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26 Apr 19 - 02:10 PM (#3989404) Subject: BS: Basketball greats (e.g. Havlicek, RIP) From: keberoxu The Boston Celtics, that's Seltics-pronounced-with-an-S, mourn the death of John Havlicek who was one of the game's great players. Boston Herald on John Havlicek Could we open up this thread for other legendary basketball players? |
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26 Apr 19 - 04:14 PM (#3989424) Subject: RE: BS: Basketball greats (e.g. Havlicek, RIP) From: gillymor Hondo was one of my first b-ball heroes. If there was someone more "clutch" I can't think of him. |
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28 Apr 19 - 09:10 PM (#3989784) Subject: RE: BS: Basketball greats (e.g. Havlicek, RIP) From: ChanteyLass On, no! "Havlicek stole the ball!" I can hear Johnny Most shouting that into the mic. During the Cousy-Havlicek-Siegfried era, my parents took me to many games in the old Boston Garden. We almost always grabbed a parking spot on Causeway St. and walked a few blocks to No. Station. Our favorite seats were in the first row of the 2nd balcony--relatively cheap but we could look down and see the whole court. (I'm afraid of heights, so as soon as we got to our seats I'd lean as far back as I could with my toes curled up inside my shoes as if they were claws trying to dig into the floor, but after a while I'd begin to relax, and by the time the action really got going I'd lean over the railing--still seated, of course--and yell until my throat was sore. If we couldn't go to a game, we'd listen to Johnny Most on the radio. If the game was televised, we'd watch with the tv sound turned down and listen to Most on the radio. After I graduated from college, I lived and worked farther south in RI and couldn't get to games. Also, my mom passed away in my first year of teaching, so priorities shifted. The Havlicek moment I remember best was a time when a player propelled the ball out of bounds and Havlicek jumped over the team's bench while the seated players parted to make way for him and he deflected the ball back toward the court. Sadly, he came crashing to the floor behind the bench and was hurt. All the way home, about an hour's drive, we listened to the radio to hoping to hear any news of his recovery. It was a relief to hear that he would return to the court after he recovered. |
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29 Apr 19 - 05:52 AM (#3989818) Subject: RE: BS: Basketball greats (e.g. Havlicek, RIP) From: gillymor Wasn't there another Celt from that era named, I don't know, Russell or something who won 5 MVP's, 11 rings in his 13 year career and was player/coach for 2 of those chips. My favorite Hondo play came during the last seconds of a playoff game when he threw an inbounds alley oop pass cross court to a back door cutting Bill Russell for an easy layup and the win. Not as consequential as his famous steal but a magical moment nonetheless. The modern day Celts put the hurting on the favored Bucks yesterday in Milwaukee in the first game of their second round playoff series. |
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11 Jul 19 - 12:31 PM (#4000332) Subject: RE: BS: Basketball greats (e.g. Havlicek, RIP) From: keberoxu Which leads right in to the still-living Bill Russell. Bill Russell given Arthur Ashe Courage Award |
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12 Jul 19 - 07:16 PM (#4000556) Subject: RE: BS: Basketball greats (e.g. Havlicek, RIP) From: ChanteyLass Yes, Bill Russell was great. |
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14 Jul 19 - 03:46 PM (#4000727) Subject: RE: BS: Basketball greats (e.g. Havlicek, RIP) From: ChanteyLass "My" first basketball great was Bob Cousy. |
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14 Jul 19 - 03:47 PM (#4000729) Subject: RE: BS: Basketball greats (e.g. Havlicek, RIP) From: keberoxu Larry Bird? |
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14 Jul 19 - 04:00 PM (#4000736) Subject: RE: BS: Basketball greats (e.g. Havlicek, RIP) From: gillymor This may be anathema to a Celtic fan but my very first b-ball heroes were Jerry West and Elgin Baylor. |
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15 Jul 19 - 06:18 PM (#4000876) Subject: RE: BS: Basketball greats (e.g. Havlicek, RIP) From: ChanteyLass Oh, yeah, Bird was another great, but by his time I'd stopped going to the games and taken on different responsibilities. Gillymor, good for you for introducing players who weren't on the Celics team. West and Baylor were worthy opponents. I also remember "The Big O." |
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15 Jul 19 - 07:15 PM (#4000883) Subject: RE: BS: Basketball greats (e.g. Havlicek, RIP) From: gillymor Yep, Baylor was Michael Jordan before Michael Jordan was Michael Jordan, then he hurt his knee in 63/64 and went from being a superstar to being "just" an all-star. Who knows what might have been? The "Big O" was the first triple double machine and a hall of famer on both ends of the court. Then there was the super smooth Kenny Wilkens. |
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15 Jul 19 - 07:17 PM (#4000884) Subject: RE: BS: Basketball greats (e.g. Havlicek, RIP) From: gillymor That's Lenny Wilkens, dang kindle. |
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15 Jul 19 - 07:43 PM (#4000890) Subject: RE: BS: Basketball greats (e.g. Havlicek, RIP) From: Mrrzy I remember Bird. He thought he had a moustache. |
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15 Jul 19 - 07:54 PM (#4000893) Subject: RE: BS: Basketball greats (e.g. Havlicek, RIP) From: gillymor I wanted to mention that in 2017 ESPN produced an excellent 2 part documentary called "Celtics/Lakers: Best of Enemies" that follows the great rivalry from Cousy-Baylor through Magic-Bird with lots of great film and interviews with many of the participants. It airs occasionally on ESPN and ESPN2. |