Here's "The Big O" (of Charlotte, Tennessee, and Indianapolis) on the series when Brett Musberger asks him at the top of the CBS Game 1 telecast about the Bullets' being a big favorite: "I don't know, Brent. It all depends on Rick Barry and how well (Mike) Riordan does against him. I know during the regular season Riordan did a pretty good job against him. This is true. But Chicago was supposed to beat Golden State, and they didn't. I think they're a little better than people give them credit for."
Jack Craig reported in The Boston Globe on May 18, 1975, that the decision has already been made to replace Robertson on the CBS broadcasts next season. "A major factor against Robertson is his continuing habit of shouting, which the network insisted for awhile was a demonstration of helpful enthusiasm. The absence of professionalism that is connotated, however, had its effect as the season moved along."
It's true--Robertson does shout. But I also think he says interesting, smart things, and I find that actually watching NBA telecasts is much easier when some helpful enthusiasm is being introduced by someone actually involved in the game. I sat through an entire NBA telecast last night, and Russell Westbrook appeared to be sick or something. Without his typical injection of helpful enthusiasm, that program really dragged until Charles Barkley, Ernie Johnson, Shaquille O'Neal and Kenny Smith came on at the half and end with their helpful enthusiasm.
The 10 starters in this game include Washington center Wes Unseld (Louisville Seneca High Class of 1964) and Golden State off guard Butch Beard (Breckinridge County '65). The 14 reserve players include Golden State guard Jeff Mullins (Lexington Lafayette '59) and Washington guard Clem Haskins (Taylor County '63). Washington's assistant coach is Bernie Bickerstaff (Benham '61). So of the 28 players and coaches in the 1975 NBA Finals, five were from Kentucky. That's more than 17 percent. The state's population of 3.5 million people in 1975 accounted for less than 2 percent of the national population of 216 million.
Kentucky high school basketball peaked between 1955 and 1975. If all of those guys had played for UK, the history of college basketball would be different. But they did not.
Oh, good! Shirley and Company get some national-TV airtime with CBS using fantastic "Shame, Shame, Shame" on the way out to commercial with the Bullets ahead, 38-29, in the second quarter.
Now we're getting Van McCoy's beautiful "Do the Hustle" as the Capital Centre revel in the Bullets' 52-38 lead. Washington looks unstoppable. The Bullets appear to be ready to dominate the rest of the 1970s, and then they'll probably draft Jack Givens and own the '80s, too. This is going to be great.
The Bullets have gone to the NBA Finals only one other time. In 1971, they were swept by the Milwaukee Bucks--only the second time in NBA history that the finals went 4-0.
I've watched the first three games so far. Game 4 is today, May 25, 1975. Washington lost double-digit leads in games 1 and 2, and then, in Game 3, Rick Barry scored 38.
Oscar Robertson said before the series that he wasn't sure that Mike Riordan could defend Barry well enough over the course of a series, and so far Barry has scored 24, 36 and 38 points. Meanwhile, Elvin Hayes has gone for 29, 15 and 24 points. The guy often defending Hayes is a rookie, Jamaal Wilkes, who is going to end up going on to play a key role with the great Lakers of the 1980s, too. So, Golden State's best scorer is clobbering his guy, and Washington's best scorer is having fits and starts against his guy.
Also, Washington's point guard is a really lively, fiery player named Kevin Porter, but he has been in foul trouble a bunch. Golden State has this veteran reserve forward, Bill Bridges, who comes in and does all kinds of helpful things, one of which is getting Porter angry. The Bullets' backup point guard, James Jones, is hurt and not playing in the series.
I think the Bullets have just gotten themselves in a total funk. Wikipedia says, "The Warriors' home games were played at the Cow Palace in Daly City (near San Francisco) due to scheduling conflicts at their normal home court of Oakland Arena during the week of May 19–26. In addition, an odd scheduling format had to be used because Golden State could not secure the Cow Palace for Memorial Day Weekend (May 24–26). A Sports Illustrated article about the series reported that Washington, which held home court advantage, was given the option of a 1-2-2-1-1 scheduling format due to Golden State's problems or, if they wished, opening on the road and then having Games 2, 3, and 4 at home. Washington opted for the 1-2-2-1-1 format not out of a sense of fairness, but because they wanted to open the series at home." Once Washington squandered that big lead and lost Game 1 (Porter fouled out after playing only 28 minutes), they seem to be a mess. On the CBS broadcasts, you can regularly hear K.C. Jones in protracted squabbles with particular officials: "Call it both ways, Darell (Garretson)! Call it both ways!" And: "You're giving it to them, Darell! You're giving it to them."
When the Bullets come back to the finals in 1978, Porter is going to be gone, and they are going to have Golden State's point guard in this series, Charles Johnson, as their point guard. Plus, Riordan is going to be gone, and they are going to have brought in another small forward, Bobby Dandridge, whose defense against Julius Erving in the playoffs that year was considered to be so key.
For that matter, K.C. Jones is going to be gone, too--replaced by Dick Motta. So it looks to me like Bob Ferry, Abe Pollin and/or somebody else pretty surgically revamped the roster by 1978 to account for 1975's fatal deficiencies. There have been only two teams swept in the history of the NBA Finals before. The 1971 Bullets were the second of those teams, and now the 1975 Bullets are about to become the third.
I'm not sure I'm going to make it through this video. It appears to have been recorded from the NBA's cable-TV channel about 15 years ago when they were doing these "Where Amazing Happens" spots with a bunch of slow fades against a soulful piano riff that is making me mad as Al Attles.
Washington is now ahead by eight points about midway through the second quarter, but Elvin Hayes has just picked up his fourth foul. Riordan has three. On comes reserve forward Leonard Robinson, whose nickname, "Truck," might be my favorite in NBA history. It's fun and easy to say; it conveys something very clear about the person, and it's fewer syllables than the first name it replaces. Plus, "Truck" lends itself to a really great cartoon on the back of Leonard Robinson's basketball card.
About four minutes to go, and Hayes exists, exhausted. Riordan got hurt a little bit ago. Bullets up six. Porter misses two free-throw tries. The Washington lineup on the floor: Porter, Unseld (also looking tired), Phil Chenier, Tom Kozelko and Dick Gibbs.
Hayes back in, hands on his hips at every available opportunity. There's really no other way. The Warriors were just burying Chenier on every Washington trip. It's amazing this team won 60 games in the regular season and beat the Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals.
This is Kevin Porter's last game with the Bullets. He's going to be traded in the offseason to Detroit for veteran Dave Bing, who averaged 20.3 points per game during his hall-of-fame career. It's a homecoming for Bing, a D.C. native and Spingarn High product, but he's also not done in Detroit--Bing will serve as that city's mayor 2009-13.
Minute to go. Golden State leads by one. Hayes gets a rebound this time and fires a court-length outlet pass to Gibbs under the goal. The layup attempt is no good.
33 seconds to go. Washington inbounds in the halfcourt. Unseld fumbles the pass, and the ball bounces off his knee and into the Golden State end. Turnover.
I know this is not a popularly held opinion, but I'm going to miss Oscar Robertson on the NBA broadcasts. I like how much he gets into a game.
ReplyDeleteHere's "The Big O" (of Charlotte, Tennessee, and Indianapolis) on the series when Brett Musberger asks him at the top of the CBS Game 1 telecast about the Bullets' being a big favorite: "I don't know, Brent. It all depends on Rick Barry and how well (Mike) Riordan does against him. I know during the regular season Riordan did a pretty good job against him. This is true. But Chicago was supposed to beat Golden State, and they didn't. I think they're a little better than people give them credit for."
ReplyDeleteJack Craig reported in The Boston Globe on May 18, 1975, that the decision has already been made to replace Robertson on the CBS broadcasts next season. "A major factor against Robertson is his continuing habit of shouting, which the network insisted for awhile was a demonstration of helpful enthusiasm. The absence of professionalism that is connotated, however, had its effect as the season moved along."
ReplyDeleteIt's true--Robertson does shout. But I also think he says interesting, smart things, and I find that actually watching NBA telecasts is much easier when some helpful enthusiasm is being introduced by someone actually involved in the game. I sat through an entire NBA telecast last night, and Russell Westbrook appeared to be sick or something. Without his typical injection of helpful enthusiasm, that program really dragged until Charles Barkley, Ernie Johnson, Shaquille O'Neal and Kenny Smith came on at the half and end with their helpful enthusiasm.
The 10 starters in this game include Washington center Wes Unseld (Louisville Seneca High Class of 1964) and Golden State off guard Butch Beard (Breckinridge County '65). The 14 reserve players include Golden State guard Jeff Mullins (Lexington Lafayette '59) and Washington guard Clem Haskins (Taylor County '63). Washington's assistant coach is Bernie Bickerstaff (Benham '61). So of the 28 players and coaches in the 1975 NBA Finals, five were from Kentucky. That's more than 17 percent. The state's population of 3.5 million people in 1975 accounted for less than 2 percent of the national population of 216 million.
ReplyDeleteKentucky high school basketball peaked between 1955 and 1975. If all of those guys had played for UK, the history of college basketball would be different. But they did not.
DeleteOh, good! Shirley and Company get some national-TV airtime with CBS using fantastic "Shame, Shame, Shame" on the way out to commercial with the Bullets ahead, 38-29, in the second quarter.
ReplyDeleteGame 1 of this series is at the Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland. Games 2 and 3 are going to be at the Cow Palace in Daly City, California. The Warriors' regular home court, the Oakland Coliseum Arena, is tied up with an ice show.
ReplyDeleteNow we're getting Van McCoy's beautiful "Do the Hustle" as the Capital Centre revel in the Bullets' 52-38 lead. Washington looks unstoppable. The Bullets appear to be ready to dominate the rest of the 1970s, and then they'll probably draft Jack Givens and own the '80s, too. This is going to be great.
ReplyDeleteHere's "Tiny B.B.," the Bullets' mascot. He's a dachshund who pulls around a canon. That dog lived until he was 21! And I'm glad to see that his gear fetched a pretty penny.
ReplyDelete54-40 at the half of Game 1.
ReplyDeleteBrett Musberger reports that NBA attendance was up 14 percent in 1974-75 compared to last season.
ReplyDeleteNow Brett gives a shoutout to the "Kuttawa Clipper," the late Joe Fulks, who was actually from (also late) Birmingham.
ReplyDeleteThe Bullets have gone to the NBA Finals only one other time. In 1971, they were swept by the Milwaukee Bucks--only the second time in NBA history that the finals went 4-0.
ReplyDeleteWashington, down 1-0 in the series, leads 56-42 at half of Game 2. And now here's a CBS halftime feature on backgammon!
ReplyDeleteEric, what really happened here? Were the Warriors underrated?
ReplyDeleteI've watched the first three games so far. Game 4 is today, May 25, 1975. Washington lost double-digit leads in games 1 and 2, and then, in Game 3, Rick Barry scored 38.
ReplyDeleteOscar Robertson said before the series that he wasn't sure that Mike Riordan could defend Barry well enough over the course of a series, and so far Barry has scored 24, 36 and 38 points. Meanwhile, Elvin Hayes has gone for 29, 15 and 24 points. The guy often defending Hayes is a rookie, Jamaal Wilkes, who is going to end up going on to play a key role with the great Lakers of the 1980s, too. So, Golden State's best scorer is clobbering his guy, and Washington's best scorer is having fits and starts against his guy.
Also, Washington's point guard is a really lively, fiery player named Kevin Porter, but he has been in foul trouble a bunch. Golden State has this veteran reserve forward, Bill Bridges, who comes in and does all kinds of helpful things, one of which is getting Porter angry. The Bullets' backup point guard, James Jones, is hurt and not playing in the series.
I think the Bullets have just gotten themselves in a total funk. Wikipedia says, "The Warriors' home games were played at the Cow Palace in Daly City (near San Francisco) due to scheduling conflicts at their normal home court of Oakland Arena during the week of May 19–26. In addition, an odd scheduling format had to be used because Golden State could not secure the Cow Palace for Memorial Day Weekend (May 24–26). A Sports Illustrated article about the series reported that Washington, which held home court advantage, was given the option of a 1-2-2-1-1 scheduling format due to Golden State's problems or, if they wished, opening on the road and then having Games 2, 3, and 4 at home. Washington opted for the 1-2-2-1-1 format not out of a sense of fairness, but because they wanted to open the series at home." Once Washington squandered that big lead and lost Game 1 (Porter fouled out after playing only 28 minutes), they seem to be a mess. On the CBS broadcasts, you can regularly hear K.C. Jones in protracted squabbles with particular officials: "Call it both ways, Darell (Garretson)! Call it both ways!" And: "You're giving it to them, Darell! You're giving it to them."
When the Bullets come back to the finals in 1978, Porter is going to be gone, and they are going to have Golden State's point guard in this series, Charles Johnson, as their point guard. Plus, Riordan is going to be gone, and they are going to have brought in another small forward, Bobby Dandridge, whose defense against Julius Erving in the playoffs that year was considered to be so key.
ReplyDeleteFor that matter, K.C. Jones is going to be gone, too--replaced by Dick Motta. So it looks to me like Bob Ferry, Abe Pollin and/or somebody else pretty surgically revamped the roster by 1978 to account for 1975's fatal deficiencies. There have been only two teams swept in the history of the NBA Finals before. The 1971 Bullets were the second of those teams, and now the 1975 Bullets are about to become the third.
This analysis was really helpful. Thank you very much.
DeleteYou'll see the best in basket-ball!
ReplyDeleteWhen you watch the NBA!
When you watch the NBA on CBS!
This is still the best sports jingle of all time. And it's not close.
DeleteWashington is up, 6-4, and Rick Barry already has two fouls in Game 4, and then Riordan jumps on Barry's back as he drives by, and then Al Attles comes out to fight Riordan, and then Wes Unseld goes after Attles, and then Bill Bridges comes out to subdue Unseld, and then Attles is ejected, and this whole mess is going to end with the Bullets losing again.
ReplyDeleteI actually remember this game. I don't remember any of the details, but I remember watching these teams on Sunday and I remember the outcome.
DeleteI'm not sure I'm going to make it through this video. It appears to have been recorded from the NBA's cable-TV channel about 15 years ago when they were doing these "Where Amazing Happens" spots with a bunch of slow fades against a soulful piano riff that is making me mad as Al Attles.
ReplyDeleteWashington is now ahead by eight points about midway through the second quarter, but Elvin Hayes has just picked up his fourth foul. Riordan has three. On comes reserve forward Leonard Robinson, whose nickname, "Truck," might be my favorite in NBA history. It's fun and easy to say; it conveys something very clear about the person, and it's fewer syllables than the first name it replaces. Plus, "Truck" lends itself to a really great cartoon on the back of Leonard Robinson's basketball card.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of non-ideal birthday circumstances, K.C. Jones turned 43 years old on this Sunday, May 25, 1975.
ReplyDeleteHalftime: Bullets 52, Warriors 48.
ReplyDeleteBullets up four with about nine minutes to go, and Bobby Unser has won the 1975 Indianapolis 500.
ReplyDeleteThere are five minutes to go, and the Bullets are up eight points.
ReplyDeleteAbout four minutes to go, and Hayes exists, exhausted. Riordan got hurt a little bit ago. Bullets up six. Porter misses two free-throw tries. The Washington lineup on the floor: Porter, Unseld (also looking tired), Phil Chenier, Tom Kozelko and Dick Gibbs.
ReplyDeleteLexington Lafayette's Mullins drives and dishes to Breckinridge County's Butch Beard for a short jumper--Golden State within four ...
ReplyDelete3:11 ... Porter and Kozelko fail to connect on a bounce pass ... Wilkes open on the baseline ... 92-90 ...
ReplyDeleteCareer points per game of the five Bullets on the floor: Phil Chenier 17.2, Kevin Porter 11.6, Wes Unseld 10.8, Dick Gibbs 5.2 and Tom Kozelko 2.2.
ReplyDeleteHayes back in, hands on his hips at every available opportunity. There's really no other way. The Warriors were just burying Chenier on every Washington trip. It's amazing this team won 60 games in the regular season and beat the Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals.
ReplyDeleteTwo minutes to go, Barry misses, but Wilkes beat Hayes for the rebound and scores. Tied at 92.
ReplyDeleteThis is Kevin Porter's last game with the Bullets. He's going to be traded in the offseason to Detroit for veteran Dave Bing, who averaged 20.3 points per game during his hall-of-fame career. It's a homecoming for Bing, a D.C. native and Spingarn High product, but he's also not done in Detroit--Bing will serve as that city's mayor 2009-13.
ReplyDeleteMinute to go. Golden State leads by one. Hayes gets a rebound this time and fires a court-length outlet pass to Gibbs under the goal. The layup attempt is no good.
ReplyDelete33 seconds to go. Washington inbounds in the halfcourt. Unseld fumbles the pass, and the ball bounces off his knee and into the Golden State end. Turnover.
ReplyDeleteMusberger: "This place suddenly became so quiet."
ReplyDeleteRobertson: "Didn't it?"
Beard makes one free throw and misses a second. There are 17 seconds left; the Bullets are down two, and they will reset with a timeout.
ReplyDeleteChenier misses, and Beard rebounds. Hayes fouls out.
ReplyDeleteNine seconds and three to make two for Beard: Miss, miss and make.
ReplyDelete96-95 final.