lazaruss, need opinion

[DonDadda59]

I think that was the year that Don Nelson hit that lucky shot to win the series for the Celtics. Wilt came very very close on more than one occasion to win a championship. He can't do everything.

He could've averaged more than 11.7 PPG, yes?

Not like it would've come down to a shot or steal, etc if he had played to his ability. And that was against Bill Russell on literally his last legs.

[LAZERUSS]

Wilt was not one of them

The '68 Lakers made the finals, losing to Russell's Celtics the season before Wilt got there. The '69 Lakers with Wilt made the finals, losing to Russell's Celtics (with Wilt only putting up 11.7 PPG against Bill on his last legs). He went 1-4 in the finals to close out his career in LA.

Dippy was just the biggest choke artist the league has ever seen as far as supposed ATGs go.

This CLOWN at it again.

The '68 Lakers had Archie Clark, Darrell Imhoff, and Gail Goodrich...all of whom combined to average 42 ppg and 18 rpg.

The '69 Lakers had WILT replacing ALL of them.

AND, the '68 Lakers were routed in game six. The '69 Lakers lost a game seven by two points, with Wilt watching the last five minutes from the bench.


BTW, Wilt's previous team, the Sixers, replaced Wilt with Clark and Imhoff, and their 30-15 statlines from '68. They still dropped from 62 wins (and 68 the year before) down to 55. BUT, then his absence REALLY came to light. In the '68 EDF's, with Wilt and half of his roster either injured, or missing (HOFr Cunningham)...lost a game seven in the EDF's, by four points to the Celtics (who romped over LA in the Finals.)

HOWEVER, Wilt's "replacements", Clark and Imhoff, combined to averag 36 ppg and 20 rpg, on a .510 FG% in the FIRST ROUND against the 48-34 Celtics. OH, and Billy Cunningham, who had missed the previous year's EDF's, averaged 24 ppg in that same series. So, Chamberlain was basically replaced by 60 ppg and 24 rpg in the '69 EDF's, and guess what? His old Sixers were DESTROYED in the FIRST ROUND by Boston, 4-1. And DESTROYED was apt. Including their one win...the average margin per game in that series...Boston with a +10.4 ppg!

Of course idiots like DonDadda won't mention Baylor's MASSIVE decline in the '69 Finals, either. In three of the losses in that series, Baylor shot 2-14 (and 1-6 from the line) in a 1 point loss; 4-18 in a 6 point loss; and 8-22 in the game seven, 2 point loss.

NOR will they bring up just how incompetent Van Breda Kolff's COACHING was in that series, either. In game four, the Lakers were lading the series, 2-1, and leading in the game, 88-87...AND, had the ball, with only seconds remaining. A no brainer right? Get the ball in West's hands, and win the game. Nope, not with the "Butcher" coaching. Instead he had journeyman Johnny Egan handle the ball. Now, keep in mind that Egan only made the roster because the Lakers had to trade Clark to get Wilt, and of course, they had lost THE key player in the expansion draft, Goodrich, to the Suns. So, LA went from THREE outstanding guards (they went 19-12 without West in '68) down to ONE. And, as expected, Egan lost the ball, and then Sam Jones, while falling down, hit the game-winner at the buzzer.

Think about that. That ONE PLAY cost the Lakers a 4-1 series romp, because, it would have put the Lakers up 3-1, and then with Chamberlain pounding Russell in game five, in a 117-104 win...the Lakers would have waltzed to an easy title.

Of course VBK made nothing but gaffes in that series. First of all, he allowed Baylor to shotjack his team right down the drain. Secondly, in game seven, after Russell picked up his 5th personal foul with 11 minutes left, LA went right into Chamberlain, who went right around the matador defense of Russell, for an easy lay-in. Unfortunately for Laker fans, that would be the last time Chamberlain would get the ball.

And perhaps his biggest blunder was keeping Wilt on the bench in the last five minutes of what would be a two point loss. Why did he do it? He would publicly claim it was because LA was closing in on Boston. However, they had already knocked 10 points off a 17 point deficit in a little over four minutes WITH Chamberlain. They would only chip away five more points in a span of five-plus minutes withOUT Wilt. But the REAL reason why VBK didn't put Wilt back in the game? He HATED Chamberlain.

So, VBK's hatred for Wilt probably not only cost LA their first ever title in Los Angeles, but it basically ruined his coaching career, as well.

Of course, when Chamberlain was finally given a quality coach in Bill Sharman in the '71-72 season...a 33 game winning streak, a 69-13 record, and a dominating world title.

[LAZERUSS]

Then there was Hondo stealing the ball, which wasn't Wilt's fault either.

Not only that, but Chamberlain had single-handedly brought his 40-40 Sixers to within one point, by scoring their last eight points, including 2-2 from the line, and a dunk over a helpless Russell with five seconds remaining. Oh, and the "clutch" Russell then hit a guidewire with his inbounds pass, which gave the Sixers the ball, and a chance to have pulled off the greatest upset in NBA history (a 40-40 team beating the six time reigning chanpion and 62-18 Celtics at their peak.) And it was perhaps the most one-sided beatdown by a fellow "GOAT" candidate in NBA history, as well. Chamberlain outscored Russell, per game, 30.1 ppg to 15.6 ppg; outshot Russell from the floor, .555 to .447; outrebounded Russell, pr game, by a 31.4 to 25.2 rpg margin; and hell, even took the time to outshoot Russell from the line by a .583 to .472 margin (and outscored him from the line by a 49-17 margin.) He also outblocked Russell in known games, 35-22.

Of course, there was also game seven of the '62 EDF's, when Chamberlain scored Philly's last five points, including a 3 pt play to tie the game (yes, he made the FT...and would go 8-9 from the line in the game)...BUT, as always, a TEAMMATE saved Russell's ass. This time it was Sam Jones, who just got the shot over the outstretched fingertips of...you guessed it...WILT, to win the game. BTW, Chamberlain blocked a Jones shot at the minute mark that was called a very questionable goal tend, that essentially decided the series.

And, Jones wasn't done with Wilt, either. In the '69 Finals, after Egan lost the ball with only a few seconds left, Jones, while falling down, hit the game winner at the buzzer. Ultimately that ONE SHOT cost Wilt a title.

That's THREE rings right there. All decided on ONE PLAY or SHOT. Factor in Philly's injury-riddled game seven four point loss to Boston in the '68 EDF's, and had they even been remotely healthy...yet ANOTHER ring.