1968 NBA Finals (BOS vs LAL) Retroactive Finals MVP Thread

[B][SIZE="7"]1968 NBA FINALS (BOS vs LAL)[/SIZE][/B]
[I][SIZE="5"]Retroactive Finals MVP Project[/SIZE][/I]

[IMG]http://cdn.wbur.org/media/special/2010/wbur_0602_celtics-lakers/images/celtics-lakers-1968.jpg[/IMG]

I've been exchanging PMs with a few members for a couple of weeks now about my interest in holding a vote for Finals MVPs for the years prior to the award's inception. Initially, this project was going to involve a handful of members who I thought might be interested, but I figured more posters might be interested.

Some of you out there might be wondering how exactly you can participate if you weren't able to watch the games live, or weren't even born at the time. Fortunately, I've got you covered—I've downloaded the articles from each game, for both sides of the fire. These are written by beat writers (not AP reports), each piece containing some unique information absent from the other.

[URL="http://www.filehosting.org/file/details/368244/1968_Finals.zip"]Here is the download (14.1MB)[/URL]. The file includes 6 folders, each with 4 files: TBG1, TBG2, LAT1, LAT2. The files named TBG are PDFs of the articles from The Boston Globe, while the others come from the LA Times. Box Scores are on the second page of each article (files of the form xxx2.pdf).

Once you've read as much as you like of the synopses, feel free to respond in this thread with your vote (as well as any other thoughts). If you want your vote to remain private you can send me a PM instead.

I'm not sure how far back I'll take this project, but my goal is to cover all Finals series back to the beginning of the shot clock era (1954-55 season).

EDIT: There was interest in the 1969 articles and box scores, so I found those as well. [URL="http://www.filehosting.org/file/details/368288/1969_Finals.zip"]Here they are (14.3 MB)[/URL].

EDIT 2: Petroslav from APBR has generously donated some of the fruits of his own labor to future editions this project. Here are the complete box scores from 66 and 67:

[url]http://www39.zippyshare.com/v/81758012/file.html[/url]
[url]http://www17.zippyshare.com/v/43744816/file.html[/url]

I'll add the articles from the LA Times and Boston Globe to add to the package, but this contribution has greatly reduced my work and has afforded everyone a sneak peak.

(reserved)

Slightly off-topic, but the game footage I really want to watch is the 1969 Finals, a 7 game classic btw the Celtics and the Lakers, or the 1967 Finals between the Sixers and the Warriors. :cheers:

Great stuff, but I'm having trouble downloading the file. I got a link sent to my e-mail address, which I clicked, but I'm not sure that any thing happened. Perhaps I did download it but can't locate the file on my comp (I'm not very computer literate). Do u know where/how I could access it? Thanks....

[QUOTE=oolalaa]Great stuff, but I'm having trouble downloading the file. I got a link sent to my e-mail address, which I clicked, but I'm not sure that any thing happened. Perhaps I did download it but can't locate the file on my comp (I'm not very computer literate). Do u know where/how I could access it? Thanks....[/QUOTE]

so when you enter this in your URL bar, it should send a link to your e-mail address (which may be filtered as spam)

it should send you a message with a download link, click that and in the window that pops up, click the 'Download' button and you should be good

kinda halfassed, but I can't seem to find any other better sites to host (if somebody has a rec, I'll try somewhere else)

Fpliii I just downloaded the file and plan on reading it later...But right now I want to ask you if you know what the total average of Wilts VS Russell is?

And then

How many 60, 50 and 40 point games he had against him

[QUOTE=fpliii]so when you enter this in your URL bar, it should send a link to your e-mail address (which may be filtered as spam)

it should send you a message with a download link, click that and in the window that pops up, click the 'Download' button and you should be good

kinda halfassed, but I can't seem to find any other better sites to host (if somebody has a rec, I'll try somewhere else)[/QUOTE]

Sorted. Thanks :cheers:

Before I check anything out I've read plenty of the old Boston/LA battles and i think Russell is gonna be my choice, he had a few monster games from what I can remember,especially defensively but I'll get back to you.

Cheers.

[QUOTE=jongib369]Fpliii I just downloaded the file and plan on reading it later...But right now I want to ask you if you know what the total average of Wilts VS Russell is?

And then

How many 60, 50 and 40 point games he had against him[/QUOTE]

here's the link to the spreadsheet in case you don't have it:

[url]http://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Aoy3YD7IdypTdEpOeFRwY29NRTUtWVlFWVJ5TkFDY3c[/url]

this is the extent of our knowledge of the matchups as it currently stands...we have all the point and rebound numbers, but we're missing some info (the averages are around 28.7/28.7 I believe)

I don't really want to make this a Wilt vs Russell thread though, since Wilt didn't play in the Finals that season (though the next season we're going to do, 1967, he obviously did)

[QUOTE=fpliii]I've downloaded the articles from each game, for both sides of the fire. These are written by beat writers (not AP reports), each piece containing some unique information absent from the other.
[/QUOTE]

Just a quick question: Are the newspaper articles you've provided available on the standard goolge news newspaper search? If not, where can I, or any one else, find them? If you don't mind me asking, of course :D

[QUOTE=oolalaa]Just a quick question: Are the newspaper articles you've provided available on the standard goolge news newspaper search? If not, where can I, or any one else, find them? If you don't mind me asking, of course :oldlol:[/QUOTE]

some of them might be, but I got mine from ProQuest (a subscription service that I got free from my university...finished up my MS in June, but I believe I have access until early January); I'm sure you could sign up, but I think it's much more expensive for an individual than for an institution

they have complete archives for the Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, LA Times, Washington Post, NY Times, though I think only the last two are available on Google

if you have a topic of interest I can do some research for you though (the turnaround time depends on whether you have exact dates or not, and the extent of the data you need)

[QUOTE=fpliii]some of them might be, but I got mine from ProQuest (a subscription service that I got free from my university...finished up my MS in June, but I believe I have access until early January); I'm sure you could sign up, but I think it's much more expensive for an individual than for an institution

they have complete archives for the Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, LA Times, Washington Post, NY Times, though I think only the last two are available on Google
[/QUOTE]

Okay, I'll definitely check out proquest. If I remember rightly, the price of $3.95 always comes up next to Boston Globe, L.A times articles etc whenever I'm browsing newspapers. I'm not sure if that's the price to view that single article (I friggin hope not :eek: ), or it's some sort of monthly fee. I'll do some investigating.

[QUOTE]if you have a topic of interest I can do some research for you though (the turnaround time depends on whether you have exact dates or not, and the extent of the data you need)[/QUOTE]

Thanks a lot. I'll bare that in mind.

[QUOTE=oolalaa]Okay, I'll definitely check out proquest. If I remember rightly, the price of $3.95 always comes up next to Boston Globe, L.A times articles etc whenever I'm browsing newspapers. I'm not sure if that's the price to view that single article (I friggin hope not :eek: ), or it's some sort of monthly fee. I'll do some investigating.



Thanks a lot. I'll bare that in mind.[/QUOTE]

:cheers:

newspaperarchive.com is another alternative (iirc their plans start at 19.95 per month, though I think you need to sign up for three months at a time), and they offer unlimited bandwith (brutal user interface though)

Btw, I actually have a particular interest in the '66, '68 and '69 Finals (Jerry West has become my favourite past player). I've been lightly researching them, but was finding full box scores in particular impossible to locate. It looks like you're going to be my saviour :oldlol: (For 2 of them, at least)

[QUOTE=oolalaa]Btw, I actually have a particular interest in the '66, '68 and '69 Finals (Jerry West has become my favourite past player). I've been lightly researching them, but was finding full box scores in particular impossible to locate. It looks like you're going to be my saviour :oldlol: (For 2 of them, at least)[/QUOTE]

I'm going to get to 68 and 66 in successive threads...do you want the complete box scores for 69? if you're only interested in box scores and not the articles I could probably find them pretty quickly (one minor issue with the LA Times is they tend to omit minutes played)

[QUOTE=fpliii]I'm going to get to 68 and 66 in successive threads...do you want the complete box scores for 69? if you're only interested in box scores and not the articles I could probably find them pretty quickly (one minor issue with the LA Times is they tend to omit minutes played)[/QUOTE]

I'm interested in both, but the full box scores for '69 would be REALLY GREAT!

[QUOTE=oolalaa]I'm interested in both, but the full box scores for '69 would be REALLY GREAT![/QUOTE]

sorry it took so long:

[url]http://www.filehosting.org/file/details/368288/1969_Finals.zip[/url]

I was feeling generous, so I got you the articles as well :cheers:

I've already long had the information on this, as well as every Final of the Russell era, having already done this, so I already have everything I need. But it's between Havlicek and Russell, this being the last Final in which Russell was a candidate for Finals MVP. I did a write on this about two years ago elsewhere. The '68 FMVP is Havlicek, with Russell a close second. Had it gone to a member of the winning team, he would have won it in '69 as well.

[QUOTE=ThaRegul8r]I've already long had the information on this, as well as every Final of the Russell era, having already done this, so I already have everything I need. But it's between Havlicek and Russell, this being the last Final in which Russell was a candidate for Finals MVP. I did a write on this about two years ago elsewhere. The '68 FMVP is Havlicek, with Russell a close second. Had it gone to a member of the winning team, he would have won it in '69 as well.[/QUOTE]

Do you feel that Havlicek should have won the award in 69, or are you fine with West winning? Are there any other seasons (before or after the award's inception) where you feel a player on the losing side should have won Finals MVP?

[QUOTE=fpliii]I don't really want to make this a Wilt vs Russell thread though[/QUOTE]

Already a tired subject as it is, as it always involves people's agendas.

[QUOTE=fpliii]Do you feel that Havlicek should have won the award in 69, or are you fine with West winning?[/QUOTE]

I said "had it gone to a member of the winning team" Havlicek would have won it. As far as being fine with West winning, it doesn't really matter to me, as it had no bearing whatsoever upon my life, deriving no benefit from either player winning. I am neither a Celtic nor Laker fan, so I have no affiliation to nor emotional ties with either franchise.

[QUOTE=ThaRegul8r]Already a tired subject as it is, as it always involves people's agendas.[/QUOTE]
haha I wasn't trying to make it about Wilt, was just asking him a quick follow up question for something else

Havlicek in '68.

If there was a playoff MVP, though, I think I would have gone with Russell. He played his greatest playoff series against Chamberlain that season.

West in '69, even on a losing team. One of the greatest scoring Finals of all-time, and a game seven of 42-13-12. Ultimately his coach cost him his first ring.

[QUOTE=fpliii]sorry it took so long:

[url]http://www.filehosting.org/file/details/368288/1969_Finals.zip[/url]

I was feeling generous, so I got you the articles as well :cheers:[/QUOTE]

YOU are the BEST :applause: Really appreciate it.

I'll read over the '68 Finals articles soon, and let you know who I think is deserving of the FMVP.

[QUOTE=oolalaa]YOU are the BEST :applause: Really appreciate it.

I'll read over the '68 Finals articles soon, and let you know who I think is deserving of the FMVP.[/QUOTE]

np

for late games played in LA we're missing minutes played: The Globe only carried basic scores for those nights (since the paper was likely close to going to press when the games ended), and unfortunately the Times didn't keep track of that stat for another few years...my apologies, but the rest of the info should be complete (and the articles are very interesting)

you'd mentioned 66 (which we'll get to after this year and the 67 Finals voting is complete), are there any other years you're interested in?

[QUOTE=fpliii]some of them might be, but I got mine from ProQuest (a subscription service that I got free from my university...finished up my MS in June, but I believe I have access until early January); I'm sure you could sign up, but I think it's much more expensive for an individual than for an institution

they have complete archives for the Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, LA Times, Washington Post, NY Times, though I think only the last two are available on Google

if you have a topic of interest I can do some research for you though (the turnaround time depends on whether you have exact dates or not, and the extent of the data you need)[/QUOTE]

How did those papers do for non-Finals coverage in the 60s and 70s? Over the last couple of years I've VERY slowly started to compile the game-by-game playoffs stats for players. Right now all I've got done or semi-done are Jordan, Bird, and Magic, but I'm only getting what I can get from Basketball-Reference. Obviously they don't have full boxscores pre-1985 ( or is 1986?).

Reason I ask is because I'm curious whether or not BBR uses that same ProQuest site or a similar service, or if they're getting there boxscores some other way, since they only have FGM, FTM/FTA, and points for games from the 60s, 70s, and early 80s.

I was trying to just use Google News last week to find complete boxscores and write-ups for some of Bird and Magic's early career playoff games and couldn't find anything. Of course I'm not very good using Google News.

[QUOTE=KG215]How did those papers do for non-Finals coverage in the 60s and 70s? Over the last couple of years I've VERY slowly started to compile the game-by-game playoffs stats for players. Right now all I've got done or semi-done are Jordan, Bird, and Magic, but I'm only getting what I can get from Basketball-Reference. Obviously they don't have full boxscores pre-1985 ( or is 1986?).

Reason I ask is because I'm curious whether or not BBR uses that same ProQuest site or a similar service, or if they're getting there boxscores some other way, since they only have FGM, FTM/FTA, and points for games from the 60s, 70s, and early 80s.

I was trying to just use Google News last week to find complete boxscores and write-ups for some of Bird and Magic's early career playoff games and couldn't find anything. Of course I'm not very good using Google News.[/QUOTE]

I haven't delved that deeply into non-Finals coverage in general, so if you give me a series to investigate I can look into it and check.

Basketball Reference got its box scores from a guy named Dick Pfander (you can read more about the acquisition [URL="http://www.grantland.com/blog/the-triangle/post/_/id/15575/how-basketball-reference-got-every-box-score"]here[/URL]). Basically, they're basic box scores for the most part. I've done some work helping the guys at [url]http://nbastats.prv.pl[/url] fill in the gaps, and we've filled in as much of Magic's box scores as is possible at the moment (I'm not sure if I still have the original sources saved, though). Some information, like offensive rebounds, blocks, steals, turnovers, weren't always noted in the box scores, so unless the guy had a big number in one of those departments you're probably out of luck.

The problem with ProQuest is, as I noted, licenses are extremely expensive for non-institutional subscriptions. Universities and some major public libraries have access, but that's about it.

If you have a topic of interest I can see what turns up: I have complete access to the archives for the LA Times, Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, Washington Post, NY Times (as well as some other papers, none are really of note for basketball research though). If you want to do some research of your own and don't have a major library nearby, you have three options:

• Google News (they've taken a number of archives offline in recent years though, and still others have become pay-per-view)

• [url]http://paperofrecord.hypernet.ca[/url] has complete access to the Sporting News archives (they covered the NBA in detail starting in the late 60s; the interface is pretty brutal though, and they're hit or miss for the most part)

• [url]http://newspaperarchive.com[/url] has a massive number of resources, but you have to subscribe for three months at a time

Other than those, you can post on the APBR message boards with a request, but there is again no guarantee you'll get a response. Elias Sports Bureau (official stat company for the NBA and most other leagues) actually has complete statistical records game-by-game for each player in league history (official stats), though the box scores are lost (everything is in the form of linescores). Here's their contact information:

[url]http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=9897048[/url]

Let me know what you need done and I'll see what I can do. Depending on the nature of the request I might be able to get back to you pretty quickly (as I did for oolalaa above), though the amount of time is a function of scale, information availability, and accessibility.

[QUOTE=jlauber]Havlicek in '68.

If there was a playoff MVP, though, I think I would have gone with Russell. He played his greatest playoff series against Chamberlain that season.

[B]West in '69, even on a losing team. One of the greatest scoring Finals of all-time, and a game seven of 42-13-12. Ultimately his coach cost him his first ring.[/B][/QUOTE]

Wilt's FT-shooting in game 7 also cost both Wilt and West one ring, he went 4-13 from the FT-line in that game 7 and they only lost with 2 points.

It's a shame that West's 43-13-12 game didn't give him his first ring, GOAT performance.

[QUOTE=fpliii]I haven't delved that deeply into non-Finals coverage in general, so if you give me a series to investigate I can look into it and check.

Basketball Reference got its box scores from a guy named Dick Pfander (you can read more about the acquisition [URL="http://www.grantland.com/blog/the-triangle/post/_/id/15575/how-basketball-reference-got-every-box-score"]here[/URL]). Basically, they're basic box scores for the most part. I've done some work helping the guys at [url]http://nbastats.prv.pl[/url] fill in the gaps, and we've filled in as much of Magic's box scores as is possible at the moment (I'm not sure if I still have the original sources saved, though). Some information, like offensive rebounds, blocks, steals, turnovers, weren't always noted in the box scores, so unless the guy had a big number in one of those departments you're probably out of luck.

The problem with ProQuest is, as I noted, licenses are extremely expensive for non-institutional subscriptions. Universities and some major public libraries have access, but that's about it.

If you have a topic of interest I can see what turns up: I have complete access to the archives for the LA Times, Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, Washington Post, NY Times (as well as some other papers, none are really of note for basketball research though). If you want to do some research of your own and don't have a major library nearby, you have three options:

[QUOTE=KG215]Appreciate all the info. For now, it'd be any non-Finals playoff series pre 1985 (so 1980-1985) for Magic and Bird. Once I get ready to move on to players like Russell, Wilt, Baylor, West, Robertson, etc. it'd be them, too, but that won't be anytime soon and I don't want to straddle you with that much work.

I've got bits and pieces for each from those series. For example, the 1984 WCSF all I'm missing is rebounds for Magic in games 1, 2, and 3; and in the 1984 WCF I'm missing rebounds in games 1, 2, 4. Go back to 1980, 1981, and 1982 and all I have is points, FGM, and FTM/FTA. There's one or two games I have rebounds and/or assists in non-Finals series, but there's still a lot of gaps to be filled.

If you want to PM me your e-mail address, I could send you my spreadsheet, and you could have a look at what I've done. So far it's only been four players (Jordan, Kobe, Bird, and most of Magic). I had about 10-12 players started/done on my old laptop before it crapped out on me and I wasn't able to recover the file.[/QUOTE]

regarding Magic, as I noted we completed as much as we could based on the ProQuest database...here's what we have:

[url]http://gorba77.w.interia.pl/01NBA/07bonus/GameLogsJohnson.xls[/url]

as for Bird, e-mail me what you have at [email]fpliii@stanford.edu[/email] (note the 3 i's) and I'll see what I can do; put "ISH:" in the subject so it doesn't get filtered to spam

[QUOTE=millwad]Wilt's FT-shooting in game 7 also cost both Wilt and West one ring, he went 4-13 from the FT-line in that game 7 and they only lost with 2 points.

It's a shame that West's 43-13-12 game didn't give him his first ring, GOAT performance.[/QUOTE]
Anyone else see where this is going? Goodbye on-topic postings.

[QUOTE]playoff MVP[/QUOTE]

This should have been the award introduced by the league instead of FMVP. Interesting project, not so much for the winners as much as for the potential discussion. I imagine after '67 Wilt, Russell may sweep the awards from '57-'66, with a Pettit cameo in '58.

[QUOTE=fpliii]regarding Magic, as I noted we completed as much as we could based on the ProQuest database...here's what we have:

[url]http://gorba77.w.interia.pl/01NBA/07bonus/GameLogsJohnson.xls[/url]

as for Bird, e-mail me what you have at [email]fpliii@stanford.edu[/email] (note the 3 i's) and I'll see what I can do; put "ISH:" in the subject so it doesn't get filtered to spam[/QUOTE]

Yeah, just got through filling in the gaps for Magic. His is completed. :cheers:

They're all in one Excel file, just different pages. I'll e-mail it to you shortly.

[QUOTE=Owl][QUOTE=millwad]Wilt's FT-shooting in game 7 also cost both Wilt and West one ring, he went 4-13 from the FT-line in that game 7 and they only lost with 2 points.

It's a shame that West's 43-13-12 game didn't give him his first ring, GOAT performance.[/QUOTE]

Anyone else see where this is going? Goodbye on-topic postings.[/QUOTE]

If it does end up going there, then I'm done with this topic and will not be participating in this any further.

[QUOTE=ThaRegul8r]If it does end up going there, then I'm done with this topic and will not be participating in this any further.[/QUOTE]

I agree entirely.

REQUEST TO EVERYBODY: Please do not discuss Wilt-Russell comparisons at all in this thread. That debate will not be appropriate until we get to 1964 (which isn't going to happen if we can't stay on-topic). Wilt should not be mentioned at all in this thread, just as Russell should not be mentioned at all in the next thread (again, if we get there).

I'm not trying to be an asshole, but if you don't want to discuss this topic, start another thread (if you need information PM me, but try to keep off-topic discussion out of this thread).

Thanks.

[QUOTE=fpliii]regarding Magic, as I noted we completed as much as we could based on the ProQuest database...here's what we have:

[url]http://gorba77.w.interia.pl/01NBA/07bonus/GameLogsJohnson.xls[/url]

as for Bird, e-mail me what you have at [email]fpliii@stanford.edu[/email] (note the 3 i's) and I'll see what I can do; put "ISH:" in the subject so it doesn't get filtered to spam[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=KG215]Yeah, just got through filling in the gaps for Magic. His is completed. :cheers:

They're all in one Excel file, just different pages. I'll e-mail it to you shortly.[/QUOTE]

Should add, in case you haven't seen it yet, I've done Magic through 1987.

[QUOTE=Owl]Anyone else see where this is going? Goodbye on-topic postings.[/QUOTE]

I ignored him before anyone here asked me to on this topic...but once again, the insecure idiot just HAD to throw his "anti-Chamberlain" trash into the topic.

[QUOTE=fpliii][IMG]http://cdn.wbur.org/media/special/2010/wbur_0602_celtics-lakers/images/celtics-lakers-1968.jpg[/IMG][/QUOTE]
foul

I did the cumulative stats for West, Baylor, Russell and Hondo....

West - 33/6/6 on 49%
Baylor - 26/13/4 on 46%
Russell - 17/22/6 on 43%
Hondo - 27/9/7 on 42%

[B][SIZE="4"]Game 1[/SIZE][/B]
West - 25/3/3 (7/24, 11/13)....43 minutes
Baylor - 24/12/0 (11/31, 2/2)....42
Russell - 19/25/3 (5/16, 9/14)....48
Hondo - 19/9/8 (7/17, 5/5)....47

Boston wins 107-101

-- The fast pace in the 1st half suited the Lakers (They were 61-48 up at the interval). Both teams were shooting the ball well but, because of the speed in which the shots were being chucked up, Russell in particular wasn't always in the ideal rebounding position. Russell commented after the game "I had to tell my players (Presumingly Bailey Howell) that he was taking bad shots even though he had hit 3 in a row". A great example of Russell's basketball IQ and leadership.
-- West and Baylor then combined to choke away a 15 point lead with 18 minutes to go. West went 4/18 in the 2nd half, including a 1/9 4th quarter. Baylor went 5/17 in the 2nd half. This was the overwhelming reason the Lakers lost. Their 2 stars went cold. Both West and Baylor blamed tiredness, which is a little odd considering that L.A had an 8 day layoff before the start of game 1 to rest up.
-- Russell scored "some" of his 19 points in the "vital minutes" of the 4th quarter.
[B]-- Bailey Howell scored 20 points, including 8 in the 4th, with effectively 2 bad ankles - He had been playing most of the season with an injured right ankle, and he tunred over on his left ankle in game 7 of the ECFs.[/B]


Player of the game - Russell



[B][SIZE="4"]Game 2[/SIZE][/B]
West - 35/6/6 (14/28, 7/9)....40
Baylor - 23/7/6 (9/17, 5/8)....30
Russell - 15/24/5 (5/13, 5/6)....48
Hondo - 24/6/4 (9/25, 6/8)....48

Lakers win 123-113

-- The Lakers pushed the tempo and Boston couldn't keep up.
-- Baylor sat with 5 fouls mid-way through the 3rd period but came back in with 7:10 left in the 4th. He then effectively sealed the game for the Lakers with 4 steals in quick succession, as the lakers went on a 13-6 run. He also made key contributions in the early 3rd quarter spurt that would ultimately be the game winning lead.
[B]-- The productivity of the Lakers bench was a big boost when both Baylor and West were sitting at the end of the 3rd/start of the 4th.[/B]

Player of the game - West



[B][SIZE="4"]Game 3[/SIZE][/B]
West - 33/7/9 (12/24, 9/12)....44
Baylor - 28/18/3 (12/25, 4/5)....42
Russell - 25/16/9 (9/16, 7/10)....48
Hondo - 27/10/5 (11/23, 5/6)....48

Boston wins 127-119

-- The Lakers were playing catch-up the entire game.
-- Russell was at his defensive/shot blocking best [B](Had 9 blocks)[/B]. Was switching out onto the perimiter to guard Baylor (And others) in the 1st half. He also made 3 key plays in the final 5 minutes (A leaping "save", a reverse dunk and blocked 2 shots).
-- Baylor was "ineffective" in the first half (Took only 5 shots [B]and scored only 4 points[/B]). Bailey Howell was making him drive to his left side, which often funnelled him towards Russell.
-- Larry Siegfried had a big game. 26 points & 7 assists, including 6 clutch free throws late in the 4th quarter.


Player of the game - Russell



[B][SIZE="4"]Game 4[/SIZE][/B]
West - 38/10/5 (13/21, 12/15)....44
Baylor - 30/10/5 (12/21, 6/8)....45
Russell - 11/22/6 (2/7, 7/19)....48
Hondo - 23/7/8 (8/21, 7/7)....48

Lakers win 118-105

-- Van Breda Kolff got tossed from the game after picking up a 2nd technical mid-way through the 3rd quarter. That was his 28th technical of the season.
-- Big contributions from Archie Clark (17 second half points) and Imhoff (20 boards & 2 key blocks in the last couple of minutes).
-- Russell missed 6 straight free throws during the final 7 minutes of the 4th Q.
-- Playing in garbage time with the game already wrapped up, West sprained his left ankle after a collision with Havlicek.


Player of the game - West



[B][SIZE="4"]Game 5[/SIZE][/B]
West - 35/4/6 (14/24, 7/8)....41
Baylor - 24/15/6 (9/26, 6/12)....48
Russell - 22/25/5 (8/20, 6/9)....53
Hondo - 31/10/8 (10/26, 11/14)....53

Boston wins 120-117 in OT

-- West received pain killing injections before the game and at half time for his sprained ankle.
[B]-- Mel Counts scored 8 of his 20 points in the 4th.[/B]
-- Baylor missed a game winning 25 foot buzzer beater at the end of regulation. Incidentally, a double dribble called on Russell with 3 seconds left in regulation set up that game winning chance.
-- Russell blocked a Baylor turnaround jumper that would have tied the game with less than 30 seconds remaining in OT. He managed to divert the block to Don Nelson who was then fouled by Baylor. Nelson missed the 1st free throw but made the all important 2nd one to give Boston a 3 point cushion with seconds remaining. Nelson was big throughout the game, too (26 points, 12 boards and 4 points in the OT). [B]"His best game ever" Russell said.[/B]
-- Hondo chipped in with 4 points in the OT, including the go-ahead jumper from the right corner with 38 seconds left.
-- Van Breda Kolff partly blamed the Lakers not boxing out on the boards for the loss. Siegfried scored a go ahead bucket from an offensive rebound with a minute to go in the OT.


Player of the game - Havlicek



[B][SIZE="4"]Game 6[/SIZE][/B]
West - 29/5/5 (8/19, 6/7)....42
Baylor - 28/13/6 (13/22, 2/4)....43
Russell - 12/19/6 (5/7, 2/2)....47
Hondo - 40/10/7 (14/28, 12/12)....47

Boston wins 124-109

-- The Lakers were comprehensively outplayed in every facet of the game. The Celtics seemingly couldn't miss. L.A appeared lethargic (West, still playing with a sore ankle, was "sub-par"). The Los Angeles crowd were booing their team as they went off at half time with a 20 point deficit.
-- Hondo went 8/14 with 22 points in the 1st half.
-- Bailey Howell saved his best for last. 36 points & 11 rebounds.
-- The L.A Times had Hondo with 34 points instead of his actual 40 :oldlol:
[B]-- Russell quotes - "This team is not one of the most talented I've been on, but we had a great bunch of hustlers" and "They were not the most challenging team we had to face, but they had the most heart"[/B]

Player of the game - Havlicek




It's interesting, Havlicek's name was hardly ever mentioned at all regarding the first 4 games. He seemed like an after thought. He clearly wasn't heavily involved in the key moments & periods. He was indeed instrumental in last 2 games, when the series was balanced on a knife-edge, but is that enough to gift him the FMVP?

Russell was the clear, unquestioned leader of the Celtics (He was their friggin coach, don't forget!!). It was his drive and competitiveness that pushed and motivated those around him. Hondo was a very talented player (The best player Russell played with during his 13 year career), but he was merely "one of the guys", one of Bill Russell's teammates. A very good argument can be made that he became the Cs best player in 68/69, but that was primarily because Russ was running on fumes by the post season.


Basically, the question is, does Havlicek's extra 10 points per game, and his great close-out game 6, make up for Russell's vastly superior defense/shot blocking impact, his 13 extra rebounds per game and obviously superior "intangibles"? Nope, not to me. I think Russell is deserving of the FMVP.