25 Greatest Celtics of All-Time : #8

[Redz]

Yeah, my bad, I didn't mean to disparage the 70s NBA or particularly the 70s Celtics - I think it's unfair that the Celtics of the 70s get cast aside so much. 238-90 (a .748 winning percentage), 2 championships and 4 Eastern Conference Finals appearances between 72-73 and 75-76. Franchise record 68 wins in 72-73 before getting upset in 7 by the Knicks (who went on to beat the Lakers in 5 in the Finals) in large part because of a Havlicek injury in an early series game. They won the greatest NBA game ever played in 76. And yet they're kind of an afterthought, as are their stars.

Dennis Johnson played in Boston for 7 years, 5 of them at a high level, won 2 championships, made one All Star team in Boston and 4 All Defensive teams (1 1st). DJ (my all time favorite Celtic because of when I grew up, so this is not a personal attack) averaged 14.1 points, 6.4 assists, 3.5 rebounds, 1.22 steals and 0.50 blocks from 83-84 to 87-88. He finished 12th in this poll, the 4th guy from the 83-87 teams on the list.

Jo Jo White played 9 1/2 years in Boston, 7 of them at a very high level, won 2 championships, was a Finals MVP, 7 time All Star and 2 time All NBA 2nd Teamer. He averaged 19.8 points, 5.5 assists, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.4 steals from 70-71 through 76-77. He finished 13th in this poll, one spot behind DJ, and was the 3rd guy from the 73-76 teams.

Paul Silas played 4 very good years in Boston, also winning 2 championships, making an All Star team in Boston and 3 All Defensive teams (2 1sts). He averaged 11.5 points and 12.3 rebounds in his 4 years. He's the fourth guy off those 70s teams. He's barely even getting mentioned in these votes at spot 17.

When I mentioned the 70s as "weaker" and referenced the ABA, I didn't mean to say it was actually my opinion. I just think that might be a reason the 70s teams are so quickly dismissed.

(For the record, in hindsight - I think I originally ranked Sharman 11th and Jo Jo 12th - I have Jo Jo 11th, DJ 14th, and Silas 19th.)

I think the 70's get lost in between two heydays of the NBA, so it generally doesn't get the credit it may deserve.  Plus there was no real dominant team of the decade.

[tenn_smoothie]

i would put those 1973 or 1974 celtic teams up against any team in history ................. 68 wins and cowens the league mvp and that was against what i rate as a very tough league - still small enough so that the talent was not diluted and as i stated earlier, it was a league that featured four great teams, all who won titles ...... celts, knicks, lakers & bucks.

for the record, i strongly belive the 1986 celtics to be the greatest team in nba history - that group would have wiped the floor with jordan's bulls from the 90's (now, you want to discuss a weak league - let's talk about the 90's !!!!).