here is a stat!

Davis drew two more charging fouls in the first half, giving him 11 for the season. The Celtics had 13 as a team coming into the game, compared to five for opponents.

beat

beat I guess its as good as a blocked shot,no may be better since also getting a foul against that player.....Baby is huge

Better than a block, as not only the foul but we GET possession every single time. Not so on a block!

beat

Glen is really getting good...his midrange j is plum reliable.

If there were a stat for charges taken, Big Baby would be among the league leaders.

This edition of the Celtics have always been good at taking charges. When they won their title Van Gundy one game was trashing the Lakers for "false hustle" as they went for blocks instead of standing in there like the C's and taking the hit.

Big Baby didn't play much then but Pierce, Posey and Leon Powe were all very good at it.

cowens/oldschool wrote:Baby is huge

Huge Baby ?

Hey Beat,

You like to look up offbeat stats. Maybe you'd know where to find one I'm looking for.

Which Celtic (all-time) has the highest scoring average in the last games of playoff series that went the distance? (I'm counting preliminary series as well as finals. Let's say he'd have to be in at least three such series to qualify.)

Also, which Celtic (all-time) has compiled the highest one-game score in that situation?

Thanks to you or anyone else who can find the answers. I can't locate them, although I do know of one Celtic who averaged nearly 10 points more in those "ultimate" games than his regular season average.

Sam

If it's one William Felton Russell I would not be shocked. Russell's numbers in all or nothing games were simply sick. 35 points-40 rebounds, 29 points-32 rebounds, etc, etc. And they didn't keep track of blocked shots then.

The highest scoring game by a Celtic is an all-or-nothing game? I'll say Tommy Heinshon.

In 1957's game 7 didn't rookie Heinshon ring up 37 points and grab 25 rebounds?

Carpe,

Nice guess, but someone had 47 points in a winner-take-all game of a division series. I'm counting all playoff series—not just the finals.

Sam

Don't have all the answers, Sam, and can't find them in any book. But here are a few relevant stats.

Highest scoring games in Celtics’ playoff history:

John Havlicek: 54 points vs. Atlanta in 1973.
Bob Cousy: 50 points vs. Syracuse in 1953.
Sam Jones: 47 points vs. Cinci in 1963.
John Havlicek: 43 points vs. Atlanta in 1972.
Larry Bird: 43 points vs. Detroit in 1985.
John Havlicek: 43 points vs. LA in 1969.
Havlicek’s and Bird’s highest scoring playoff games weren’t deciding games (I think).

Regarding the highest scoring average in the last games of playoff series that went the distance, Sam Jones gets my vote. His teams were 9-0 in Game 7s and his scoring was as follows:

1959 19 points vs. Syracuse
1960 18 points vs. St. Louis
1962 28 points vs. Phil.
1962 27 points vs. LA
1963 47 points sv. Cinci
1965 37 points vs. Phil
1966 22 points vs. LA
1968 22 points vs. Phil
1969 24 points vs. LA

Sam's the guy I had in mind, Spike. He averaged something like 17.7 in the regular season and 27.1 in those nine winner-take-all games you mentioned. And he was the guy who scored 47 against the Royals in an Eastern Division Final game. I probably should have considered Cousy's 50 too, although they were scored in a 4-overtime Eastern Final game against Syracuse in 1953. Havlicek's 54 came in Game 1 of a playoff series against Atlanta.

It's an amazing coincidence that Sam Jones seems to be the answer in a great many of the rhetorical questions I ask. He's also the answer in the question, "Who is the Celtic legend who is most overlooked by people when prolific scoring is the topic?" He's also the answer to the question, "Who's something like 1/10th of a point behind Heinsohn as the highest scorer-per-minute-played in Celtics history."

And very, very unfortunately (my one source of festering bitterness towards the Celtics organization), he's also the answer to the question, "Which top 5 Celtics legend is most ignored by the Celtics organization?" A player of his stature should never have to make the following kinds of statements when asked about his relationship with the organization he helped make legendary:

FanHouse: Have you stayed in touch with the Boston franchise?

Sam Jones: "I've stayed in touch with a few people I played with."

FanHouse: You ever go to see the Celtics play?

Sam Jones: "No. It's a new regime, new owners, new management. People ask me why I never go back. I tell them, `I don't go places where I'm not invited to go.' I won't push myself on anyone. It doesn't bother me at all. You work for someone, and when you're finished, you're finished.''

FanHouse: What about when they retired your jersey? You were there then, weren't you?

Sam Jones: "That's different. Red was still involved. I came because Red asked me. Red could get anyone to come back."

FanHouse: It's hard for me to fathom this disconnect between the Celtics and guys like you who made the franchise what it is today. Explain.

Sam Jones: "We don't have reunions, so there is no connection between the old and the new. There is no follow up on history. If you don't want to be bothered, then I don't want to be bothered, either. I have my peace of mind."

http://nba.fanhouse.com/2009/11/03/sam-jones-celtics-great-and-ten-time-champion-speaks-his-mind/

Knowledge of this situation was the reason I adopted Sam’s nickname more than five years ago when I joined Boston.com. And I’ve let Sam know about it too, as we’re in touch four or five times a year. It’s vitally important to me that he know how loved he and his family still are by Celtics fans. Family is immensely important to Sam, and I was delighted that he brought 17 family members with him when he was inducted into the New England Sports Hall of Fame in late 2009. I hadn’t seen many of them for nearly 40 years, and it was like old home week.

The massive slight by the Celtics organization is well-known to veteran members of the media too. I sat beside Jackie MacMullan at a luncheon last year, and I mentioned it to her. She said, "You're absolutely right, and Sam's not the only one who has been slighted either." I didn't ask for other names because it would have been an imposition. But I bet I could make some pretty good guesses.

That's why, when an evaluation of Celtics ownership becomes the topic of conversation, I make it a point to distinguish between (1) all the current ownership has done to help return the franchise to great prominence and (2) how the current ownership deals with Celtics history going back any further than their own dates of birth (with just a few notable exceptions).

SlipperySam

Thanks for making us all aware of such a shameful situation, Sam.

If any organization should be touting its traditions, it's the Celtics. Even for the crassest purposes, to make sure the seats stay filled, they could put the old-timers to good use. Red said he kept a refridgerator full of beer and a table of horse dovers before each home game and all former pupils were encouraged to show their faces. My memory fools me sometimes these days, but I remember seeing former Celtics in the stands all the time back then.

One thing this team has always lacked is an active fan club. Compared to red-hot Red Sox, Patriots, and Bruins fans, Celtics fans are medium cool. This comes from the experience of sitting on the mountaintop and soaking up championship champagne, something the other Boston sports teams were so deficient in for so long. Confession time: I'm a Celtics fan first and a Yankees fan second.

What's wierd is that the organization devotes so many resources to public relations, yet overlooks this mound of gold nuggets in its own backyard. One thing you find out when you read the interviews of the oldtime Celtics, or their books, is how remarkably intelligent these guys were. Red never said that he drafted players based on smarts, but it's for sure he took that into consideration. One thing he did develop in his players was a championship attitude, and that remains as strong today in those men as ever, a teasure you just know they would love to share.

Above even that, there was something that rubbed off on players when they joined the team; Red called it the mystique. Cousy, at Red's funeral, said the mystique was Red, but it wasn't, he created it, but so did Walter Brown and all the players over the years. It still exists, in these men's minds if nowhere else, and it's an amazing untapped resource for the organization.

If only for the mental and emotional effect it would have on the current group of players, it would behoove the team to schedule a regular course of festivities involving former players. Having former players welcome to open house in Danny's office before the games, maybe seats in those ritzy boxes, mingling with the paying customers, wouldn't that make fans even more likely to want to buy tickets?

If nothing else, Red's birthday in August would seem like a good idea for some kind of traditional get-together, say just before the opening of training camp, not that it will ever happen. Maybe if ticket sales start to slide.

I'm not in any position to comment on why this situation has occurred. All I can say is that I've always considered Sam Jones to be a rare blend of talent, achievement, and class. He's my favorite Celtic after Russell.

Spike, thanks for your comments. A Celtics Fan Club. Has a nice ring to it. I don't mean to rail indiscriminately at ownership because they're done a lot for the franchise and the area. And I'm not one to speak negatively about the Celtics without exceptionally good reason. I just wish it hadn't happened. And almost anything that might be considered to remedy the situation (IF there were sufficient motivation to do so) would probably be too little too late. Most of the old players who have been given short shrift are in the mid-seventies or older, and their residence in places other than New England has and would probably make them less readily accessible.

I suspect that, if anyone tried to raise the issue with Wyc, he'd go on and on about how the Celtics maintain strong relationships with arguably two cornerstones of the franchise, in Russell and Havlicek. He'd also mention how Satch is sometimes in the house. I doubt he'd talk a lot about Cousy (at least not to my face) after the Comcast summarily dismissed The Cooz.

I've had enough correspondence with Wyc to know he's a very hard-headed businessman. He's the type who would base a calculated public relations effort centered on paying public homage to Russell (whom the Celtics pay to be available at times) and Havlicek (who has a home on Cape Cod) just so he (Wyc) couldn't be accused of ignoring the old teams.

Anyway, I know Sam and Gladys have made their peach with this situation. They've always focused on being extremely grateful for their good fortunes while suffering the less fortunate experiences stoically and privately. I have always been blessed to have them call me "friend."

Sam

Outside,

Obviously, you're a man of discernment and good taste.

Sam

Sam,

You make me sound like I drink Dos Equis.

Outside


P.S. I assume you get those commercials on the East Coast. It would kinda ruin the joke otherwise.

Outside, I think I saw one while on the West Coast. I get it.

Sam

rickdavisakaspike wrote:Don't have all the answers, Sam, and can't find them in any book. But here are a few relevant stats.

Highest scoring games in Celtics’ playoff history:

John Havlicek: 54 points vs. Atlanta in 1973.
Bob Cousy: 50 points vs. Syracuse in 1953.
Sam Jones: 47 points vs. Cinci in 1963.
John Havlicek: 43 points vs. Atlanta in 1972.
Larry Bird: 43 points vs. Detroit in 1985.
John Havlicek: 43 points vs. LA in 1969.
Havlicek’s and Bird’s highest scoring playoff games weren’t deciding games (I think).

Regarding the highest scoring average in the last games of playoff series that went the distance, Sam Jones gets my vote. His teams were 9-0 in Game 7s and his scoring was as follows:

1959 19 points vs. Syracuse
1960 18 points vs. St. Louis
1962 28 points vs. Phil.
1962 27 points vs. LA
1963 47 points sv. Cinci
1965 37 points vs. Phil
1966 22 points vs. LA
1968 22 points vs. Phil
1969 24 points vs. LA

Spike,

Ray Allen got 51 in that 2OT (or was it 3 OT?) game against Chicago two years ago. I think Sam Jones also got 51 in a playoff game. Niether were deciding or close outs though.

Outside = "Most Interesting Man"

In 2007, Dos Equis inaugurated its current advertising campaign, "The Most Interesting Man in the World."

The advertisements feature a semi-bearded, debonair, gentleman roughly in his 50s (portrayed by actor Jonathan Goldsmith). While vaguely Spanish music plays in the background, the advertisements featured a montage of daring exploits involving "the most interesting man" when he was younger. The precise settings are never revealed, but he performs interesting feats, such as: freeing an angry bear from a painful-looking bear trap, shooting a pool trick shot before an Indian audience (by shooting the cue ball out of the mouth of a man lying on the pool table), catching a marlin while cavorting in a Hemingway-esque scene with a beautiful, young woman, winning an arm-wrestling match in a South American setting, surfing the killer wave, and bench pressing two East Asian young women in a casino setting, each woman being seated in a chair.

While the shots are being displayed a narrator mentions comical aspects of his personality, such as:

• "If he punched you in the face, you would have to fight off the strong urge to thank him."
  
• "He lives vicariously through himself."
  
• "He once taught a German shepherd to bark in Spanish."
  
• "His personality is so magnetic, he is unable to carry credit cards."
  
• "He can speak French in Russian."
  
• "He never says something tastes like chicken... not even chicken."
  
• "He's been known to cure narcolepsy, just by walking into a room."
  
• "His blood smells like cologne."
  
• "He once had an awkward moment, just to see how it feels."
  
• "He wouldn't be afraid to show his feminine side, if he had one."
  
• "His organ donor card also lists his beard."
  
• "Even his enemies list him as their emergency contact number."
  
• "He is The most interesting man in the world."
  

At the end of the advertisement, the interesting man says, "I don't always drink beer, but when I do, I prefer Dos Equis." Each commercial ends with a signature sign-off: "Stay thirsty, my friends." The sign-off is also a Dos Equis sponsored website featuring the latest commercials and other information (which requires age verification).
Shorter television commercials feature the man giving his opinions on various subjects, such as:

• pick-up lines: "There's a time and a place for them. The time is never. You can figure out the place on your own."
  
• using a wingman: Only one man is needed to talk to a woman.
  
• the two-party system: "The after party is the one you want to attend."
  
• rollerblading: "No."
  
• manscaping: "I have no idea what this is."
  

I've seen the commercials plenty of times.

“stay thirsty my friends”