Laker documentary with a Celtic slant

Here's an article on a documentary about the 1971-72 Laker championship season.

http://www.latimes.com/sports/lakers/la-sp-lakers-dwyre-20141108-column.html

The article is about the premiere of the documentary. Besides the obvious Celtic connection of Bill Sharman being the head coach and K. C. Jones being an assistant, Bill Russell is in the documentary, was at the premiere ("because of Bill," he said), and is the most-quoted person in the article.

I love that stuff about Sharman asking for a film projector but Jack Kent Cook saying no because it cost too much.

Some credit Sharman as being the first modern coach.  I guess it depends on what you mean by "modern."  No doubt he was one of the first to study game film and the first anyone heard of to have  game day shoot-arounds.

I heard that he got Wilt to show up for the morning shoot arounds by making it seem like it was Wilt's idea.  Sharman knew that Wilt loved to get credit for successful innovations. Hell, Wilt probably actually believed that it was his idea. So it had to be brilliant.

Jerry West wrote a book in 1970 called "Mr. Clutch."  In it he said that he would love to have a chance to be coached by Bill Sharman (this was a couple years before Sharman coached the Lakers).  Sharman got West's attention when he coached the Warriors a couple of years and there was no way that that team should have been as good as Sharman made it.

Did a little research on minute distribution for that 1971-72 club. Traditionally most teams are 7 0r 8 players deep. That's the players with 1100 0r more minutes for the season. However this 1971-72 club was a virtual 5 man wrecking crew. Only 5 players accumulated 1100 or more minutes. Wilt 3469,  McMillan 3050,  Goodrich 3040,  West 2973 and Hairston 2748. Wilt led with 42.3 minutes per game while Hairston was low man with 34.4 per game

swish

The only bench guys on that team I can recall were Flynn Robinson, a great pure shooter who did nothing else--kind of like the Steve Novack of his era, and a guy named Pat Riley, a heavy legged guard who never lived up to the promise he showed as one of Adolph Rupp's Kentucky Wild Cats.

And oh yes, Keith Erickson, who looked more like a Malibu surfer dude than an NBA player.

Sloopjohnb


1971-72 roster link below


http://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/psl_finder.cgi?request=1&match=single&type=per_game&per_minute_base=36&per_poss_base=100&lg_id=NBA&is_playoffs=N&year_min=1972&year_max=1972&franch_id=LAL&season_start=1&season_end=-1&age_min=0&age_max=99&height_min=0&height_max=99&shoot_hand=&birth_country_is=Y&birth_country=&is_active=&is_hof=&is_as=&as_comp=gt&as_val=&pos_is_g=Y&pos_is_gf=Y&pos_is_f=Y&pos_is_fg=Y&pos_is_fc=Y&pos_is_c=Y&pos_is_cf=Y&qual=&c1stat=pts_per_g&c1comp=gt&c1val=&c2stat=&c2comp=gt&c2val=&c3stat=&c3comp=gt&c3val=&c4stat=&c4comp=gt&c4val=&c5stat=&c5comp=gt&c6mult=1.0&c6stat=&order_by=mp

swish

Thanks Swish. I was surprised to see Leroy Ellis as Chamberlain's backup. That guy had something like a 15 year career, the ultimate NBA journeymen player.

It does seem appropriate that a former Celtic was the guiding force behind the franchise's first six championships in LA. And, since he taught Jerry West how to be a GM, his influence went even further.

Sharman was an exercise fanatic, used to work out right there in the crowded Celtics locker room, loosening up before games. He was also known for having a cup of tea before games.

He was the best free throw shooter on the team, possibly in the league, better than Cousy, but, incredibly enough, not better than Red. It's hard to even imagine the free throw contests they used to have, hitting fifty or a hundred in a row!

Spike, your mention of free throws reminds me of something that's been on my mind.  In the old days (and I'm talking about our own games, not just NBA games), players who were taking two foul shots hardly moved from the line between shots.  I assume it helped them in their free throw accuracy the same way it helped me.  Especially when you missed the first one.  If you stayed at the line, it was easier to make a slight adjustment and sink the second one than as if you moved off the line between shots.  I bet there was at least a 10% difference in second free throw accuracy in those days; at least that was true with me.

Nowadays, they move around, slap hands, and do everything except a jig between free throws.  While the second free throws today do seem to be a little more accurate than the first freebies, I don't believe the improvement is as great as when they stayed on the line.

I'd be willing to wager that, in practice, today's players get anchored at the line and sink freebie after freebie while being fed the ball so they don't have to move an inch.  Then they wonder why they don't shoot as well in the games.

Just a theory.  But I'm curious about whether others have had the same thoughts.

Sam

Sam, I think it depends on the player.  Larry Bird always stepped off the line after a free throw whether he made it or missed it.

I've even heard him say, I think in an instructional video he made with Red, that he felt staying at the line after shooting just increased the pressure he felt.

Whatever works.

Sloop,

I never heard that story.  But it seems that at least half the things I hear about Larry are anomalies.  He was just plain different—and I mean that in a good way.  I don't believe he felt much pressure whether or not he stayed at the line.  In fact, one could argue that his repeatedly positive responses to pressure situations suggested that he thrived on pressure.

Sam

Sam,

I was really surprised that Bird used the word "pressure" when he explained why he stepped away from the free throw line after every shot. But that's what he said on the instructional video he made with Red. I think it was Bob who posted a link to that entire video.

Free throw rituals can be interesting. Adrian Dantley, who lived at the line, always took a long time to shoot. He'd rotate the ball in his hands repeatedly before shooting.

Don Nelson, an excellent shooter from the field, shot free throws with a shot putting motion after rubbing his hair repeatedly. Joquim Noha must have the ugliest free throw I've ever seen. It's like a one and a half hand push with a freaky sideways rotation. You just know that no coach ever taught him to shoot FT's like that. The late Hank Gathers shot FT's with his left hand even though he was a right hander. Henry Bibby stood off on one side. Hal Greer used a jump shot.

But if you can hit a good percentage then just keep doing whatever makes you comfortable.

Bird had some odd rituals besides his FT's. He's the only guy I've seen who rubbed the soles of his sneakers with his hands repeatedly during dead balls.