Portland Trail Blazers – Page 3

The Cautionary Tale of Billy Ray Bates, 1982

People wanted to be seen with him. Billy Ray Bates was invited to parties, chased by women, clutched by hangers-on.

LaRue Martin: One for the Record Books, 1984

LaRue Martin doesn’t exactly consider it trivia. “I’m proud to have been the No. 1 draft choice, and it’s something they can’t take away from me,”

Lenny Wilkens: Supersonic Miracle, 1979

The praise Lenny received in the past and the praise he is hearing again today are not hollow. Especially now that the words are not confined to a few hundred miles of the Puget Sound, we must begin to know that Durocher was wrong: good guys can finish first.

Jabbar, Jerry West, and the New Look Lakers, 1978

“Jerry West is one clever dude,” Abdul-Jabbar said. “He was responsible for making us a unified group. And that was the big difference in this team.”

NBA Game of the Week: A Television First for Women with Microphones, 1974

The executives at CBS Sports regrouped and sent Jane Chastain to Portland today for the NBA Game of the Week.

Jim Ard: In a Pressure Cooker, 1974

For the time being, Ard is putting all the ifs and buts out of his mind. His wife, daughter, and now nine-month-old son are arriving tomorrow, and, when the furniture gets here, they’ll move into an apartment he’s rented in Peabody.

Sidney Wicks: Simply Awesome, 1974

Offcourt, the 6-foot-9 former UCLA All-American is as loose and easy as he suggests. But once involved in a game, his disposition changes, and he acts mean and hungry.

Sidney Wicks: Getting Under Rick Barry’s Skin, 1974

When Wicks’ love-taps continued and grew in intensity, Barry blew up and blasted the refs. Apparently, he didn’t phrase his complaint in delicate language, because the refs offered Rick a comfortable seat on the bench for the rest of the night.

Stan McKenzie Makes Case for NBA Defense, 1970

McKenzie: “It makes me mad to hear some fans complain that we don’t play defense in pro basketball. That’s a lot of bull. If we didn’t play defense, teams would be scoring 200 points a game.”

Flashback 1966-67: When Philadelphia Did Win the NBA Championship, 1977

But match us up against the team now, and we’d win, no doubt about it. They’d have nobody to compete against Wilt. Chet or Billy would chase Doc, and Doc would have to come to the hoop, where Wilt would be waiting.