The Greatest Team

Knowing full well how subjective this is.....here goes

The Nominees:

1964-65 Celtics
62-18
4-3 Philly
4-1 Lakers
Walterb Brown dies and Red's in charge of everything-Coach of the Year---Broke league record for wins....SF traded Wilt to Philly mid-season---Elgin Baylor injured did not play vs celts--Havlicek "stole the ball"...actually deflected it to Sam Jones

1966-1967 Sixers
68-13
4-1 Celts
4-2 SF--(rick barry)
ran out to astonishing 37-3 record.....averaged 125 a game---Wilt,Greer, Chet Walker,Cunningham,Luke Jackson,Wali Jones

1969-1979 Knicks
60-22
Balt 4-3
Bucks4-1---(rookie Alcindor)
Lakers 4-3
what may be best passing team of all time--team defense..the emmergence of Walt Frazier as MVP

1971-1972 Lakers
69-13
Bulls 4-0
Bucks 4-2
the impossible 33 game winning streak..Bill sharman takes over as coach--an aging west,Baylor,wilt gets great play from Gail Goodrich 25 a game and Happy Hairston becomes a vicious rebounder.

1982-1983 Sixers
65-17
4-0 Knicks
4-1 Bucks
4-0 Lakers
The famous "fo-fo-fo" from the newly acquired Moses---Dr.J,Andrew Toney in his prime,Mo cheeks,Bobby Jones

1985-1986 Celtics
67-15
3-0 Bulls
4-1 Atlanta
4-0 bucks
4-2 Houston
thru regular and postseason a staggering 50-1 at home!! the unequaled frontcourt of Bird,Parish and Mchale establishes himself as the premier low post player---trade Cedric to Clippers for Walton,who's chomping at the bit to be a Celtic.

1986-1987 Lakers
65-17
3-0 Denver
4-1 GS
4-0 Seat
4-2 Celtics
Transition from Jabbar focuse offense to Magic/Worthy.......Byron Scott,AC green,the tenacious Michael Cooper.....and the missing piece of the puzzle,the acquistion of Mychael Thompson-----

91-91 Bulls
67-15
3-0 Miami
4-3 Knicks
4-2 Cleve
4-2 Port
All the pieces were there...Jordan on a mission--Pippen has break out year


Again,this is all subjective--omissions?Pistons..maybe........let's debate.

DJ

Well done. For me (but it's just the teams I saw) 1. 86 celts 2. 87 lakers 3. 83 sixers. I dont even feel qualified to vote with the depth of yalls experience.

Jeb

I don't quite go back to the Russell years so, since this is subjective, I'll leave them out of my decision and go with the 86 Cs.

Walton, DJ and Bird on the court together is the best blend of fundamentals, talent and BBall IQ I ever witnessed.

I was too young to see the Russell teams so I'll go with the '86 Celtics as well.

Bird, McHale, Parish, DJ all in their prime. Ainge, an up and comer. Walton on the bench and still capable of playing at a HOF level for 15 minutes or so a game. Wedman still a player as he showed when McHale went down for 15 games and he stepped into the startiong lineup and the team didn't miss a beat. Sichting doing exactly what the team needed: making them pay for keying on the Big Three to the eye-popping tune of 57% shooting.

67-15 regular season
15-3 playoffs
50-1 overall home record

Thing is the 86 was suppose to win they were that good

Give me the heart of the 1969 team that finished a distant 4th in the conference but made it to the finals.

The team that beat all the odds and left the balloons hanging in the Forum was by far the "greatest" of teams in the truest sense of the word. With the aging stars climbing the mountain together one last time. No other Celtic team overcame what this bunch had too to win it all. Never underestimate the heart of this bunch.

beat

Yup a great run in the playoffs----that was the Nelson shot from the key that bounced off rim--hit top of board and went in right?
a serious contender for the "rocky" team of all -time but with 34 regular season losses don't see them in upper echelon of all time greatest team.. with all due respect.
Loved that playoff run--may have been the only team ever to have 2 NYU guys on the roster,and another NYU guy Happy Hairston was on Detroit that year.

Well DJ

they went as far as possible with less weapons than any team you mention.

They will always be on top of any greatest list for me.

Marching thru the season winning 65-70 games destroying teams in the playoffs when your superior by far anyway? What does that prove?

I'll stick with the 69 bunch.

beat

You know, I watched that 1969 balloon game and never realized it until years later. I was about 8 years old at the time and didn't even like basketball but I remember the game because my father had just bought a new fangled thing called a color TV.

I just recall that one team had these bright gold uniforms and the other team looked drab in comparison in their green.

That 1969 team may have had the greatest heart, winning a title when it had no homecourt in any series.

I guess it depends on how you define greatest team. I think '86 was the most talented and dominant team I've seen but my sentimental favorites are the 1984 and 1974 teams. The 1984 team because they beat the Lakers in the first meeting of the franchises in the finals since 1969 and because the Lakers were heavily favored (so what else is new?).

I love the 1974 team becasue that was the first post-Russell title and, since I was too young to appreciate the Russell teams, I felt that 1974 was "my" first title.

Carp

Agreed starting a greatest anything as we all know from Sam is a tough deal. How do you define teams from different eras?

I loved the Cowens team from 74 going into Milwaukee for gmae 7 having just lost to a SKY HOOK with truly no way to stop him. How would they find a way.

Well Tommy deceided to try to let Cornell Warner achieve greatness that day and instead of letting Cowens handle Jabar alone he would now let Nellie front Jabbar leaving Warner virtually unguarded, and Cowens stay behind him, a sort of Celtic sandwich. Jabbar was held in check, Warner did NOT achieve greatness and the Celtics ran off with a relatively easy win on the road in game 7.

beat

Beat,

I thought that 1974 title series was Don Chaney's finest moment. Unlike most teams, the C's decided not to double Kareem since they believed that the way Kareem killed you was by repeatedly getting the ball in the post on one possesion, which gave him the ability to pick apart the defense when he had the option to shoot or pass.

So, in order to limit Kareem's touches they had Don Chaney in Oscar Robertson's jock making the aging Oscar work for literally every inch of the floor (it really helped that Lucious Allen was hurt and Oscar didn't have any reliable ballhandling relief). And Chaney was absolutely relentless in hounding Oscar and thus cutting down on the time the Bucks could get into their offense.

And you're absolutley correct. They switched it up in game seven, leaving Cornell Warner and Curtis Perry wide open to double Kareem. It worked as Kareem didn't score for like 25 minutes.

I'll also rememeber that series becasue homecourt didn't matter much at all with niether team winning more than one game in its own building.

And that double OT game six in Boston must have been one of the greatest ever played. But memory of it has been overshadowed by the game five triple OT against Phx in 1976.

That 2ble OT game was every bit as exciting as the game 2 years later.

I remember Hondo in the lane getting an offensive rebound as Jabbar stood FLAT FOOTED as Hondo not only got the board but put it back up over Jabbar without comming down.

So many players fouled out and your right about Chaney. Although Oscar was a shade of his former self he was still darn tough and Chaney wold not let him breathe!!

Here is a you tube of some of those moments

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCvWkf1z7rs&feature=related

beat

This was Oscar's last year.From 1961-68 nobody put out the numbers he did--points,rebounds,assists---the complete player.If he played in a big media city his already legendary status would be without peer.

DJ,

There are some short memories out there. A couple of years ago I was thumbing through a season preview in one of the numerous basketball rags. The article had a ranking of all time great assist guys and Oscar Robertson was NOT on the list. That was simply unreal.

Beat,

I once heard Hondo describing that play. Chaney had stolen the ball and saved it from going out of bounds to Hondo. With the Celtic bench screaming for a TO, Hondo looked up court and saw that Jabbar was BACKPEDALING on defense. Hondo said that he knew Jabbar could not block his shot because his momentum was carrying him backward.

So, instesad of calling a TO, Hondo took the ball right at Jabbar. He stopped at the foul line and did one of those Hondo leaners. He missed but, with his momentum going forward and Jabbar's still going backward, he grabbed the rebound and banked it in.

I'll step aside and let everyone else debate this one. There IS a correct answer.

Sam

Sam

Yours of course LOL

Actually there is a correct answer for everyone and everyone has a correct answer. (now does that make sense or what)

beat

I will jump in with my two cents, even though I have said it time and again.

l. The l969 balloon game. We all knew Sam was retiring, and it sat heavy with all devoted fans on who would ever replace the great Sam Jones. Then
the Celtics win the game, send Jack Kent Cooke a message, and all was right with the Celtic world. Talk about underdogs. Then they all got off the plane and it was announced that Russell was retiring. What now? But, we savored that win forever! (Who would ever guess that someone by the name of Hank Finkel!) That team had more heart than any team I ever watched.

2. The l974 game in Milwaukee. Chaney and Cowens brought pride back after they had taken a dagger to the heart in the 6th game with Jabbar's
sky hook.

3. l986-The whole year! What a joy to watch that team play. You have never seen such fantastic passing by a center as we saw from that team.
Walton was a joy to watch. I love that team, it truly comes in a close second to l969.

4. 2008-Again, the whole year. Years and years of losing. Then Danny puts this team together. The 4th game of the LA series where they were down by 24, ESPN was just having a party ready to crown Kobe. However,
that comeback has got to go down as the greatest in playoff history. I could hardly breath that night! That game still haunts them.

5. The 6th game of the same series, they just destroyed the Lakers. Tore their hearts out and it lives in their memories. Happy days were here again! And we had Danny Ainge to thank for taking the chances that he did.

This team this year has the potential to go down in Celtic lore. I only hope that everyone stays healthy and the attitudes of everyone brings home another title.

Thanks for asking! I will shut up now. There are so many more memories!!!

The 85-86 Celts had it all. I rate them as the #1 Celtics team. But I got the greatest kick from the 08 team. From 24-58 in 07, to NBA champs in one year and the end of the "Fire Doc" crowd who drove me nuts. It was a long time coming, but that only served to heighten the enjoyment.

Swish

Rosalie, nice picture!

Swish, great screen name!

Sam's Celtics Forum, where amazing happens!

Dj

Yur threads a hit!

Jeb

DJ
You got all the heavy hitters in here taking swings!

Jeb

Sam wrote:I'll step aside and let everyone else debate this one. There IS a correct answer.

Sam

I hate to do this to SlipperySam, but I'm almost certain he is in reality none other than Bob Ryan of the Boston Globe. He'll deny it, but we all know how much Ryan loves the game and it would be like him to have started a forum like this. All kidding aside, Ryan picked the 85-86 squad as the greatest Celtics team of all time.

Greatest of the Green




On the heels of last year's championship season, Boston Globe columnist Bob Ryan ranked the top 10 all-time greatest Celtics squads. While it might be too early to pass judgment on the 2008-09 squad, check out Ryan's favorites from the past.
(Barry Chin / Globe Staff)





No. 1: 1985-86

Record: 67-15
Playoff record: 15-3
Result: Championship
Bird was at his peak. The greatest team ever if you consider no other club has ever brought anything resembling a healthy Bill Walton off the bench. This squad was 50-1 at home, regular season and playoffs combined. This Lost Generation of Celtics fans need no longer slap on their headphones and begin rolling their eyes when the smug followers of champions 1 through 16 begin rhapsodizing about the virtues of their favorite Celtics squads of yore. Their team, No. 17, can compete with any that has ever worn the Green and White.
(Bill Greene/Globe Staff)

Ya---this kinda topic will go places and veer off here and there.

But what my intent was---Not what your favorite team was or what your favorite game was,but........What is the greatest team---you gotta count success during regular season and playing great playoff games against great competetion.
I know full well people have "their" favorite seasons and players and this forum will be Cealtic "heavy", but that doesn't make the team beginning to end "great"I believe the nominess suggested are it----but emotional ties to a certain team run deep-----thus my nomination for Knicks 69-70 among others.
I'd like to see a few more choices from "all" teams.

Wow, I just noticed the Globe editors got the 85-86 team wrong as being #17. They were #16. Ryan's #2 all-time Celtics team was #17, you know, the one with the new Big Three, and according to Perk, the Ugly Two.

I only started following hoops around 1977, but I am gonna give it to the 85-86 team. I think they would have beaten any Magic led Laker team. The Sixers were pretty good with Malone, Cheeks, and Dr. J.. I may be out of line, but I think those Jordan Bull teams were overrated. They dominated, but I don't think they had the competition that the Celtics, Lakers, and Pistons had during their previous runs to MJ finally winning it all.