Brown’s acquisition of the NBA‘s most-celebrated franchise was viewed from the start as a damnable irony. His meddlesome ways were strange to Chaney, who spent nine of his 11 pro seasons in the Celtic backcourt, and even stranger to Red Auerbach.
Author Archives: bobkuska
Bill Sharman Sends Warriors on Warpath, 1967
Sharman, a sharp observer as a well as one of the finest shooters in the history of basketball, knew all about Auerbach’s methods and had a number of ideas of his own.
Bill Sharman’s Longest Season, 1975
Sharman has had a full, rich life, spiced by stardom in two sports, by team championships and individual honors. But it has not been a perfect life, an idyllic life.
Minneapolis Lakers Repeat in College All-Star Game, 1949
If the Lakers aren’t the best team in all professional basketball history, they’ll do until somebody revives the Original Celtics, the pre-war Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons, or gives the Harlem Globetrotters enough experienced height to cope with the Ben Berger-Max Winter wizards.
As Right as Clifford Ray, 1975
And through it all, Ray seeks one thing—respect—from his coach, from his teammates. And surely, from himself. “If you’re your own worst critic,” he feels, “you’ll always be all right.”
Slick Watts: The People’s Choice, 1977
Fast is what Watts is all about. Few players can change the tempo of a game the way he can.
Ron King: A Simple Twist of Fate, 1972
“If that hadn’t happened, it would have been all different,” he said. “I know I could play. When I was that age, I don’t think there were five players in the country who could shoot better than me from 20 feet on out. I could flat shoot the ball.”
Ron Lee: King of the Floor Burn, 1978
“I have to play the way I’ve been playing all my life. If I get hurt, at least I’ll know it was because I was trying.”
Connie Hawkins: The Hawk Ages Gracefully, 1991
At 48, The Hawk can still fly, but he prefers to lay low and stay close to his nest in the Pittsburgh suburbs.
Paul Westphal: Mr. 44 in Phoenix, 1976
This is his fourth year in the league, but the first in which he’s started. At Boston, he played behind such standouts as Jo Jo White and Don Chaney.
From Way Downtown 