Posts Tagged ‘Elvin Hayes’

Dirk’s Beard Grows Longer As Mavs’ Playoffs Chances Fade

March 21, 2013  ·  12:58PM

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DALLAS – Dirk Nowitzki‘s beard grows thicker and more unruly with each passing day. Losses like Wednesday’s at home to the Brooklyn Nets decrease the odds that he’ll reach for a razor any time soon. The pact he and a group of teammates made some six weeks ago was that no one shaves until they reach .500.

The Dallas Mavericks were 21-28 on Feb. 8 when the motivational ploy came to light. Nowitzki had little more than the scruff he typically wears. But look at him now. The Mavs are 32-36, barely hanging on to playoff hope, and Nowitzki’s bearded face is proof, untamed, grizzly and rivaling the one he grew for weeks in the Outback six summers ago after his lone MVP season ended dismally in a first-round flop.

“Only then I didn’t even trim this part,” Nowitzki said, pointing to the lower portion of his bushy moustache creeping over his upper lip. “It came all the way down here.”

After Wednesday’s loss when Nowitzki shot 80 percent from the field, but took only 10 shots and none in the final half of the fourth quarter when Deron Williams – the co-star Dallas failed to obtain last summer — took over, the 34-year-old Nowitzki stroked his prickly-chin and scratched the back of his fur-covered neck where clumps of hair forcibly trail downward like a thicket of overgrown vines.

He said his mom told him he looks 45. Judging by his heavy eyes after the 113-96 disappointment to start a crucial six-game homestand, he might feel that old, too.

Nowitzki missed the first 27 games of the season after having arthroscopic surgery on his right knee on Oct. 19. His recovery was slow and painful, as was his game upon his return. And now, after missing his first All-Star Game in 12 seasons, he is on the verge of sitting out the playoffs for the first time in 13.

His team hasn’t been at .500 since it was 11-11 on Dec. 12. They were 12-16 when he returned two days before Christmas.

He was asked Wednesday why point guards Mike James and Darren Collison can’t seem to get him the ball in key situations, particularly on nights when he isn’t missing. In Dallas’ last two losses, both at home, Nowitzki was 8-for-10 in both, yet was a non-factor late.

“They [defenders] don’t leave me much anymore,” Nowitzki said. “It’s up to other guys to make plays. It’s as simple as that.”

There was zero talk of the future Hall of Famer reaching yet another remarkable milestone. Nowitzki surpassed 9,000 career rebounds, making him the 10th player in NBA history with 24,000 points and 9,000 boards, joining Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Elvin Hayes, Moses Malone, Karl Malone, Shaquille O’Neal, Hakeem Olajuwon, Patrick Ewing and the only other active player, Kevin Garnett.

Nowitzki has scored and shot the ball better lately (18.1 ppg, 50.9 percent from the field, 48.8 percent on 3s), but he’s still set for his worst statistical season since he was a rookie, averaging 16.4 ppg and shooting 45.9 percent.

Mavs owner Mark Cuban doesn’t believe age is catching up to his star. In fact, Cuban said he expects Nowitzki to regain his All-Star status next season, the last on Nowitzki’s current contract, and “at least” a season or two after that. (more…)

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Elvin Hayes: The Big E Took Giant Step

February 25, 2013  ·  11:47AM

Like every other teenage kid who goes away to college, Elvin Hayes brought plenty of baggage. There was the usual variety that fit inside a suitcase and the kind that you carry inside your head and your heart.

“I was scared,” Hayes recalls of his early days on the University of Houston campus back in 1964. “Where I came from, blacks had been taught to hate whites and whites had been taught to hate blacks.”

Hayes had been born and raised in Rayville, tucked into the northeast corner of Louisiana, population of less than 5,000, where the horizon never went much farther than the cotton fields.

Yet here was the long, lean forward with the sweet turnaround jump shot and the voracious appetite for rebounds joining fellow freshman Don Chaney as the first African-American basketball players to suit up for coach Guy V. Lewis’ Cougars and among the first African-American athletes in the South.

Houston today is the fourth-largest city in the United States and a 21st century model of multiculturalism. But nearly a half-century ago, there were barriers that hadn’t been broken.

“I remember as a kid sitting at home watching on TV as the governor of Arkansas stood in the doorway of the school and wouldn’t let that little girl in,” Hayes said. “I remember seeing Medgar Evers being denied at Mississippi. Becoming one of those people who did something significant and symbolic wasn’t anything that ever crossed my mind.”

In fact, Hayes wanted to play his college ball at the University of Wisconsin until Lewis and assistant coach Harvey Pate came by his house for a visit.

“It wasn’t long after they got there that Coach Pate was talking to my mother about coming back another time to go out fishing with her and the deal was done,” Hayes said. “My mother said, ‘I like these people and you’re going to Houston.’ Hey, in those days in the South, your mother made all the rules and you obeyed.”

So Hayes took his brother along for support and joined Chaney, who came from downstate in Baton Rouge, to change the profile and the fate of the UH program. By the time they were done playing and were both chosen in the first round of the 1968 NBA draft, the Cougars were a national power, playing in the NCAA Tournament eight times in a space of nine seasons. The teams of Hayes and Chaney reached the Final Four twice and defeated UCLA and Lew Alcindor in the so-called Game of the Century at the Astrodome on Jan. 20, 1968, the first-ever college game televised nationally.

After being picked No. 1 by the San Diego Rockets in 1968, The Big E played 16 seasons in the NBA, was a 12-time All-Star, the league scoring champion in 1969 and led the Washington Bullets to the NBA title in 1978 and was voted one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History.

“None of it would have been possible without coach Lewis reaching out and making me a part of his plan and his dream,” Hayes said.

It was anything but an easy transition as Hayes and Chaney withstood withering racial slurs in the hallways of the dorms, on trips to play road games and even on their own practice floor. Yet they persevered and prevailed.

“Don had grown up in the big city and he was naturally more of a laid-back guy than I was,” Hayes said. “I’m not saying it wasn’t just as hard on him, but there were times when he’d just say, ‘Let it go, Elvin.’ “

It took a sit-down in Lewis’ office to finally set him straight.

“Coach Lewis looked me in the eye and said, ‘Elvin, I have put my career, my family, everything at risk for you. What have I done to you to deserve your anger?’ It was a conversation that changed my attitude and changed my life.

“Yeah, I think we did make a difference. I think we showed something to people. I know that 50,000 people from Houston jammed into the Astrodome that night and were completely behind us. And I know that during a time when there were racial problems and riots all over the country, we never had any of that in Houston.”

The Big E is 67 now, a father, businessman, rancher, fixture in the Houston area.

“When I finally put down my baggage,” said Hayes, “I found a home.”

 

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NBA TV Plans Slate Of Playoff Gems

August 29, 2011  ·  1:31PM

HANG TIME HEADQUARTERS – What do you get when you take the most extensive library of NBA footage, a room full of creative and inquisitive hoops heads and the simple directive of helping fill the basketball void so many of us have been feeling the past two months?

You get “Playoff Gems on NBA TV,” 10 crucial postseason matchups that will make their NBA TV premiers this week as Hardwood Classics.  Our good friends at NBA TV will air three games a day starting Tuesday and running through Thursday with the 10th and final game airing Friday, Sept. 2. As a bonus they’ll re-air all of the games throughout Labor Day weekend, just in case you miss one the first time.

Here’s a quick rundown of the games, including the date and times (ET) they will air on NBA TV, with a few of our notes to help refresh your memory:

Tuesday, Aug. 30

Bullets vs. Warriors, 1975 Finals: Game 3 — 8 p.m. ET

Any game featuring Rick Barry at his best is worth your time. One of the game’s all-time great scorers, Barry was at his best in this game. He lit up the Bullets for 38 points and Jamaal Wilkes put the defensive clamps, as best any man could, on Elvin Hayes to help the Warriors to what would be an insurmountable 3-0 series lead. The underdog Warriors finished the Bullets off in Game 4 to complete their magical run. There hasn’t been a Finals game played in the Bay Area since this one.

Suns vs. SuperSonics, 1979 Western Conference finals: Game 7 — 10 p.m. ET

The Sonics’ first and only NBA title doesn’t happen without them grinding through this rugged conference final against the rival Suns. Game 7 was played before 37,000-plus fans at The Kingdome. The final and thrilling seconds of this one still gets the juices flowing for Sonics fans who were worried they might not get a chance for a Finals rematch against the Bullets after losing in 1978. Hall of Fame coach Lenny Wilkens and his point guard, Dennis Johnson, did a masterful job of managing the game down the stretch.

Knicks vs. Nets, 1983 Eastern Conference first round: Game 1 — Midnight ET

For those of us with an appreciation for the artist known as Bernard King, this game will be a treat. King turned the Hudson River Rivalry into a rout with a 40-point explosion as the Hubie Brown-coached Knicks dumped the Nets in two games to advance to a conference semifinal date with the Philadelphia 76ers. HT fave Truck Robinson was on this Knicks team as well, as were Rory Sparrow and a young Bill Cartwright (seriously).

Wednesday, Aug. 31

Spurs vs. Nuggets, 1985 Western Conference first round: Game 2 — 8 p.m. ET

With the “Iceman,” George Gervin showing off all of his silky smooth moves, the Spurs and Nuggets played a classic. Gervin outgunned high-scoring Nuggets guard Alex English in a series that marked the end of the “Ice Age” in San Antonio — Gervin was traded to the Chicago Bulls after the season.

Celtics vs. Pistons, 1985 Eastern Conference semifinals: Game 4 — 10 p.m. ET

The heated Celtics-Pistons rivalry that colored much of the mid to late 1980s took its first major postseason turn in this series. Isiah Thomas had Joe Dumars (via the draft) and Rick Mahorn (courtesy of a trade with Washington) on his side for the first time in the 1985 postseason. But it was “The Microwave” Vinnie Johnson that stole the show in Game 4. The Pistons’ surprising showing in this series — which they lost 4-2 — was a statement that they would be a force to be reckoned with in the coming years.

Sixers vs. Bucks, 1986 Eastern Conference semifinals: Game 1 — Midnight ET

With All-World big man Moses Malone sidelined with an injury a young Charles Barkley — that’s right TNT’s very own! — went to work against the Bucks and posted a monster 31-point, 20-rebound night as the Sixers rallied for the comeback win. This was just Barkley’s second season in the league but it served as his breakout year, as he earned second-team All-NBA honors. Malone was traded to the Bullets before the start of the next season and Barkley became the face of the franchise.

Thursday, Sept. 1

Bulls vs. Sixers, 1990 Eastern Conference semifinals: Game 4 — 8 p.m. ET

You didn’t really think this project would be completed without at least one dose of MJ, did you? Michael Jordan was at his versatile best in this game, and did it without Scottie Pippen (who missed the game to attend his father’s funeral). MJ’s 45 points, 11 assists, six rebounds and two steals only tell part of the story. You need to watch the way he dictated the action from end to end to truly appreciate his performance.

Bulls vs. Pistons, 1991 Eastern Conference finals: Game 3 — 10 p.m. ET

In what turned out to be not only the defining game of this series but the turning point in this rivalry, the Bulls were on the verge of erasing three straight years of postseason frustration at the hands of their fierce rivals. MJ went off, scoring 14 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter in what was one of the defining moments of his early career, this was just his seventh season in the league. He added seven rebounds, seven assists, five blocks and two steals in the breakthrough game that set the stage for the Bulls’ series sweep of the Pistons and their first Finals appearance.

Celtics vs. Pacers, 1992 Eastern Conference first round: Game 3 — Midnight ET

In a battle of Reggies (Indy’s Reggie Miller vs. Boston’s Reggie Lewis), Lewis shined brightest with a 32-point effort to lead the Celtics to victory and a series sweep of a Pacers team that gave them fits a year earlier in a five-game, first-round playoff series. Even with aging and wounded stars Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish still grinding, there was no doubt that Lewis was asserting himself as the heir apparent in Boston. He, and not Bird or McHale, led the Celtics in scoring that season. In 10 playoff games that year, Lewis averaged 28 points on 53 percent shooting from the floor.

Friday, Sept. 2

Suns vs. Rockets, 1994 Western Conference semifinals: Game 7 — 10 p.m. ET

Hakeem Olajuwon was at the height of his powers in this one, destroying the Suns with 37 points and 17 rebounds as the Rockets eventually moved onto the NBA Finals and the first of their back-to-back titles. If you need a refresher course to remind you just how dominant Olajuwon was that season, here is your cheat sheet. If first-person testimonials are needed, just check with Clyde Drexler, Barkley, Karl Malone and Patrick Ewing. All of those superstars saw  their title dreams end that season because of Dream and the Rockets.

Do yourself a favor and tune in this week. You’ll be glad you did!

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Can Thunder, Grizzlies top that?

May 11, 2011  ·  10:20AM

OKLAHOMA CITY – Every player in the Thunder locker room is weary.

The Lakers and Spurs are out.

Every last man on the Grizzlies roster is exhausted.

The Magic and Knicks are gone.

Go ahead. Try to tell us what’s going to happen next.

Conventional wisdom, not to mention statistics provided by Elias Sports Bureau, says Oklahoma City is now in control. In series tied at 2-2, the team that won Game 4 prevailed 73.9 percent of the time in the past.

But what does that past have to do with the Thunder blowing a 16-point lead in the third quarter of Game 3 and losing to the Grizzlies in overtime? What does the past have to do with the Grizzlies blowing an 18-point lead in the first half and coming back from being 10 points down with five minutes left in regulation of Game 4? What does the past have anything to do with all of the insanity that happened through three mind-bending overtimes?

“I’ve kind of always felt like momentum isn’t a real thing. It’s not a tangible thing,” Thunder forward Nick Collison said. “I think the way this series has gone, you just have to come out and play each game.

“We’ve played great and we’ve played terrible in this series at different times. So we know that we’re capable of winning and we’re capable of dropping a game. Our mindset is we have to be ready to play in Game 5. I’m sure theirs is the same way. The stuff that happened in the past isn’t going to matter.”

If this is a so-called chess match, then the grand masters on the benches are out of moves. Lionel Hollins went small with his Grizzlies. Scott Brooks went small with his Thunder. Hollins went big. Brooks went big. In Game 4, they went until just short of 1 a.m. in what practically became an all-night pick-up game.

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Love Keeps It Streakly Business

March 10, 2011  ·  2:31PM

HANG TIME HEADQUARTERS – Some of these “so-called” basketball purists have been scolding us all season here at the hideout for celebrating Kevin Love‘s double-double work, arguing that it doesn’t mean as much since he’s doing it on a losing team.

We can agree to disagree with these self-proclaimed protectors of the game on this one and rest in the fact that anything that hasn’t happened in three decades that doesn’t involve a comet or some sort of natural disaster deserves every right to be celebrated.

Love’s 52nd double-double — he got his 16 points and 21 rebounds last night without setting foot on the court in the fourth quarter against the Pacers — not only gave him the longest such streak since Moses Malone‘s 51 game stretch over two seasons (1978-80), but the Timberwolves also picked up a rare win.

This idea that Love is chasing a record and not wins is beyond preposterous. If you’ve spent five seconds listening to what he has to say, you’d know that Love would trade all of the numbers and attention he’s received for his work this season for a winning situation. He’s won big his entire basketball career until now, so that DNA doesn’t change.

The drive, focus and energy it took for Malone to score all those points and grab all those rebounds in his day is the same it takes for Love to do it now. And that drive, focus and effort is required whether you are winning or losing, as Love has surely found out the hard way this season while chasing wins more than anything else.

In fact, it’s clear that Love has learned a little something from the many that came before him. And at least one of them seems genuinely impressed with Love’s body of work this season.

“When I played, I wasn’t thinking about setting records, I just wanted to win,” Malone said. “But I am really happy for Kevin, he’s doing a great job…playing hard, getting rebounds, scoring…doing what a big guy should do. I think it’s great the kind of numbers he is putting up, and I wish the young man the best of luck.”

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Kobe’s Moving On Up

January 5, 2011  ·  2:50PM

HANG TIME HEADQUARTERS – Lost in this parade of bizarre Lakers news of the past few days is the fact that Kobe Bryant is doing his “George and Weezy” on the NBA’s all-time scoring chart.

Kobe’s moving on up by the day. He passed Dominique Wilkins for the 10th spot in Tuesday night’s win over the Pistons, finishing his night with 26,761 points. Oscar Robertson is next on Bryant’s hit list. Kobe’s 39 points back heading into tonight’s game against the Suns (10:30 p.m. ET on ESPN).

The milestone itself is impressive enough. But I loved the way Bryant showed to love for ‘Nique after passing him up, via the Los Angeles Times:

It was fitting that he passed Wilkins on a layin, though, and not a dunk. Wilkins, after all, was an impressive and frightening dunker in his day, rattling rims all over the NBA en route to his 26,668 career points.

Bryant, more often than not, goes for the easy layup.

“His dunks. That’s what it was all about with him,” Bryant said of Wilkins, a player he said he admired as a young player. “His jumping ability and the way he powered through players. That, to me, was spectacular.”

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