Big Ben tolls for 'big three'
TweetHOW the mighty have fallen!
Growing up watching the NBA on Seven – with Bill “Flying Frapdoodle” Palmer hosting – we had a steady diet of Julius Erving, Moses Malone, Earvin “Magic” Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Larry Bird and Kevin McHale.
Diet? It was a feast.
There was Dr J, leading the Philadelphia 76ers regularly into Eastern Conference Finals against their Boston Celtics nemesis for the chance to face the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers and claim the “World Championship”.
REMEMBER WHEN? "Dr J", Julius Erving in the 76ers' heyday.
Philly got there in 83, with the Doc, Moses, Maurice Cheeks, Andrew Toney, Marc Iavaroni, Bobby Jones, Clint Richardson and Co, taking out the Lakers.
The Celtics didn’t take long to respond and by 86, suited arguably the best team of all time and if not, certainly the best Boston team amid a holy host of championship winners.
So watching 76ers coach Brett Brown today excited as his club won the right to the No.1 pick at June 23’s NBA draft in New York, the Lakers selecting at #2 and the Celtics at #3 certainly reinforced how the league has changed.
HE COULD DO MAGIC: Earvin Johnson leading the "showtime" Lakers.
There was Cleveland today, smashing Toronto 115-84 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final while in the West, Golden State is waiting for its chance to make amends for its 102-108 Game 1 home loss to Oklahoma. If it can.
But today, the talk is all about whether the Sixers will take Aussie tyro Ben Simmons at No.1 or bypass him for Duke's Brandon Ingram.
That would make Big Ben a Laker, his preferred option if all the shoe-contract stories are to be believed.
But it’s not as if Simmons and Brown have no connection.
Brown was assisting Lindsay Gaze at the NBL’s Melbourne Tigers when Ben’s dad David was one of the club’s imports.
“Ben Simmons is the son of someone I coached for four years,” Brown told US media desperate for any insight into how the 76ers might lean.
BIRD LAND: Larry Bird when the Celtics were great. Picture: RICK STEWART
“I was his dad’s assistant coach when I was with the Melbourne Tigers and his mum was the head cheerleader … and then here comes Ben Simmons.
“David Simmons was from Harlem, New York. He could have been a linebacker, he could have been a prize fighter.
“He was a basketball player more out of athleticism and girth than he was out of finesse and skill. He was a tough, tough 6-8 and hard like an Anthony Mason-type player.”
That, of course, is nothing approximating how Ben turned out.
SLAMMIN' SIMMO: Dave Simmons as a Melbourne Tigers import.
“His son is finesse and a 3, 1, 4,” Brown said of the 208cm (6-10) teenage tyro. “Really different.”
Just like the times. Really different.
MEANWHILE as the Cavs played Harlem Globetrotters to Toronto’s Washington Generals, their 31-point win became the biggest playoff success in franchise history.
LeBron James had 24 points on 11-of-13 shooting in 28 minutes, Kyrie Irving with 27 on 11-of-17 in 30 minutes.
Matthew Dellavedova heard the “Delly” chants again for his nine points at 75 per cent and three assists in 14 minutes, as every Cavalier hit the court in a one-way rout.
NBA PLAYOFFS
EASTERN CONFERENCE
FINAL:
Cleveland 115, Toronto 84
Cleveland leads 1-0
SEMI FINAL:
Cleveland 104, Atlanta 93
Cleveland 123, Atlanta 98
Cleveland 121, Atlanta 108
Cleveland 100, Atlanta 99
Cleveland advances 4-0
Miami 102, Toronto 96 in o/t
Miami 92, Toronto 96 in o/t
Miami 91, Toronto 95
Miami 94, Toronto 87 in o/t
Miami 91, Toronto 99
Miami 103, Toronto 91
Miami 89, Toronto 116
Toronto advances 4-3
FIRST ROUND:
Indiana 100, Toronto 90
Indiana 87, Toronto 98
Indiana 85, Toronto 101
Indiana 100, Toronto 83
Indiana 99, Toronto 102
Indiana 101, Toronto 83
Indiana 84, Toronto 89
Toronto advances 4-3
Atlanta 102, Boston 101
Atlanta 89, Boston 72
Atlanta 103, Boston 111
Atlanta 95, Boston 104
Atlanta 110, Boston 84
Atlanta 104, Boston 92
Atlanta advances 4-2
Cleveland 106, Detroit 101
Cleveland 107, Detroit 90
Cleveland 101, Detroit 91
Cleveland 100, Detroit 98
Cleveland advances, 4-0
Miami 123, Charlotte 91
Miami 115, Charlotte 103
Miami 80, Charlotte 96
Miami 85, Charlotte 89
Miami 88, Charlotte 90
Miami 97, Charlotte 90
Miami 106, Charlotte 73
Miami advances 4-3
WESTERN CONFERENCE
FINAL:
Golden State 102, Oklahoma 108
Oklahoma leads 1-0
SEMI FINALS:
San Antonio 124, Oklahoma 92
San Antonio 97, Oklahoma 98
San Antonio 100, Oklahoma 96
San Antonio 97, Oklahoma 111
San Antonio 91, Oklahoma 95
San Antonio 99, Oklahoma 113
Oklahoma advances 4-2
Golden State 118, Portland 106
Golden State 110, Portland 99
Golden State 108, Portland 120
Golden State 132, Portland 125 in o/t
Golden State 125, Portland 121
Golden State advances 4-1
FIRST ROUND:
Golden State 104, Houston 78
Golden State 115, Houston 106
Golden State 96, Houston 97
Golden State 121, Houston 94
Golden State 114, Houston 81
Golden State advances 4-1
Oklahoma 108, Dallas 70
Oklahoma 84, Dallas 85
Oklahoma 131, Dallas 102
Oklahoma 119, Dallas 108
Oklahoma 118, Dallas 104
Oklahoma advances 4-1
San Antonio 106, Memphis 74
San Antonio 94, Memphis 68
San Antonio 96, Memphis 87
San Antonio 116, Memphis 95
San Antonio advances 4-0
Los Angeles 115, Portland 95
Los Angeles 102, Portland 81
Los Angeles 88, Portland 96
Los Angeles 84, Portland 98
Los Angeles 98, Portland 108
Los Angeles 103, Portland 106
Portland advances 4-2