have kept me out", (albeit, he had an injured ankle in the '58 series, and missed two games.) Chamberlain was deeply hurt, and the two did not speak for many years, until Russell finally apologized both in private, and then in public.

Of the several close losses that Wilt had had in his NBA career, this one was the worst. He had a roster, that was on paper anyway, better than the aging roster that Russell had. And while Havlicek probably deserved the FMVP as much as West, West had been sensational in the series. For the first time in Wilt's career, he was not the best player on the floor, and in fact, he had a teammate that was...and he still came up short.

[LAZERUSS]

Most rational Wilt fans will concede that the '69 Finals was Wilt's worst post-season series of his career. Had he put up even a near-routine game six, LA would have won the Finals.

Of course, as pointed out previously, there has never been a worse coaching debacle in NBA Finals history, than what the "Butcher" put up in '69. And his hatred for Wilt started even before the season began. He went to Wilt and asked Chamberlain to play the high post, so that Elgin would be able to drive the baseline.

And while the "bashers" always call Wilt a "selfish stats-padder"...it was interesting that no one sacrificed more of his offense of the West-Baylor-Wilt trio...than Chamberlain.

And this was the classic comment from the incompetent coach...

https://books.google.com/books?id=9BaqPfGcI84C&pg=PA355&lpg=PA355&dq=butch+van+breda+kolff+had+chamberlain+playing+t he+high+post&source=bl&ots=rQxpX4Ys7l&sig=oosFtJ3aB-NUrdTlS-5xi8-eHyI&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi70fWD0svKAhVDuYMKHSvWDRgQ6AEIQTAJ#v=on epage&q=butch%20van%20breda%20kolff%20had%20chamberlain% 20playing%20the%20high%20post&f=false


"So we were able to throw the ball down low to Wilt and he'd score, but it was an ugly offense to watch."

Instead, VBK preferred the shot-jacking of Baylor, who put up one of the worst Finals in NBA history by a Top-25 player...shooting .397 from the floor (and a team worst .385 in the entire post-season)...including games of 4-18 shooting in a game three six point loss (BTW, Elgin and West combined to shoot 1-14 in the 4th quarter of that game); 2-14 from the field, and yes, 1-6 from the line, in a game four one point loss; and then a game seven of 8-22 from the field, and couldn't hit anything in the last quarter, of a two point loss.

And, as mentioned earlier, aside from keeping Wilt on the bench in the last five minutes of that game seven (and after Chamberlain helped key a run in which the Lakers wiped out 10 points from a 17 point deficit in a little over four minutes)...VBK's biggest coaching blunder occurred in the last seconds of game four. The Lakers were leading the series, 2-1, and leading in the game, 88-87, and had the ball. You would think that VBK would have put the ball into "Mr. Clutch's" hands in that last possession. Nope...he had Johnny Egan handling it, and as expected, he was stripped, and then with no time on the clock, Sam Jones, while falling down, hit the game-winning shot. And in game five, with Chamberlain easily outplaying Russell, in a 117-104 win...had Egan not lost the ball on that ONE PLAY... the Lakers would have won the series in game five.

As for Wilt's scoring...

Was it because he couldn't score...or was it because he didn't get the ball to shoot? Just earlier in the same season, he hung a 35 point game on Russell. And of course, historically, he had multiple post-season series against Russell of 30+ ppg (and multiple post-season games of 40+, including must win games of 46 and even 50 against Russell.) And yet...he only averaged EIGHT FGAs per game in that series (and hit 50% of them.) In any case, as Psileas pointed out...Wilt wasn't brick-laying in the series. He wasn't pulling an '04 Kobe, or an '07 Lebron...neither of whom could hit the broadside of a barn in those series...albeit they still fired away.

Interesting too, that in the 4th quarter of game seven, which is on YouTube BTW, at about the 10-11 minute mark, Russell picked up his 5th personal foul. The Lakers immediately went into Wilt, who went right away the "matador" defense of Russell for an easy layin (BTW, I always found it laughable that Wilt would get ripped for "not playing defense with 5 fouls...which he clearly did even in this game...but Russell "played smart" when he was in foul trouble.) Why was that one sequence interesting, you ask? Because it was basically the last time Wilt would touch the ball anywhere near the basket. Instead of milking a sure thing...VBK let West, and the brick-laying Baylor take all the shots down the stretch.

Finally...after VBK resigned (and saving himself the embarrassment of being summarily fired), the Lakers brought in a new coach for the '69-70 season...Joe Mullaney.

After reviewing the coaching debacle in the '69 season, Mullaney's first order of business was to ask WILT to become the focal point of the offense. And a rejuvented Chamberlain immediately went on a season opening nine game rampage (games of 33, 35, 37, 38, 42, and 43 points...and 25 point game against rookie KAJ in which he outplayed him in every facet of the game.)

And Wilt was leading the league in scoring at that point, at 32.2 ppg (on a .579 FG%, all while pulling down 20.6 rpg)...(oh, and West was right behind at 30.8 ppg too)...when he shredded his knee in the 28th minute of that game nine (the same knee that he had injured in the last five minutes of game seven of the '69 Finals BTW.) Incidently, in those 28 minutes, he had scored 33 points, on 13-14 shooting, and was likely on his way to a 40 or even 50 point game (a 50 point game would have pushed his ppg average up to 34.0 ppg.)

The greatest offensive force in the history of the game...would never be the same again...

continued...

[Mr Feeny]

OP did you know....that Lebron had more 40 point finals games in 3 days than Kobe had in 20 years? :lebronamazed:

[Lebronxrings]

:sleeping :sleeping :sleeping

[Paul George 24]

DUNCAN >>>>>>>>>>>> LEBRON :banana:

[LAZERUSS]

OP did you know....that Lebron had more 40 point finals games in 3 days than Kobe had in 20 years? :lebronamazed:

OP...did you know that Feeble above lost a bet in which he pledged that he would leave this forum forever, and yet, still posts his repeated garbage here?

http://www.insidehoops.com/forum/showpost.php?p=12425963&postcount=6

http://www.insidehoops.com/forum/showpost.php?p=12425977&postcount=7

http://www.insidehoops.com/forum/showpost.php?p=12426030&postcount=8


BTW, interesting too, that in that bet, he had all but given up on his boy LeChoke in that Finals, and threw all his eggs into Chokurry's basket...

and then watched in horror as Chokurry put the up the worst Finals in NBA history by a reigning MVP.

A Finals performance that was only "topped" by 3" LeChoke's '07 Finals.

[Mr Feeny]

Not at all.
I bet that Kobe wouldn't shoot 38% and he didn't. Didnt bother not cared enough to read any of your posts.
So you could leave the forum if you want.

I most definitely never gave up on lebron. I didn't think it was possible to beat a 73 win single handedly by leading both finalists in every category because not even MJ was able to do that. Even we were surprised by just how majestic lebron was in the finals.

Now there is no debate. Lebron is a top 3 goat.

Either way I'm happy cuz lebron is a top 3 goat!

:lebronamazed:

Also OP did you know....that Lebron had more 40 point finals games in 3 days than Kobe had in 20 years?

:applause: