Category: Sports News

The basketball world lost a giant. The great Don Nelson died on Sunday at the age of 86 after suffering a stroke three weeks ago.

Nelson was drafted by the Chicago Zephyrs in 1962. A year later he headed to Los Angeles to join the Lakers and the Zephyrs moved to Baltimore to become the Bullets (modern-day Washington Wizards). He played fourteen seasons in the NBA including eleven season with the Boston Celtics. In his time with the Lakers and Celtics, Nelson accumulated five championship rings. His number 19 was retired by the Celtics.

Immediately upon retirement, Nelson moved to Milwaukee to serve as an assistant coach with the Bucks. After a 3-15 start to the 1976 -77 seasons, head coach Larry Costello resigned and Nelson began a head coaching career spanning thirty-one seasons over thirty-three years. He is the second winningest coach in NBA history behind Gregg Popovich and coached coached the second most games behind Lenny Wilkens.

Nelson was the NBA Coach of the Year in 1983, 1985, qne 1992 and served as head coach in the All-Star Game in 1992 and 2002. He is credited with the creating the “Hack-A-Shaq” during his time with the Dallas Mavericks.

NBA Chairman Adam Siver released this statement:

Nelson will be remembered for his accolades both as a player and as a coach. His name will come up again and again for years to come in discussions of the greats for his stellar record, his longevity, and his inspiration.

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NBA history spans 80 seasons, and as CelticsBlog readers well know, the Boston Celtics have won a league-high 18 championships. This month, we are recapping each of those title years.

The 1962-63 season would be Bob Cousy’s 13th in a Boston uniform – and his last, as he had announced his retirement. The Celtics without Cooz was almost unthinkable. He was their first superstar, coming from Holy Cross as an NCAA champion. He would end his career as the Celtics captain, a six-time NBA champ, 12-time All-NBA, 13-time All-Star, 1957 league MVP, eight-time league assists leader, and a Hall of Famer.

That same season was John Havlicek’s first in a Boston uniform, the ninth overall pick from Ohio State, where he also won an NCAA title. Havlicek would play 16 seasons, becoming Celtics captain, an eight-time NBA champ (notably, 8-0 in the Finals), 11-time All-NBA, 13-time All-Star, 1974 Finals MVP, eight-time All-Defense, the franchise’s career scoring leader (26,395 points) and a Hall of Famer. And his nickname, Hondo, came from the title of a John Wayne movie, because he was said to resemble the actor.

Stringing their careers together, Cousy and Havlicek gave the Celtics nearly three decades of greatness. And during this one season as teammates, they would help the Celtics win their fifth straight NBA championship, and the sixth overall, making Boston the league’s top franchise, passing the Lakers’ five titles.

The regular season

As they had done every year since Bill Russell’s arrival, the Celtics posted the league’s best record at 58-22.

Russell was voted the league MVP for the third straight year and fourth overall. (Russell, Wilt Chamberlain and Larry Bird are the only players to win three consecutive MVPs). Russell also was named All-NBA first team, as voters cast ballots logically this year and dropped Chamberlain to second team behind the MVP. Cousy and Tommy Heinsohn joined Russell as All-NBA choices.

Red Auerbach’s veteran acquisition this season was trading a second-round pick for 6-foot-9 center Clyde Lovellette. Entering his 10th NBA season, Lovellette was a double-double scorer and rebounder who won a title with the Minneapolis Lakers as a rookie, and was a four-time All-Star who also played for Cincinnati and St. Louis. He would finish his career with two rings as a Celtic.

The highlight of the regular season occurred on St. Patrick’s Day, when Cousy was honored before his retirement. Surrounded by family and teammates, an emotional Cousy couldn’t speak through his tears. In a now-famous Boston sports moment, the arena fell silent until a loud fan boomed out, “We love ya, Cooz!” Ever since, fans at similar sports ceremonies have tried to match that moment with their own shouts. No one has succeeded.

Eastern playoffs

Following their customary bye in the first round, the Celtics were matched up with the Cincinnati Royals — not Chamberlain’s Warriors, who missed the playoffs. But no Wilt did not mean breezing to the Finals. In addition to superstar point guard Oscar “Big O” Robertson, the Royals had All-Stars in center Wayne Embry and forward Jack Twyman.

They immediately showed what they could do, winning the opener, 135-132. Robertson hit Boston with a triple double of 43 points, 10 assists, 14 rebounds. Embry and Twyman combined for 42 points as the Royals overcame a 10-point halftime deficit. Oddly, each of the first four games of the series went to the visitors, so it was 2-2 going to Game 5 in Boston. Robertson scored 36, but Heinsohn offset that with 34 and Boston won, 125-120. Game 6 in Cincinnati was another Big O show: 36/15/14 for his third triple double of the series.

In yet another Game 7 on the parquet floor, it seemed that the only way to stop Robertson was for someone to match his scoring. And Robertson made that tough, delivering his second 43-point night of the series. On this night, however, Sam Jones was just better. Coming through in the clutch as usual, Jones scored 19 points in the second quarter alone. For the full game, he made 18 of 27 shots plus 11 of 12 free throws for 47 points, a new personal best and a record for an individual in a Game 7. (That record stood for nearly six decades until broken by Luka Doncic. Jayson Tatum holds it now with 51 versus the Sixers in 2023.) Heinsohn added 31 points and Cousy 21 points and 16 assists.

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NBA Finals

With their seventh straight trip to the Finals, Bob Cousy now had a golden opportunity to retire as a champion. The opponent would once again be the Lakers, and this time Boston took care of business, winning the first two at home, then prevailing in a close Game 4 in Los Angeles for a 3-1 lead.

In Game 5, the packed Boston Garden wanted to see Cooz celebrate one more time on the parquet. Except Elgin Baylor and Jerry West combined for 75 points and forced the Celtics to fly back to California one more time. Even going for their fifth straight title, the Celtics were not infallible.

After outscoring the Lakers 33-17 in the second quarter, Boston held a 14-point lead at halftime of Game 6. They remained up 12 going to the fourth. The lead was nine with 10:57 to play (an eternity, for sure) when Cousy had to be helped off the floor with a serious foot injury. The LA fans gave him a standing ovation. The timing could not have been worse. After the injury, the Lakers dug deeper and Boston’s lead became thinner.

Turning point

With 4:43 to play, Cousy surprised everyone by coming back on the court. The Lakers continued to apply pressure and got to within one point of Boston, 108-107. Even so, the Celtics having their captain back to stabilize the team was crucial.

The Hollywood ending

The captain being injured in what could be his final game, but making a valiant return and leading the team to victory. Cheesy movie script? Not this time.

The hero we needed

Tommy Heinsohn made several key plays in crunch time. With the Celtics protecting a two-point lead, he stole a pass and went all the way for a layup. Celtics by 4. Moments later, when the margin was down to one and the Lakers had to foul to stop the clock, Heinsohn swished four straight from the line to boost the lead to five.

It wasn’t over until…

Seconds before the final buzzer, Cousy heaved the ball toward the rafters. When it came down, the rebound was grabbed by…Bill Russell. Of course.

Notable facts and stats

• It’s possible Boston’s defense finally slowed down the Baylor/West combo. In the 1962 Finals they averaged 71 points combined. This time they combined for 60 in the closeout game and 63 on average combined for the series. That dropoff may have cost the Lakers because Boston’s winning margins were 3, 7, 3 and 3.
• Over the six Finals games, the Celtics were led in points per game by Jones, 24.7; Heinsohn, 23.3; and Russell, 20.0. Russell was the rebound leader with 26 per game.
• The rookie, Havlicek, appeared in four of the six games, scoring a total of 34 points – but 18 of them came in Game 6. A sign of where he was headed.
• Third-year forward Tom Sanders also scored 18 points. Heinsohn led Boston with 22.
• In his final line, Bob Cousy played 30 minutes, shot 8 for 16 and 2 of 2 from the line, with 7 assists.

Banner Years continues tomorrow with a review of the 1964 season and the road to winning Banner #7.

Don Nelson, who died Sunday, was an unlikely candidate for a historical basketball figure.

He was not particularly gifted. He didn’t run fast or jump high. At 6-6, in his day, he was kind of too tall for a guard and verging on too small for a forward.

Nonetheless, he built a remarkable career, first as a player, then as a coach and an executive who constantly challenged convention.

He was one of the first, if not the first, to use the idea of a stretch-four or stretch-five. He had versions of small ball with Golden State, but he also let 7-7 Manute Bol rain threes. No Nellie, No Durant, No Nowitzki, no Karl-Anthony Towns.

Current Golden State coach Steve Kerr said this about him:

“Don Nelson was a true innovator whose influence on the game of basketball is still felt today. He consistently challenged conventional thinking, experimented with different lineups and styles of play and saw possibilities in the game that others often did not. So much of what is now commonplace in the modern NBA can be traced back to the way Nellie approached the game.”

Celtics patriarch Red Auerbach said this about Nelson: “He has great knowledge of the game. Someday he’s going to be a coach, and a very good one. He knows the game, and he plays it hard.”

Before he was a coach, Nelson played with the Chicago Zephyrs, then the Los Angeles Lakers, before signing with the Boston Celtics in 1965. He helped Boston win five NBA championships, and in Game 7 of the 1969 Finals, he had a moment most players would kill for.

John Havlicek dribbled the ball down the right side of the lane, then turned, and Keith Erickson of the Lakers made a brilliant defensive play from behind, swiping the ball loose from Havlicek.

Unfortunately, he knocked the ball straight to Nelson, who caught it almost exactly where you would want to start a shot.

Elgin Baylor was close but was slow to react as Nelson rose up. His shot hit the rim, then took a dramatically high bounce before dropping through to put Boston up 105-102, with just 1:33 left.

You might not notice this right away, but as soon as Nelson took the shot, he bolted for the defensive end, suggesting one of two things: coach Bill Russell had instructed him to do so, or Nelson was sure the shot was going in.

As it turned out, Boston won 108-106, for their 11th championship in 13 years.

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Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NBA. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Rockets fans and fans across the country.

This week’s question asked you about Jabari Smith Jr. Many had him pegged as the best pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. He was slated to go number one overall to the Orlando Magic, who actually ended up taking Paolo Banchero, allowing Smith to fall all the way to the Rockets at three.

He’s been a mixed bag since, but he is coming off of the best season of his career. That being said, he hasn’t quite lived up to his draft status. Does that make him a Rockets bust?

Here is what you said:

Only 13 percent of Rockets fans think Smith is bust, and I do think that’s fair. Many of you know that I’ve always been high on Smith, and while he hasn’t quite lived up to my expectations either, he appears to be on his way up, averaging the most points and best three-point percentage of his career.

Smith is also still just 23, meaning he still has plenty of time to keep growing. When he hits 27 or 28, I do think he can be a force, particularly defensively. I still see the potential.

Don’t forget to check out or sponsor FanDuel for the basektball odds. The Rockets are +165 to win 50 games, meaning but $100 to win $165, and they are +3300 for the NBA Finals if you’re feeling really positive.

Thanks for voting, Be back soon!

STORRS, CT – Norman Dale, the fictional coach at the center of "Hoosiers," had his five starters.  

Dan Hurley has his roster, and on Friday, the UConn men’s basketball coach made clear he has no intention of shopping for any more players, even as college basketball’s portal chaos rages on around him. 

"My team is on the court," Hurley said after Friday’s practice, riffing on the "Hoosiers" line to make clear the Huskies are done making changes to their roster.  

More: Dick Vitale announces he's progressing well in latest cancer battle

The quip doubled as a statement of contentment, with Hurley closing UConn’s summer practice slate by saying he’s not looking to add any new players to his roster following the recent pool of players who were granted eligibility.