CelticsStrong
Celtics Basketball => Celtics History => Topic started by: tenn_smoothie on January 20, 2013, 04:54:36 PM
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Why are the 1970's Celtics championship group constantly left out of the conversation of: Celtic title teams, NBA title teams, great NBA teams, on & on.
i realize that the late 70's is seen as a dark era for the league, but when the networks and even Celtics fans talk about great teams, the 70's Celtics are almost always left out.
without Havlicek's shoulder injury, the '73 Celts should have gone down as one of the NBA's GOAT teams - then they win it in '74 with a team that could play with anybody - Bird's Celts, Magic's Lakers, KG's Celtics.
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I agree that that group is historically underrated. Cowens + Havlicek + JoJo was a heck of a core.
I think the 70s Celts aren't considered to be among the "great teams" of the franchise because they didn't have the same success that other Cs teams did up until that point. They missed the playoffs four times in the decade, and "only" made it to the Finals twice. Compared to the 60s and 80s teams, they just fall short in terms of their legacy.
You're right, though: that '73 team holds the franchise record for wins (68). But for Havlicek's injury, they probably win 3 out of 4 titles.
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That was my team -- the C's in my high school days. Loved JoJo, Silas and Hondo and role players like Arte Williams and Don Nelson.
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I loved those 70's teams. I was devastated when Hondo got hurt. We still took the Knicks to 7 games. No way the Knicks beat us with a healthy Havlicek.
They deserve more credit than they get. Winning a game 7 in Milwaukee against Kareem in the '74 finals was sweet.
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Silas was the guy who always amazed me. Clutch player and phenomemal rebounder for his size.
Silas was very much like Milsap/Sully. He knew positioning and anticipated the carom well and somehow got the board over guys who were taller and/or could jump higher than him.
True professional, and one of my favorite Cs ever.
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Cowens was one hell of a player. Enigmatic and very very competitive. He and Hondo were one great tandem.
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my celtics world started with dave cowens and that group, coached by a fiery guy who played for the celtics when my dad watched them...what was his name?
best line is when someone? asked cowens after the celts (this group) won the championship
"Dave, how would this current celtics championship team fair against your championship team"
Cowens: "we'd run them into the ground"
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I agree that that group is historically underrated. Cowens + Havlicek + JoJo was a heck of a core.
I think the 70s Celts aren't considered to be among the "great teams" of the franchise because they didn't have the same success that other Cs teams did up until that point. They missed the playoffs four times in the decade, and "only" made it to the Finals twice. Compared to the 60s and 80s teams, they just fall short in terms of their legacy.
You're right, though: that '73 team holds the franchise record for wins (68). But for Havlicek's injury, they probably win 3 out of 4 titles.
Roy - the playoff absences were after the team was decimated by injury, age and free agency losses - 78 & 79 were as bad as any dark period of Celts history and '70 - '71 were rebuilding. - i don't count those years against that championship group. to my mind, 1972 - 1977 didn't equal the 60's dynasty, but it rates near the 1980's run and exceeds the current group.
they were my favorite teams as well - Cowens will always be my all-time Celtic - i see him as one of the four cornerstones of Celtics history along with Russell, Bird and Garnett. KG needs another banner. Havlicek, McHale, Heinsohn, Max, Pierce & Cousy all essential lieutenants.