Shot at history eludes IT
Scoring leaders not in C’s DNA
The premise for The Ultimate Celtics Trivia Question looks as if it will survive another season.
With their emphasis on the team-wide aspects of the game, no C’s player ever has led the NBA in scoring. And even if Isaiah Thomas turns hotter and hungrier in the last 11 games, it would seem Russell Westbrook is uncatchable at 31.4 points per game.
By averaging 24.0 during his past five games, Thomas has slipped to third at 29.1, three-tenths of a point behind James Harden. Larry Bird’s franchise mark of 29.9 for a season now appears to be safe.
And . . . oh yeah, the trivia question. So while no Celts player has been the league’s scoring champion, six who have played for the Green have won it elsewhere. Take some time to ponder that one. We’ll provide the answer below, with a couple of hints along the way.
“I didn’t know that,” Thomas said of the opportunity, however distant because of the season’s late hour, to make franchise history. “That’s interesting.
“I didn’t know that until you just said it, but that would be nice. I would love to win the scoring title, but it’s bigger than that right now. If it happens, it happens. If it doesn’t, I’m fine.”
If it doesn’t , the Celtics might be even finer. The club’s quest for another significant scorer to support or even surpass Thomas — a role Kevin Durant might have filled rather nicely, eh? — has numerical backing.
Just 11 times in the entire history of the NBA has its leading scorer come from that season’s champion. The last time was in 2000, when Shaquille O’Neal went for 29.7 and the Lakers got by the Pacers in a sixgame Finals. Just four other players have managed that double: Michael Jordan did it six times, George Mikan did it twice, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (in his last season as Lew Alcindor) and Joe Fulks once each.
The point about the points is that never have the Celtics been so reliant on one player for scoring leadership — even with Larry’s 29.9 in 1987-88. That year, Kevin McHale was relatively close behind at 22.6. This season, Avery Bradley is closest to Thomas at 16.9.
Even more illustrative is that Isaiah has led the Celts in scoring in his past 33 games. That’s easily a franchise record — eclipsing Thomas’ own streaks of 17 and 14 last season, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
The longest run of a non-Thomas atop the Celtics’ consecutive game scoring lead is a tie between John Havlicek (March 1972 to October of the next season) and Bird (March to April 1988), and they’re way back at 13 straight.
Having been involved with the Celts as player, coach and broadcaster since 1956, Tommy Heinsohn has perhaps the best perspective on the matter. And while he revels in the days when they would spread the offense around in a more concerted attack, he doesn’t expect the current club to play away from its strength.
“I mean, I’m not against it,” Heinsohn said. “Isaiah’s scoring is keeping them in the ballgame; what’s winning the ballgame is the defense. This is one of the best defensive teams the Celtics have ever had without Bill Russell. These guys go out there and hawk people. They take people right out of the game. That’s how they’re winning. They have to have punch to play off of, you know, guys that can score so the defense can be meaningful, and that’s where Isaiah comes in. He’s an unstoppable offensive player. He’s terrific.
“He’s a very smart player. He doesn’t start out looking for it on every possession. He plays basketball. He gives his teammates chances to loosen up and get their game going, and when they need points, he steps up. Invariably, it kind of starts with him playing against second line players for a while. The other team’s bench is in there, and they put him in a couple of minutes so he gets going.”
And though Tommy no doubt enjoys bearing witness to Thomas’ feats, he believes there is meaning in no Bostonian ever leading the league in scoring.
“That wasn’t what the Celtics were all about,” Heinsohn said. “The Celtics, because of (Bob) Cousy and Russell, who were selfless players, were different. They were the two most valuable players on the team. One led the team on offense and the other on defense.
“They could score, and they did, but we won because we were a team. On any given night, if you stopped one guy, somebody else would pick up the slack. Our team knew how to work the matchups and who was having a good game and all that stuff. There were different top scorers almost from game to game.”
That continued when he was coaching.
In fact, when the Celts won the 1976 championship, they had no one in the top 20. While Bob McAdoo was throwing in 31.1 for Buffalo, which lost to the C’s in the second round, Dave Cowens led with 19.0, just ahead of Jo Jo White at 18.9.
And when last the Celtics raised a banner, the NBA’s top 20 scoring list was again devoid of locals. While Al Jefferson, the key piece that swung the Kevin Garnett deal to the C’s, was at No. 20 with 21 ppg for the Timberwolves, Paul Pierce, Garnett and Ray Allen were bunched outside the group at 19.6, 18.8 and 17.4, respectively.
And none of the three ever topped the league’s scoring chart. But two of those mentioned earlier (Shaq, McAdoo) did before they were Celtics. The others are Tiny Archibald, Dave Bing, Pete Maravich and Dominique Wilkins.
Let the bar bets begin.