Finally get to see prime Rudy-T, hot-shooting Calvin Murphy and young Moses Malone (notice he wears 21 rather than the familiar 24) go at it against the Washington Bullets in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Rudy Tomjanovich makes a tough turnaround fadeaway near where the 3-point arc would be to essentially seal the fate of the Bullets and go to their first Conference Finals. I'd love to see how the Summit looked like back then, but there doesn't seem to be footage of that no more I guess. [youtube]WuJMap-lwkA[/youtube]
This was Rudy and Calvin at their peak. This was the best season of the Rudy/Calvin era. Lucas and Malone were both new to the team. The next season was when Rudy got punched and the team really struggled and the Moses Malone era began.
Moses became the #1 option when Rudy went down and he remained the go to guy for the rest of his years as a rocket. The free agent signing when we lost John Lucas to the Warriors kept this time from winning a title. Lucas probably would have coked out but an addict in Oakland was not a good thing back then.
Thanks OP! Thats a nice find, it makes you appreciate how good we have it now with high-definition! Love the Daisy Dukes!:grin: ............. ............. .............
Lucas was a rookie at the time, and was picked first overall. JL was cool but imagine having Dennis Johnson running the point. That backcourt with DJ and Murphy would be unstoppable!
Was this the year that Lucas was called for charging in the Eastern Conference finals? I can still hear the radio guy saying..."His feet were moving, he was not set"........ DD
@DaDakota Should've been, that was the only time we made the East Finals. Not only that, it happened at the Summit and I hear the crowd went ballistic. I don't know from experience but I definitely heard it was controversial. @Pieman2005 Seriously? It's one of the most widely known facts about the Rockets, they and the Spurs were both in the East until the Mavericks (unfortunately) came along! Lol They actually played the Celtics in the East Semis the year before they met them in the finals.
19-20 minute mark, they go to Celtics & Sixers coverage...notice the player getting mugged...no reaction. That was the old normal. Interesting rules: No 3 pt. line. When you get fouled in the backcourt, you get 3 chances to make 2. I also have to say it is evident that new generations of players learn from the past. It is not only bigger, faster, & stronger, but you can't tell me the skill level in the backcourt was better back then. Maybe one could argue the IQ was better--when to shoot, when to pass, court vision.... The big men though would still be effective in this generation.
(Honestly I thought the Sixers-Celtics game snippets was more watchable and "modern". Rockets game got more watchable in 4th quarter ) Few obvious differences, lots of subtle differences in the game then to now - No 3 point shot is a very different feel and look. It made the midrange game matter. There was no advanced stat charts needing to measure the "inefficient spots on the court". It makes sense to have a Daryl Morey now to get an edge. Back then he'da been a complete goober. (But then there would not even be the equipment then, no iPads to try to lure Bob McAdoo in free agency) - Along with the usual offensive sets & pick-in-rolls, it was whatever available shot was there you take it, and if you're talented enough to make it. And don't be too stupid chucking and shooting out TOO far. (Can see how Calvin Murphy would always talk about midrange game. Thats his era of ball) - The defense was NOT THAT fierce then. Its very much like the Rockets defense now, up and down pace with looser d. But then they still allowed more physicality and outbursts of anger and aggression, if that makes sense. You might not be smothering your opponent every trip. But if you mug someone it might pass. And you get pissed at the ref slam the ball on the ground several times in disgust then yell and fling the ball at the ref (like Mike Newlin did in the vid), NO CALL, no tech or anything.
Yeah I think backcourt players now would run the backcourt players then. Really, without considering eras - Is John Lucas then THAT much better than even his own son now who's a bench player? Backcourt skills got better REALLY quick in the 80s after Magic Johnson came along. Big men are just that then and now, big tall bodies. Now you get slightly bigger versions of that, with the Andrew Bynum types. It does makes sense how the "Moreyball" approach is to find skills within the size and height even if its undersized, instead of just big stiffs.
While I agree with a lot of your post, I just wanted to add some comments. When they introduced the 3 pointer to the NBA, I was very upset. My reaction to it was, why mess with a beautiful game? Why introduce a huge change that will deeply alter the game we love? My reaction was akin to the introduction of the DH to baseball... I hated it, and still do. Interestingly enough, I got used to the trey. Go figure! Still think the midrange shot is highly underrated, regardless of what the stat jockies say. How much do we miss that money midrange jumper of Scola and the now departed Patterson? A hell of a lot, if you ask me. I agree with Murph about that aspect of the game not being seen enough today. Defense back then? Sure, team defense wasn't near what it is today, but there were some great individual defenders amongst the scoring rampage, and even some of the big time scorers could step up on D if they needed to, like the mentioned Calvin Murphy, underrated as a defender, especially considering how short he was compared to everyone else. Murph was a really tough guy that you didn't want to mess with. Walt Frazier, Dennis Johnson, Norm Van Lier, John Havlicek, Jerry West, and Jerry Sloan were excellent perimeter defenders during or toward the end of the '70's, for example. The comment you made about how more physical it was then, and what was allowed is certainly true. Hell, anyone who watched the game back then knows that, and I miss it. Today? They call the most absurd fouls, suspend a player for blowing his nose on court, damn near. It's crazy. Gotta say, though, that I'm seeing the whistle swallowed more this season than I can remember seeing in a long time. Nothing consistent about it, half the time, but I like the trend.
