Author: Dave Long

A really good NBA Finals came to an exciting conclusion right before our last edition hit the streets, so today is the first chance I have to gush over it. It was pretty good salve for local hoopers burned by a sickening, under-achieving Celtics season. But that’s a gripe for another day.

Today I want to talk about Giannis Antetokounmpo in Game 6.It was a “climb on my back. boys, I‘m taking us home” inspirational effort that brought to mind Yaz in the final two weeks of 1967, when he closed out the greatest pennant race ever by going 7 for 8 and knocking in the winning runs in the final two games to drag the Sox over the finish line to their first pennant in 21 years. Which is exactly what the Greek Freak did.

I’m mixing my sports and eras, but that’s the point. I spent the next day trying to decide where his incredible 50-point, 14-rebound, five-block game ranks among the best championship-winning and season-ending closeout games I personally have seen. Which, among others, leaves out Tommy Heinsohn’s 36-point, 23-rebound Game 7 vs. the St. Louis Hawks as the Celtics won their first title in 1957, and Bob Pettit’s 50 and 19 game when the Hawks’ returned serve on the Cs in Game 7 the next year.

It’s easier than you think, because most jump to mind. Though, probably because their greatest seemed so routine, none oddly do for Michael Jordan or Tiger Woods, whose best closeout games muster just honorable mention.

Here are the guidelines for consideration. We’re looking for an individual in a game that clinches the championship and meets two of the following criteria: (1) not judged just on stats, (2) helps the team overcome being outmanned or fills a hole for an injured star, (3) completely dominates the game with a spectacular flair, (4) the effort strongly answers critics who’ve been yakking at them all series or all year, and (5) an “it’s me against the entire other team” effort that brings to mind King Kong hanging onto the flagpole on the Empire State Building while trying to fight off the squadron planes buzzing around him with the other hand. And the winners are:

Magic Johnson – 1980 NBA Finals: MVP Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is out for Game 6 with L.A. up on Philly three games to two. So who in the name of George Mikan plays center? Rookie Magic Johnson does and goes for 42 points, 15 rebounds and 7 assists in a 123-107 rout to give the Lakers their first of five titles in the 198s.

Bill Walton – 1973 NCAA Finals: Walton shreds the hopes of my at-the-game friend Jeff Eisenberg and his hometown Memphis State Tigers with an unstoppable 21-for-22 effort from the field in a 44-point, 13-rebound night to lead UCLA to its seventh straight NCAA title.

Jack Nicklaus – 1986 Masters: He hadn’t won a major since 1980 and at 46 was never in contention until the back 9 hole on Sunday. But then he shoots a record-breaking 30 to grab the sixth green jacket no one ever thought he’d get.

Sandy Koufax – 1965 World Series: Throwing 130 pitches in a three-hit, 10-strikeout Game 7 shutout on two days, after shutting Minnesota down with a four-hit, 10k, 135-pitch gem in Game 5.

Tom Brady – Super Bowl 51: Down 28-3 deep in the third quarter, he hits James White for a five-yard TD to start a 25-0 run that gives the signature win of the dynasty, 34-28 in OT as Brady goes 43-62 for 466 yards and two TDs.

Reggie Jackson – 1977 World Series: His manager hated him and so did just about everyone else, it seemed, as they waited for him to fail. But he didn’t, and after the Yanks charged into the World Series he hit five homers vs. L.A., including three in Game 6 with the exclamation point to his critics being a titanic blast into the center field bleachers to clinch the series.

Secretariat – 1973 Belmont Stakes: The only one of these I saw in person and I picked a doozy. In becoming the first Triple Crown winner since Citation in 1947, he delivered a performance for the ages when the lead coming down the stretch was so big not even Dave Wottle could have caught him.

Vince Young – 2006 Rose Bowl: In the best football game I’ve ever seen, Young passed for 269 yards, ran for another 200, scored three times and led the pulsating final drive to give Texas a 41-37 win in the national title game. It was King Kong on the ESB.

Phil Esposito – Canada-U.S.S.R. Summit of 1972: It was just an exhibition series. But it really wasn’t. It’s too hard to comprehend the magnitude of what this series meant if you didn’t live then. Nothing today is remotely close. Canada was in deep trouble after going down 3-1-1 in the eight-game series. Especially with the last being played back in the U.S.S.R. But they got back to 3-3-1 to set up a winner-take-all final in the shadow of the (gulp) Kremlin. Big trouble again as they went down 5-3 late in the final period, before Espo scored and then assisted on the final two, including Paul Henderson’s game-winner with 34 seconds left for a tension-ridden 6-5 win. With a four-point game Espo was immense to give him the best closeout game I’ve seen anyone ever have.

So where does that leave Giannas? He was Kong holding off the planes with clutch play after clutch play on O and D. And by going 18 for 20 from the foul he also told all the countdown mockers to stuff it, pal!

That puts him third best overall.

Nice job, big fella.

With a pretty entertaining NBA Finals standing 3-2 Milwaukee as I write this week and the U.S. national team making everyone nervous on the eve of the Olympics, it’s time for some random thoughts on basketball from all over the globe.

With three games over 30, including 40- and 41-point submissions, so much for the strategy of putting up a so-called wall to stop the Greek Freak, because he’s just relentless. He doesn’t play like him, but his effort reminds of the great Dave Cowens during his prime.

Basketball 101: Name the team with four former first overall draft picks on their roster when they won the NBA title.

Khris Middleton has got to be in the running for most under-rated NBA player.

Surprise Players of the Finals: Suns– Deandre Ayton, not first-overall-pick great, but better than I thought he was. Bucks– Bobby Portis, better than I’ve ever seen him. Works hard on D and the offensive boards.

Best Stat of the Finals: Hope all the stat geeks noticed Devin Booker going for 41 in Game 4 without making a three. It was done mostly on drives and throwback pull up jumpers. Needless to say, I like that kid’s game.

Best Finals Stat Ever: It comes from the famous Willis Reed Game 7 in the 1970 Finals where instead of driving the injured Reed into the ground, Wilt Chamberlain went 1-11 from the foul line in the blowout loss. All those who say Russell won all those titles because he had better teammates should remember Wilt also shrank from the moment the year after Russell retired.

Idiotic Comment of the NBA Finals: Note to ESPN contributor Ryan Clark: No one is going to take you seriously on a serious issue if you trot out the race card on every issue. The latest imbecilic comment was Clark saying Jeff Van Gundy was using “code” when he said Booker “looked like a choirboy but played like a thug.” Sorry, nothing racial there. What Van Gundy was simply saying was that by looking so young, Booker can disarm to start before you realize he plays with an edge and toughness. The code he’s using explains why he’s good to everyone but hyper-sensitive folks constantly looking to turn things into something they aren’t. And while he might have used a better word than thug, when I heard it I thought of the NBA’s biggest thug ever, Bill Laimbeer.

While it’s annoying seeing Booker complain on every call and non-call involving him, it’s worse seeing Milwaukee’s Anthony Mason play-alike PJ Tucker do it every time something’s called on him. Dude, your job is to clutch, grab, push, bang and body top scorers. So you do foul on almost every play.

Basketball 101 Answer: In Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, James Worthy and Mychal Thompson the 1987 Lakers had four first overalls when they beat the Celtics in six games. They also had Byron Scott, who went fourth overall in 1982. They played together for three seasons (’87-’89) and won in 1988 as well.

Remember when Jae Crowder let Celtics Nation know he was ticked off when the crowd gave it up for free agent to be Gordon Hayward to replace him when Utah came to the Garden in 2016? That was followed by getting dumped to Cleveland in the Kyrie trade after Hayward signed here. With him beating the C’s in the Eastern Finals last year, being in the Finals two straight years and Hayward’s time in Boston best described as having no high points before he stuck it to them by leaving with nothing coming back by way of trade, Crowder has gotten the last laugh, hasn’t he?

Basketball 102: Name the three other Celtics alums playing in this Final.

That the Nets went out early was enjoyable to see, but between his injury-related year off and surly, thin-skinned adolescent social media trolling I sorta forgot how good Kevin Durant was. He was all-world against both the Celtics and Bucks.

Basketball 102 Answer: While they’re not getting as much time as Crowder, the other ex-Celtics in this Final are Abdel Nader and E’Twaun Moore for Phoenix and Jeff Teague for Milwaukee.

After losing exhibition games to teams from Nigeria and Australia composed of NBA also-ran and never-was players, can’t say I have great confidence in Team USA’s chances for gold at the Olympics. Especially after adding America’s 300th or so best player JaVale McGee and Kelton Johnson (whoever he is) to fortify the roster after losing Bradley Beal to Covid protocols. What, Mark Blount wasn’t available?

Then there’s the fact that in USA’s first turn under Greg Popovich they finished seventh in the World Cup two years ago when new Celtics headman Ime Udoka was an assistant. With Pop’s team only winning one playoff series in three tries in the five seasons since Matt Bonner and his sidekick Tim Duncan retired and missing the tournament completely the last two, why don’t we hear the “it was all Bonner (and Duncan)” rap, like we endlessly do about Belichick and Brady? Seems similar to me.

Hey Max Kellerman, Giannis’ Game 4 block on Ayton the best ever in the Finals? What about Bill Russell making up a half-court lead to catch Slater Martin from behind to swat away his game-winning lay-up in the final seconds of regulation to save Game 7 and the 1957 title? Tommy Heinsohn told me that’s the best play he saw in his 66 NBA years. Better to say, it’s the best one I’ve seen — not greatest ever, unless you’ve seen every play.

Then there’s Kevin McHale’s, ah, block on Kurt Rambis in Game 4 of the 1984 Finals. Though some might call it more like a tackle, while Kurt, the Rambis Youth and everyone in L.A. called it thug ball.

With the restart of baseball set to go as the All-Star break ends, it’s time to hand out grades for the first half of this surprising Red Sox season. We’ll focus on key players or important parts of the team to start and leave the grades for the team and general manager until last.

Alex Cora: A+ The way he babies the pitchers still makes me crazy, but with him back in charge the karma seems so comfortable, which reduces angst when things are going bad for individuals, and that seems to make it easier for the team to do its job. If he’s not the best manager in baseball he’s darn close.

Middle of the Order: A With Xander Bogaerts, Rafael Devers and JD Martinez all deserving All-Stars they’ve done what was needed. Their projected numbers over 162 games gives context to the season each is having: Bogey .332, 26 (homers) and 97 (RBI), Raffy .282. 40 and 128, JD .299, 32, 110.

Matt Barnes: A Thanks to whoever convinced him to challenge hitters from the first pitch my frustration level from watching him pitch has dropped by about three area codes. It’s turned him from a guy with tantalizing stuff who constantly made his job harder into an All-Star closer and the best pitcher on the team.

Nate Eovaldi: A- The brass took a lot of flak for spending big after his solid post season of 2018 and with him winning just six games since then it was justified. But by going 9-5 he has stepped up to be the ace the Sox needed without Chris Sale and through Eduardo Rodriguez’s struggles. So bravo for that, but as the question always is for him, will it continue all year?

The Bullpen Overall: B How many times have we seen a starter come out in the fifth followed by the pen putting up doughnuts to close out a win? A lot more than most thought, and that’s particularly important with Cora yanking his untested or less trusted starter regularly in the fifth or sixth because of his trust in the pen.

Bargain Basement/Reclamation Pickups: B When Hunter Renfroe, Christian Arroyo and Kiké Hernández signed it didn’t make a ripple. In fact, it amplified the Tampa Bay North vibe growing since Chaim Bloom left TB to be Sox GM. But the first two have made positive if unspectacular contributions, while the $3 million per Renfroe has been solid offensively since May 1 and leads baseball in outfield assists. Plus while everyone from the defensively versatile bench is hitting around the Mendozza line, Marwin Gonzalez and company have had their moments. And let’s not forget Garrett Whitlock, whom Bloom took off the Yankees’ hands for pennies before he delivered a 3-1, 1.44 ERA season as a major bullpen contributor.

Alex Verdugo: C+ The prize (outside of the payroll flexibility gained) from the Mookie Betts trade has been very good defensively, but at .273 and his 9 homers and 31 RBI in 304 at-bats he’s projecting to just 16 and 55 over 162 games, so the offense hasn’t met expectations.

The Defense: C It’s shaky in spots, which can hurt when the margin of error gets tighter in big games. But shortstop and catcher (on offense as well) are solid and the outfield, where Verdugo’s versatility gives Cora options, throws people out trying to get the extra base better than almost everyone. Not great, but probably good enough to let them get by.

E-Rod: C- I proclaimed after the first month he was none the worse for missing all last year. Well, I was wrong. He’s been horrible at times, as evidenced by the team’s losing all five of his May starts, and inconsistent at others, as they then won all five June starts, though they had to score 12, 10 and 8 runs twice to do it. History says he’ll probably turn it around, but as of now the 5.52 ERA doesn’t make it.

Bobby Dalbec: C- With him hitting .191 against right-handed pitching and on track to strike out nearly 200 times he hasn’t been as solid as last year’s 28-game debut suggested he might be. Still he’s on track for 20 homers and 70 RBI, so maybe he’ll pick it up as the rookie adjustments continue.

End of the Bullpen: C- While the ERA’s of Darwinzon Hernandez (2.70) and Hirokazu Sawamura (2.45) are respectable, their 1.227 and 1.50 WHIPS give no confidence they’ll throw strikes when it counts. Then there is Matt Andriese with the unsightly 6.05 ERA, 1.768 WHIP and team-leading 7 homers (tied with Sawamura) allowed in just 30 innings. They need improvement in two spots at least.

Chaim Bloom: B While the early returns from bargain pick-up making significant contributions are encouraging, what he does to help the team fill in the holes at the trade deadline will determine the year’s final grade. So the question is with need for a lefty hitter, two bullpen slots and probably a starter (though Sale’s return could be that) will he let all that slide in a bid to keep all his minor-league assets intact or smartly determine who the keepers are and use the rest to fill his holes as best he can?

The Team: A Overall they are flawed, entered the break after losing four of their last six and despite solid work from Eovaldi and Nick Pivetta in particular, I’m still not certain about the starters. But against all odds they’re tied with Houston for the most wins in the league, lead the AL East by a game and a half over Tampa Bay, are eight ahead of the Yankees and on pace to win 97 games. And while in the words of Bloom they have not accomplished anything yet, it’s hard to find fault with a team that has exceeded even the wildest expectations so far.

It’s been a most surprising NBA season, and not just locally. Before it started, very few in Celtics Nation would’ve figured that when it ended Brad Stevens would be out as coach, Danny Ainge would be out as GM and Kemba Walker would be out of town. That happened after the Celtics delivered their second dumpster fire season in three years, which was a bad surprise to many.

But outside of a rash of injuries that sidelined a lot of big-name players during the playoffs, league-wide the surprises were mostly of the good kind. At the heart is the predictability factor saying you can’t win a title without a Top 5 player taking a direct broadside hit. It quieted talk that only three of four teams have a real shot winning in any given year. It went along the line that that’s because it immediately eliminates 25 teams right off the bat. Though with the Lakers having LeBron and Anthony Davis, that makes it 26 teams with no chance. But that hasn’t been the case in 2020-21 in two ways.

First because with the arrival of some new, young stars, I’m not sure we know definitively who the Top 5 are anyway. Kevin Durant certainly showed he’s one of them, but his team, helped by injuries, went out in Round 2. With Steph Curry and Golden State barely making it into the play-in round despite his sensational season and the aforementioned Lakers getting dusted by Portland in Round 1 that’s four of the thought to be Top 5 players when the year started. It may be just an aberration, but maybe there’s just been a leveling off of the talent at the top and the Top 5 theory should be expanded to be more like having a Top 10 player now gives you a real chance.

Second, this year was more like the NFL, which rigs its schedule to give bad teams from the previous year an easier schedule the next season to help them make big one-year jumps into contention. Like the Patriots going from 6-10 in 2000 to 11-6 and World Champions the next. That never happens in the NBA. At least until this year when Phoenix and Atlanta jumped into the Final Three after being 34-39 and 20-47 respectively a year ago. As I write this column for an early holiday-induced deadline, Milwaukee led Atlanta 3-2, so I don’t know who’s in the Finals from the Eastern Conference. But regardless of who survived, the Bucks will be a big story for getting there with Giannis Antetokounmpo (the last of the Top 5) missing Game 5 at least and likely being significantly hampered after that at best. If it’s the Hawks, they’ll be a library of stories starting with having done it with Top 10’er Trae Young missing crunch time in Game 4 and all of Game 5 at least. It also will have happened after the 14-20 on March 1 Hawks fired their coach to spark a 27-11 tear that let them finish the year 41-31 and be the 5-seed. And, oh by the way, it’ll be their first time they’ve been to the NBA Finals in 60 long years, which I’ll get to in a bit.

As for Phoenix, they’re in the finals for the first time since the heist of Charles Barkley from Philly in 1993. Before losing that one to MJ and Chicago in the days when Scottie Pippen seemed sane, it was when the 42-40 Suns somehow knocked off defending champion Rick Barry-led Golden State in 1976 to make the Finals, where it was tied 2-2 with the Celtics before losing the epic triple-OT Game 5 thriller and Game 6 to end their Bill Murray-like Cinderella story (“17th at Augusta … it’s in the hole”). Thus they’re still looking for their first title, so a win is history. For Milwaukee it’s their first time back since 1974, when they also lost to the Havlicek-Cowens-led Celtics. That was an epic seven-gamer where the visiting team won all seven times in the other guy’s gym! That never happened before or since. There’s also real symmetry if it’s a Bucks and Suns final, since they entered the league together as expansion teams in 1968. Both finished last in Year 1, but 27-win Milwaukee got lucky in capital letters to win the coin toss for the first overall draft pick, which gave them UCLA all-time all-timer Lew Alcindor. They shot to 56 wins in 1969-70 and, after trading for Oscar Robertson in another heist, NBA champs in the now Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s second year. Meanwhile the Suns’ consolation prize was center Neal Walk, which, trust me, was a lot worse than the Celtics coming away with Chauncey Billups and Ron Mercer after losing out on Tim Duncan in 1997.

For the Hawks, the last time they were in the Finals was 1961, which for the mathematically challenged is 60 years ago. They were still the Hawks, but after being Milwaukee’s first NBA team, long before the Bucks, they were then living in St. Louis and led by the first great power forward, Bob Pettit. It was the last of four Finals meetings between Boston and St. Louis over five seasons, which started after St. Louis (thankfully) traded Boston the rights to Bill Russell because the NBA’s southernmost city didn’t want Black players. The C’s won three times including the first in 1957 when rookie Tommy Heinsohn went for 37 points and 23 rebounds in one of the (forgotten) great Game 7 performances in history as they won their first of 11 titles over 13 years. The Hawks won in ’58, by taking a doozy of a Game 7 (110-109) behind Pettit’s 50-point, 19-rebound night for their first and last title.

So with predictability out the window and some history to be made, we’re on to the new/2021 version of the NBA Finals.