Last week, in a battle of former Patriots greats, it was Gino Cappelletti barely holding off the challenge of Ty Law to maintain his spot at #38 on the RBSF Ladder. This week’s battle showcases a pair of Celtics Hall of Famers as legendary player, coach and broadcaster Tommy Heinsohn (#33) attempts to knock off Dave Cowens (#28). A look at the two candidates…
COWENS: Played 10 seasons for the Celtics (1971-80). Won 2 World Championships (1974, 1976). NBA MVP in 1973. NBA Rookie of the Year in 1971. All-NBA 2nd Team 3 times (1973, 1975-76). All-NBA Defensive 1st Team (1976). NBA All Star 7 consecutive seasons (1972-78). NBA All Star Game MVP in 1973. One of only 3 players in NBA history to lead his team in points, rebounds, assists, blocks and steals in a season (1978). Career averages with Boston of 18.2 points, 14.0 rebounds and 3.9 assists. Career playoff averages of 18.9 points, 14.4 rebounds and 3.7 assists. Ranks among Top 10 of franchise’s career leaders in: Rebounds per Game (2nd), Rebounds (3rd), Blocks (5th), Steals (8th), Points per Game (9th), Assists (9th) and Blocks per Game (9th). Was Celtics player/coach during the 1979 season (27-41 record). Named to NBA’s 50th Anniversary Team (1996). Inducted into National Basketball Hall of Fame in 1991. His #18 has been retired by the Celtics.
HEINSOHN: Played entire 9-year career for the Celtics (1957-65). Reached the NBA Finals all 9 seasons, winning 8 World Championships (1957, 1959-65). NBA Rookie of the Year in 1957. All-NBA 2nd Team 4 times (1961-64). NBA All Star 6 times (1957, 1961-65). Career totals of 18.6 points, 8.8 rebounds and 2.0 assists. Career playoff averages of 19.8 points, 9.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists. Ranks among Top 10 of franchise’s career leaders in: Points per Game (6th), Rebounds per Game (7th) and Rebounds (8th). Celtics head coach for 9 seasons (1970-79), amassing a 427-263 record (.619) and winning 2 World Championships (1974, 1976). NBA Coach of the Year in 1973. Celtics color commentator for 30 seasons: 1966-68 and 1981-present. Has earned 15 rings with the Celtics: 7 as a player, 2 as a coach, and 6 as a broadcaster. Inducted into National Basketball Hall of Fame in 1986. 1 of only 2 Celtics in Hall of Fame to never be affiliated with another franchise. His #15 has been retired by the Celtics.
VERDICT: I do believe Cowens may have been a slightly better player, but how can you argue with #15’s 15 rings? Heinsohn earns a Tommy point for his 50+ year relationship with the Celtics, and my vote in this week’s Challenge.
Posts
8 comments:
FYI: Technically there are two other Celtics HOF members who were never affiliated with another team, Havlicek & Sam Jones, but Jones did not officially qualify because he was originally claimed by the Minneapolis Lakers but returned to college instead of signing with them and was subsequently drafted by the C's.
Heinshon for me. Reasons already give by DK
I'm going with Cowens. I love Heinson's devotion to the team and his enthusiam as an announcer, but I'd rather focus on their on court accomplishments.
Heinson got his rings playing with the ledgendary Bill Russell among other Celtics greats. It was also during a time when the Celtics and the Lakers dominated the rest of the league.
Cowens didn't have the benefit of playing with the likes of Russell or anyone of his caliber. He was a focal point of the team whereas Heinson was more of a supporting player. Plus, Cowens played in '70s when there was more balance across the league after the merger with the ABA. A lot of talent got redistributed after that.
If you were building a team and had to pick between the two I'd go with Cowens.
Duffman, even though I voted for Heinsohn here I do appreciate you stepping up to defend Cowens. I get annoyed every week when there is a split vote and the comments are all one-sided.
A guy in my office, who is a HUGE Cowens fan, said Cowens really needed to be watched on a regular basis to be truly appreciated due to his hustle/intensity/etc. He was taking on centers (like Kareem) that had 4 inches on him.
With that said....
Calling Heinsohn a supporting player is not doing him justice. Sure Russell was the focal point, but I wouldn't call McHale and Parish "supporting" players on the 80's teams just because Bird was the star. They were also stars.
Heinsohn was Rookie of the Year the same year Russell came into the league, 4x 2nd team all-NBA and a 6x All Star. In 1957 he scored 37 points in Game 7 of the NBA Finals leading the C's to a 125-123 victory.
And though I don't think you need to count his broadcasting (though I do), I do think his coaching ('73 Coach of the Year + 2 titles) deserves some credit here.
Add to that the loyalty of never playing or even working for another franchise and it's tough to argue with Tommy in my mind.
...and well done on the photo Duffman. Figured I should get one up myself.
DK, I think you further my point about Cowens. He was a small forward playing the center position and he still managed to put up great numbers.
There is no questions he has an impressive body of work...it's why he has 2 titles, an MVP, is in the HOF and is ranked Top 20 on the RBSF Ladder to begin with.
That being said, I'm giving Heinsohn the edge for basically the same reasons I gave Gino Cappelletti my vote over Ty Law last week.
If Cowens had a more vibrant personality it would be interesting to see how this challenge went.
Post a Comment