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Lex Nihil Novi - Larry Bird: The Triple Doubles
by bobheckler Tue Mar 31, 2015 8:05 pm
Larry Bird: The Triple Doubles
In the beginning, there was no such thing. You just had a good game with double figures in points, rebounds and assists, which, admittedly, was a mouthful.
Then Laker public relations man Bruce Jolesch came up with the term "triple-double," and a new sports concept was born.
Bird's first such affair came in his 14th NBA game on the evening of Nov. 14, 1979. The opponent: Detroit. The numbers: 23 points, 19 rebounds and 10 assists in 36 minutes. It was the first of 67 career triple-doubles, 58 of which came during the regular season. In addition, Bird would have 62 games in which he would miss a triple-double by either one assist (38 times), one rebound (23 times) or one basket (once).
Triple-doubles meant less than nothing to Bird, and he proved it in 1985 when he spurned an opportunity to rack up a quadruple-double. He was playing in Salt Lake City, and at the end of the third period he had 30 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists and 9 steals. The Celtics were up by 22.
When K.C. Jones was informed that Bird was one away from a unique milestone, he gave Bird a chance to go back in. Bird said no.
"I already did enough damage," he reasoned. "Why go for it, if we're up by 30? If it mattered, I'd have been out there trying to get it, but it wasn't no big deal."
Bird simply didn't care about triple-doubles. "That's just a meaningless stat which gets hyped by the media," he said. "I could get a triple-double every night if I want to, but it doesn't always help the team win."
Even Bird had to be impressed with himself the night of April 1, 1987. That's when he had 17 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in the first half against the Bullets. "He's playing in his own league," gushed Washington coach Kevin Loughery. "Maybe it's a league other guys can't get to."
- Final triple-double: March 15, 1992, vs. Portland (49-14-12)
- Most in one season: 10 (1985-86, '89-90)
- Boston: regular season, 22; playoffs, 5
- Hartford: 2
- Away: regular season, 34; playoffs, 4
bob
.
In the beginning, there was no such thing. You just had a good game with double figures in points, rebounds and assists, which, admittedly, was a mouthful.
Then Laker public relations man Bruce Jolesch came up with the term "triple-double," and a new sports concept was born.
Bird's first such affair came in his 14th NBA game on the evening of Nov. 14, 1979. The opponent: Detroit. The numbers: 23 points, 19 rebounds and 10 assists in 36 minutes. It was the first of 67 career triple-doubles, 58 of which came during the regular season. In addition, Bird would have 62 games in which he would miss a triple-double by either one assist (38 times), one rebound (23 times) or one basket (once).
Triple-doubles meant less than nothing to Bird, and he proved it in 1985 when he spurned an opportunity to rack up a quadruple-double. He was playing in Salt Lake City, and at the end of the third period he had 30 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists and 9 steals. The Celtics were up by 22.
When K.C. Jones was informed that Bird was one away from a unique milestone, he gave Bird a chance to go back in. Bird said no.
"I already did enough damage," he reasoned. "Why go for it, if we're up by 30? If it mattered, I'd have been out there trying to get it, but it wasn't no big deal."
Bird simply didn't care about triple-doubles. "That's just a meaningless stat which gets hyped by the media," he said. "I could get a triple-double every night if I want to, but it doesn't always help the team win."
Even Bird had to be impressed with himself the night of April 1, 1987. That's when he had 17 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in the first half against the Bullets. "He's playing in his own league," gushed Washington coach Kevin Loughery. "Maybe it's a league other guys can't get to."
- Final triple-double: March 15, 1992, vs. Portland (49-14-12)
- Most in one season: 10 (1985-86, '89-90)
- Boston: regular season, 22; playoffs, 5
- Hartford: 2
- Away: regular season, 34; playoffs, 4
bob
.
bobheckler- Posts : 62616
Join date : 2009-10-28
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