In last week's Challenge it was Celtic great Jo Jo White taking down Bruins sniper Nifty Middleton with 60% of the vote and moving up from #64 to #56 on the RBSF Ladder. This week, in honor of the Celtics 17th NBA title, it seemed appropriate to feature two former Celts with numbers hanging in the rafters. Dennis Johnson (#45) attempts to creep up the Ladder by taking on Ed Macauley (#41). A look at the candidates....
MACAULEY - "Easy Ed" played for the C's for 6 seasons (1951-56). Selected to All Star team all 6 years. Named 1st Team All-NBA 3 times (51-53) and 2nd Team All-NBA in '54. 1951 All Star Game MVP. Finished top 4 in NBA in scoring 4 straight years (51-54). Top 10 in both scoring & assists 3-straight years from 53-55. Best FG% in NBA '53 & '54. Celtics averages: 18.9 points, 8.1 rebounds, 3.7 assists. Key player in trade that brought Bill Russell to the C's. #22 is retired by the Celtics.
JOHNSON - "DJ" played for the C's for 7 seasons (1984-90). Won 2 NBA Championships (84 & 86). 1985 All Star selection. 1987 1st Team All-Defense. 3-time 2nd team All-Defense. Among Celtics all-time leaders in steals, assists and free-throw percentage. Half of one of the greatest plays in team history when Bird stole the ball and passed to DJ for the layup. Celtics averages: 12.6 points, 3.2 rebounds, 6.4 assists (5th in team history). His #3 is retired by the Celtics.
VERDICT - I will let neither age bias nor rings alone dictate my decision in this one. I absolutely loved DJ, but clearly Easy Ed was the better all-around player. And even in leaving he helped to bring us Bill Russell...so despite not winning any titles himself, you could argue that we wouldn't have won 11 without him. The vote here is for "Easy Ed" Macauley.
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11 comments:
I LOVE D.J.
..but I think this one, he has his sights just a couple spots too high. Gotta stick with Ed on this one.
DJ was also the 4th best player on the C's, Macauley was a star.
Plus it's about time a favorite held his place on the ladder! So far Coates upset Nomar, Tek upset Pudge, Willie upset Bledsoe and Jo Jo upset Nifty. Time for somebody on the Ladder to hold serve!
If Easy Ed had the nickname Easy Ed as he was a player, I vote for him.
True, tough to argue with "Easy Ed" as a nickname...much more creative than mere initials (and yes I realize this is coming from someone named DK).
DJ's best years as an individual came prior to joining the Celtics when he was a consistent All Star and '79 Finals MVP. But the voting here is based on performance in Boston....or else Babe Ruth would be in the Top 5.
Lets forget the numbers for a minute, in alpabetical order DJ is 158 on the list and ED is 197(list of NBA players that have been on the Celtics roster).
Ed played for 3 different teams and went to the playoffs with 2, DJ played in the playoffs with every team he played for.
the #s have been posted but I'm going DJ. Cant get the steal and pass outta my head
Don't quite get the alphabet soup citing.... but the been in the playoffs with each team played for is valid and interesting.
Alphabet explanation..We always talk about the numbers(stats)..its just a corny joke. Because names in alphabetical order has no relevance.
DJ wore #3 after him no one wore #3
Ed wore #22 and Al Butler wore it after him
I found this interesting. Of the other players to wear #3 or #22 none of them played more than 2 years with Boston.
The year Ed left the C's won a championship, the year DJ arrived the C's won a championship.
Sorry there will be some age bias anytime there is a player that i watched compared with a player that played long before i was born.
Gotcha. And yeah, I LOVED D.J., I mean really loved him. More than a lot of the traditional ones, but I am trying to fight through this age bias and give it to Easy Ed, because I figure he still being talked about, which is a feat in itself. (not to mention, I think my age bias will come into play many times in the future, and I may not have the strength to resist it... certainly not for a B&W set shooter)
I also have a bit of trouble slipping D.J. passed David Ortiz. (even though I recognize it's apples & oranges, with the different sports, and Papi's position is subject to change, and he is sure to make a move at some point not too far down the road).
Easy Ed. Why? the Celtics traded Easy Ed McCauley to St. Louis in 1956 for... Bill Russell.
Just as you said, without Easy Ed, no Bill Russell...
Macauley was also the 1st Celtic elected to the Hall of Fame.
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