Lex Nihil Novi - Siegy Leads Celtics Over Sonics

November 23, 1969





bob



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bob

Quite a parade to the foul line. A whopping 92 FTA.
swish

A familiar pattern during the last couple of years of the Tyranny.  Lose the first quarter and win the last three quarters.  A great testimony to the guile, work ethic, endurance, confidence and remarkable intensity of those older Celtics teams.

Ziggy was an extremely valuable two-way combo guard for seven seasons (and five championships) as a Celtic.  Sam Jones missed this game, so Ziggy naturally filled the scoring gap.  As much as any Celtic player of the time, he was a model of doing whatever had to be done to win.

And, in a foul-filled battle, fuggedabout it.  Ziggy was an 85%+ free throw shooter.  He also had a lights-out mid-range jumper that was even more lights-out in the clutch.  And he wasn't reluctant to take on anyone, including Oscar and Jerry West, on defense. 

He joined the Celtics in 1963-64 to shore up the Celtics' backcourt that had lost Cousy to retirement the previous season.  He only played 31 games that first year with the team.  But take a look at his team rankings "per minute" for his remaining six years with the Celtics:

'64-'65 #6 in points, #2 in assists, #4 in free throw shooting (Championship)
'65-'66 #3 in points, #4 in assists, #1 in free throw shooting (Championship)
'66-'67 #4 in points, #3 in assists, #2 in free throw shooting
(Became a starter in '67-'68 after K.C. Jones had retired the previous season.)
'67-'68 #5 in points, #1 in assists, #1 in free throw shooting (Championship)
'68-'69 #4 in points, #1 in assists, #1 in free throw shooting ("Balloon" Championship)
'69-'70 #6 in points, #1 in assists, #2 in free throw shooting

There's absolutely no question about the most egregious omission of a Celtic number from the banners.  Larry Siegfried should be up there along with other complementary players such as Tom Sanders, Don Nelson, Frank Ramsey, Jim Loscutoff, and Dennis Johnson; and it should have happened before Ziggy passed away on October 14, 2010.

There's only one circumstance I know of in which he wasn't the ultimate winner.  And that was when Ziggy dated Beth Havlicek before John did.

Sam

P.S. My vote for the second most egregious omission from the rafters would be Danny Ainge.

Sam

Sam Jones missed it cause he retired.

It's a November 1969 game.

beat

Beat,

Oops!  So I can't get out of it by saying I knew it all the time and I was really commenting on how well Ziggy filled in for Sam after Sam left?  Rats, I didn't think I could.

Good catch.  I was just testing you.  (Can't get away with that one either, huh?)

Sam

Quite a foul line parade indeed. Those were the days when a non-shooting foul before the penalty was awarded a single shot.

Remember teams having a designated fouler who'd come in toward the end of quarters if his team wasn't in the penalty?

Better to give up a point for the chance to score two.

Sloopjohnb wrote:Quite a foul line parade indeed.  Those were the days when a non-shooting foul before the penalty was awarded a single shot.

Remember teams having a designated fouler who'd come in toward the end of quarters if his team wasn't in the penalty?

Better to give up a point for the chance to score two.

And remember the old 3 to make 2 if fouled in the act of shooting.

beat

Sloopjohnb,beat

Free thow attempts took a big drop in 1972 when a rule change resulted in a fta being taken only after the 5th foul was committed.
In 1960-61 the average fta in a game was 74.8. In 2012-13 it was down to 44.2. Huge difference.

swish

beat
I forgot about the 3 for 2 and the 2 for 1. They were both eliminated in 1981 82.

swish

I remember the 3 to make 2 rule.

It helped the C's come back from 3-1 to beat Philly in 1981 when Bird, of all people, missed the second shot in the crucial game five.

That was one thrilling series.  If I recall right, the C's won the last three games by a combined five points.

I do recall that missing all three was known as "the hat trick." I think that is one record Wilt didn't brag about too much.

It's kinda ironic that the single foul shot, the 3 for 2 and the 2 for 1 were eliminated in large part to speed up the game but games now are longer than ever thanks to TV timeouts.

Money talks and it's persuasive.

Siggy was one of my favorites. Although one never hears about it, Siggy holds the unofficial Celtics record for floor burns. If there was a loose ball anywhere on the floor, Siggy considered it his. Not a bad reputation to have. According to Russell, he complained a lot, and that's why his number was never retired. It's an oversight and an injustice.

I've heard that when Siggy went unprotected in the 1970 expansion draft and was taken by an expansion team (Portland? Clvd? Buffalo?) he said, "I guess we'll never see my number up in the rafters."

He Spike, nice to hear from you.  How are you doing?  For posters newer to the forum, Spike is a great writer who has researched and penned many, many historical perspectives on the Celtics that he has shared with us on this forum.

Sam

Hi Sam

It's good to be back, even tho I'm writing this on a public library computer in Cape Canaveral. Just ended an Aussie-style walkabout for the past year or so. Started in Venice, FL on the Gulf Coast and headed east. Spent quite a bit of time in Myakka River State Park where they have 'primitive' camp sites, then on to farm country, lake country, skipped past Orlando, to Ocala Nat'l Forest, St John's River and those parts, ending up finally at Cape Canaveral Nat'l Seashore. Backpacking through the wildlands of Florida and who knew FL had so much undiscovered country. Gators and panthers and bears, oh my. Now I'm on the Atlantic coast in the land of sea, space and sand, and I think I'm going to stay.

Too bad I missed this lost season of Celtics futility but them's the breaks. I'm very enthused about next season, though, especially if they can get Isaiah Austin. He's 7'1". he can jump as high as an elephant's mahout, he's the best shotblocker to come along in a long time, and he inspires his teammates to play harder. He reminds me of --- no, I'm not going to say who. But if I can see it, Danny can too.

Rick,

Wow, you've covered a lot of territory—literally.  You must be in top shape!

If you're still in Florida next year, maybe you could join what has become an annual get-together of several fans such as Pete, Worcester, myself and significant others.  We're hoping TJMakz will join us next year too.

Welcome back to the forum.  Stay clear of sharks on that East Coast.

Sam