“You’ll be coming to visit us all in Bellevue if this stuff continues.”

by Tommy Dee on March 18th, 2010 at 11:54 am

Via SI Archives:

“…Last week the Knickerbockers were picking up the act, parlaying their potential for unmatched torrents of offense and junior high school defense into the latest hot property for a Mel Brooks comedy. They opened the week with an 18-point home win over Houston, lost by 17 to the same team in Texas the next night, followed that with a 120-116 loss at San Antonio and then returned to the supposedly friendly confines of Madison Square Garden on Saturday to put on a show of total ineptitude, losing 115-108 to the baby Milwaukee Bucks. By the end of the week the Knicks were 11-11, feuding and fussing, and their new coach, the 35-year-old former Knick superhero Willis Reed, was totally frustrated. As to where the Knicks were headed, Forward Spencer Haywood said, “You’ll be coming to visit us all in Bellevue if this stuff continues.”

That “this stuff” probably will continue should not be surprising to anyone who has followed the Knicks through the past two seasons of discontent. The team really has been preparing for its current dismal act ever since the end of the 1974 season, when Reed, Dave DeBusschere and Jerry Lucas retired, leaving New York titillated by two NBA championships in four years and hungry for more.

No one is hungrier than Gulf & Western Industries, Inc., which owns the Knicks and Madison Square Garden and wants every one of the 19,694 seats filled on every one of the season’s 41 home dates and again in the playoffs. Especially the playoffs, which make the difference between a profitable year and a fabulous one. And when Gulf & Western wants something, G & W buys it. G & W means No Nonsense (which happens to be a brand of panty hose G & W owns) and you can roll that up, NBA, and smoke it (G & W also owns the Consolidated Cigar Corp., Paramount Pictures Corp. and several zillion dollars worth of other properties).

So what did G & W do for the Knicks? Easy. Made ‘em what they are today, which is a team thrown together put of panic, without regard for the basketball verities.

Consider the Knicks‘ offensive potential. It is downright awesome. No other team has five starters whose best-season records can match the aggregate of the Knicks. Earl Monroe, the herky-jerky, ever-so-classy guard, averaged 25.8 when he starred for Baltimore in 1968-69. Bob McAdoo, three times the NBA scoring leader in his five previous seasons, hit a high of 34.5 in 1974-75 with Buffalo. Haywood, once Seattle‘s only star, was an All-Star scoring 29.2 in 1972-73. Lonnie Shelton, the blazing-quick second-year man, is currently scoring 14.0, and even Jim Cleamons, the gritty playmaker and defensive guard, averaged 12.2 in 1975-76 with Cleveland. Throw in reserves Jim McMillian (18.9), Butch Beard (15.4) and Phil Jackson (11.1) and an extraordinary trio of rookies—Guard Ray Williams and Forwards Glen Gondrezick and Toby Knight—and you have the kind of team that looked so promising when it swamped Washington the second night of the season 141-115.

But, alas, today’s Knick team is a two-headed monster. On one hand, you have Haywood and McAdoo, two players who through all of their pro lives have had to do little more than shoot and block shots, and who more truly represent G & W’s desperate desire to keep the Garden’s seats filled than any sort of patient and intelligent formula for developing a championship team. After watching these two try to play together last season, it did not take long for Red Holzman, one of the game’s great coaches, to decide to take up his pipe and slippers and retire to his wife’s cooking…more.“

Really great piece talking about a period of Knicks lure that no one ever talks about.
  • http://tharealestproductionz.blogspot.com/ DaGawD_KnowLedge
  • HaS

    That article should be posted. I’m sure Tommy will when he gets around to it though.

  • HaS

    The barber I go to now used to cut Willis Reed’s hair. He says he was a cool guy and whenever he comes up he has to mention how he would always ask Reed if he could take his car for a ride, convertible I believe. He also says The Captain would give him tickets to the games all the time, but he would never go because he was too busy chasing women and refer lol. Crazy.

  • onemoretime

    Last night during the game there was a sequence where the Knicks turned tha ball over and didn’t get back on defense and Boston scored an easy layup. D’Antoni was livid, screaming something at the team. I assumed it had something to do with their pathetic defensive effort. I should’ve known better. Announcer Mike Breen says Coach was livid because his team wasn’t moving the ball like he wanted them to. He was totally oblivious to what just happened on the other end of the floor. This guy worries me big time moving forward with this team.

  • bockersORbriefs

    great to reminise about those days … the only problem I ever had with Willis was him trading Clyde to Cleveland … that was both blasphamy AND a bad bad basketball move. Clyde for Jim Cleamons, please … Fortunately Clyde always maintained his class about it throughout the years & even at the time of the trade … I never once heard him blast Reed for the dirty deed.

  • J_Starks3

    Actually I think I know what you are talking about but he was mad at the refs because they were being inconsistent.

    This coach doesn’t care about defense.

  • Mucha

    Hahaha…

  • J_Starks3

    Actually Clyde speaks very highly of Reed now.

    I didn’t know that Willis was the guy who traded him away.

    That speaks volumes of Clyde’s character.

    Classy!!!!

  • fuhry

    Fun read. This is the era which is pretty much my earliest memory of the Knicks. I remember my dad talking about how Haywood and McAdoo couldn’t play together. It seems Reed was really an awful coach.

  • HaS

    Clyde is too smooth to hold a grudge.

  • J_Starks3

    Tru Dat!!!!

  • HaS

    I swimmin’ in my Daddy’s big ol’ nuts…

    -Ice Cube

    Nah I was crawling around on the floor playing in front of the TV during that era, unfortunately. I missed both the championship runs. FML as a Knicks fan.

  • HaS

    edit:

    “I was swimmin’…”

  • http://tharealestproductionz.blogspot.com/ DaGawD_KnowLedge

    oblivious is an understatement when it comes to danni boy.

  • fredweis

    Before my time, but a great read. Thanks for the post Tommy.