Yardbarker: Dennis Johnson

On This Day in Celtics History

Wed, 27 May 2009 08:36:37 -0500

Well, the Celtics are out of the playoffs and healing up so they can take back their title next season. Larry Bird's Celtics won in 1984 and then skipped a year to win in 1986. I expect this group to come back hungry and ready to bring home #18 next season. Speaking of Bird's Celtics. It was May 27, 1987 that one of my favorite plays ever took place. In Game 5 of the 1987 Eastern Conference Finals against the Detroit Pistons, with six seconds remaining in the fourth quarter and with Boston down by one point to Isiah Thomas' Pistons, Isiah lofted a soft inbound pass to Bill Laimbeer but Larry Bird intercepted the pass for the steal. While he was falling out of bounds, Bird turned and passed the ball to Dennis Johnson, who was cutting to the basket and who layed the ball in with one second remaining. One of my favorite things about this play is that while everyone else was celebrating, DJ immediately turned to play defense on the inbound pass even though the Pistons wouldn't have time to get a shot off. I'll let Johnny Most describe the action. [Discuss this topic on the Celtics Green Forums!]

Last Day For The NFL Network On Comcast

Thu, 30 Apr 2009 10:49:19 -0500

So it doesn't appear as if this whole mess is getting solved within a day (or ever), so you might want to watch the last day of NFL Network on Comcast. Comcast has even been running a banner across the screen stating that fact, and the Philly Inquirer has even more quotes from this blame game....Football fans who subscribe to Comcast Corp.'s extra-cost sports package seem likely to lose one of their favorite viewing choices at 11:59 tonight - the 24-hour NFL Network.The two organizations, which have battled publicly and in court, have not reached a new carriage agreement, and the old one expires.Comcast has asked the National Football League to continue the carriage under terms of the current contract. The NFL has refused and would like Comcast to place the channel on a general-interest tier that does not require viewers to pay the extra $7 a month. About two million people get Comcast's sports package."Comcast wants to carry NFL Network, and we have offered to carry it under the terms of our current affiliation agreement while the litigation that the NFL brought against Comcast continues, but the NFL has not accepted our offer," Comcast's Sena Fitzmaurice said in a statement. "We believe our proposed extension is in the best interest of our customers and NFL fans so that they can continue to have the same access to the network that they now enjoy."The NFL, according to officials and court documents, says it believes Comcast moved the network to a sports package to punish the NFL for not allowing Comcast to carry the eight live NFL games on its Versus sports channel and not allowing Comcast to negotiate for out-of-market NFL games. DirecTV, the satellite provider, exclusively carries the Sunday Ticket of out-of-market NFL games."As of right now, the NFL Network will no longer be available at midnight [Thursday] to Comcast," NFL Network spokesman Dennis Johnson said. "We are open to negotiating with Comcast at any time so that fans can watch the NFL Network on a wide level of service at no extra cost."While, I'd certainly like to be able to watch the Thursday Night Football games this year, and the extra Thanksgiving game, I have to be honest here. I rarely watch the NFL Network, outside of the Combine and the Draft, and there are plenty of other channels within the Sports package (including about 8 Fox Sports, the MLB Network and NBATV). Why this is such an issue is beyond me, but I guess you have to take a stand at some point.Oh and there is a plus to all of this. Comcast sent a letter out about the dropping of the network, and offered me either a Free Internet Speed Upgrade for 12 months, or 6 Free Movie Coupons. So I've got that going for me.....which is nice.Comcast viewers could lose NFL Network tonight (Philadelphia Inquirer)

PFST: Walter Davis and Dennis Johnson advance to regional final

Tue, 31 Mar 2009 16:40:46 -0500

Walter Davis and Dennis Johnson will faceoff in the final of the Cotton Express region. The number 1 seed Walter Davis defeated the 4 seed Tom Chambers to advance to the final. Davis earned 56% of the fan vote. Dennis Johnson had an easier road to the final than Walter Davis. The number 3 seed Johnson [...]

PFST: Dick Van Arsdale and DJ advance

Tue, 24 Mar 2009 12:53:08 -0500

Dick Van Arsdale and Dennis Johnson are advancing to round two of the Phoenix’s Favorite Sun Tourney. The Original Sun Dick Van Arsdale cruised to an easy first round win against the 6 seed Neal Walk with 94% of the vote. Van Arsdale will face Alvan Adams in the second round. Adams defeated Paul Silas [...]

Phoenix’s Favorite Sun Round 1: Johnson Vs. Robinson

Fri, 20 Mar 2009 17:34:27 -0500

It’s time for the first round of the Phoenix’s Favorite Sun Tourney (If you have no clue what we are talking about click here). Here is the third match up from the “Cotton Express” Region (For the entire Bracket Click Here). #3 Dennis Johnson vs. #6 Truck Robinson Dennis Johnson: DJ came to the Suns in 1980 [...]

redsarmy

Fri, 23 Jan 2009 18:25:00 -0500

This isn’t another John vs. Chuck thing. I think the ladies of Emerson College circa 1994 know that I’m the clear winner there… although it was hard to hear what they really thought of Chuck over all the laughing. No, this is about Vinnie “The Microwave” Johnson… and our own Dennis Johnson. Pete Marasmitch did a [...]

Lakers Are a Good Example of the Difference Between Talent and Depth

Mon, 08 Dec 2008 05:54:16 -0500

The L.A. Lakers are considered to be perhaps the deepest and most talented team in the NBA. They are certainly a deep team in terms of having 10 players who can competently play at least 10 mpg if necessary but that is not at all the same thing as being the most talented team. A perfect example of the difference between being talented and being deep is the 1986 Boston Celtics; coach K.C. Jones rarely used his bench (other than Sixth Man Award winner Bill Walton, a Top 50 player and former MVP) but he had tons of talent in his starting lineup: three Top 50, Hall of Fame players (Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Robert Parish), plus a former Finals MVP who should be in the Hall of Fame (Dennis Johnson) and a future All-Star guard (Danny Ainge).

Check out my newest ProBasketballNews.com article for an in depth look at the difference between talent and depth and a comparison of how the Lakers stack up in both categories compared to some of the greatest teams in NBA history: Difference Between Talent and Depth (visit the original post at 20 Second Timeout in order to use the clickable link to the PBN story).

Remembering Red

Fri, 19 Sep 2008 21:20:42 -0500

September 20, 2008 have been Red Auerbach's 91st Birthday and is a good time for the Celtics Nation to pause and remember patriarch of the Celtics franchise. Red once said: "The Boston Celtics are not a basketball team, they are a way of life." Red was a member of the National Basketball Association since its formation in 1946 and was with the Celtics since 1950. For him, the Celtics truly were a way of life. When the Celtics won the 2008 NBA championship, it marked the first of the Celtics' 17 championships that Red wasn't there to see. Born in Brooklyn, New York, Red attended Eastern District High School in that city, attended Seth Low Junior College in New York, and George Washington University in the District of Columbia. He played three years of college basketball at GW, and was the team's leading scorer and a defensive specialist. He received a Bachelor of Science in Education in 1940 and a Master of Arts in Education from GW the following year. In 1941, Auerbach began coaching basketball at the St. Albans School and Roosevelt High School. Two years later, he joined the US Navy for three years, coaching the Navy basketball team in Norfolk. There, he caught the eye of Washington millionaire Mike Uline, who hired him to coach the Washington Capitols in the newly-founded Basketball Association of America (BAA), a predecessor of the NBA. Auerbach spent the first three seasons of his pro career with the Washington Capitols before moving on to the Tri-Cities Hawks for one campaign. At this point, Walter Brown, who owned the struggling Boston Celtics, appointed Auerbach as the man to lead the squad into what would ultimately become the greatest franchise in pro basketball history. Auerbach carefully crafted a competitive team, and his moves culminated with an April 29, 1956 transaction that sent Easy Ed Macauley and Cliff Hagan to St. Louis for the Hawks' first-round pick; with that selection, the Celtics chose Bill Russell. This blockbuster trade would spur the Celtics into the most dominant franchise in pro basketball history and helped to create the legend of Red Auerbach as a step above everyone else in the NBA. From 1950-1966, Auerbach coached the Celtics to nine world titles, including eight in succession from 1959-1966. His incredible record was 938-479 (.662) in regular-season play and an equally impressive 99-69 (.589) in post-season encounters. Prior to the 1966-67 season, the "coach" removed himself from the bench in order to concentrate on his duties as General Manager, and appointed Bill Russell as player-coach. With Red's guidance and knowledge, the Celtics continued to win. In 1968 and 1969, the Celtics added two more titles. After a down period in the early 1970s, Auerbach restructured the team, adding key personnel through trades and the draft, and ultimately raised banners in 1974 and 1976. It was the subsequent years that would provide Auerbach with his biggest challenge, as the late '70s proved to be a dismal period for the Celtics. Yet Auerbach once again saved the franchise with the shrewd selection of Larry Bird in the 1978 draft. Although he would have to wait a year before Bird would play in the NBA, Auerbach sensed that the Indiana native was the man to rejuvenate the proud organization and he was right. Five other teams had a shot at Bird, but all passed. In 1981, Boston became the NBA champions again as Auerbach orchestrated another amazing trade, this time dealing the first and 13th picks in the 1981 draft to Golden State for Robert Parish and the third overall pick which became Kevin McHale. Boston added two more titles in 1984 and 1986 thanks to the master's keen additions of Danny Ainge, Dennis Johnson, Bill Walton, and others. Auerbach has been the recipient of numerous distinguished awards and honors throughout his career. In 1968, he was enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, MA for all his successes. When the NBA chose its Silver Anniversary Team honoring the best of the league's first 25 years, Red was chosen as coach of that distinguished team. In 1982, he was elected to the Washington Hall of Stars, a Hall of Fame which involves people from all sports. Red was also honored as NBA Coach of the Year in 1965, winning the trophy that now bears his name, and NBA Executive of the Year in 1980. Also in that year, he was selected to the NBA's 35th Anniversary Team as "Greatest Coach in the History of the NBA," by the PBWAA (Pro Basketball Writers Association of America). In 1985, the Red Auerbach Fund, established in the Celtics' legends' name, was created to promote athletic, recreational, and other youth development activities in Boston and throughout the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. January 4, 1985 will always be a special day in Boston sports history, as it was on this day that the Celtics family saluted its patriarch by having the number "2" retired in his honor. Number 1 was retired in honor of the team's founder, Walter Brown. The 2 retired for Red is emblematic of his being the second most influential person in the organization's history. On Red's 68th birthday, September 20, 1985, a life-size sculpture of Auerbach was unveiled and placed in Boston's historic Faneuil Hall Marketplace so the public would have a lasting tribute to this basketball genius and legend. Red received seven honorary degrees from various institutions. He valued such honors so much that he kept a previous commitment to American International College by delivering its commencement speech on May 22, 1988, even though it prevented him from being at Boston Garden for the deciding game of the Celtics-Hawks' best-of-seven thriller. On that day, AIC presented Auerbach with a Doctor of Humanities Honorary Degree. A week earlier he had received a Doctor of Arts Honorary Degree from Stonehill College. He also received Honorary Doctorate Degrees in Humane Letters from Franklin Pierce College, on May 24, 1981, the University of Massachusetts (Boston), in 1982, and from Boston University, on May 13, 1984. In 1986, Central New England College honored him with an Honorary Doctorate Degree in Business Administration. On February 14, 1993, his alma mater, George Washington, bestowed an honorary Doctorate of Public Service Degree, and on June 9, 1998, the university celebrated Red's 80th birthday by unveiling a plaque and a bust of the legendary coach. This tribute is permanently attached to the exterior of the Smith Center, GW's athletic facility. Red authored seven books. His ?rst, Basketball for the Player, the Fan and Coach, has been translated into seven languages and is the largest-selling basketball book in print. His second book, co-authored with Paul Sann, was Winning the Hard Way, and he also penned a pair of publications written in conjunction with Joe Fitzgerald: Red Auerbach: An Autobiography and Red Auerbach On and Off the Court. In October, 1991, Auerbach's released, M.B.A.: Management by Auerbach, which was co-authored with Ken Dooley. In 1994, Red co-authored "Seeing Red", written in conjunction with Dan Shaughnessy. In October 2004, his final book, "Let Me Tell You A Story", was published and was co-written by legendary sports journalist John Feinstein. In 1987, an excellent instructional video entitled Winning Basketball became available to the public featuring the insight, thoughts, and philosophy of Red and three-time NBA Most Valuable Player and Celtics' captain Larry Bird. In spite of his passing on October 28, 2006, his hand was still on the latest Celtics championship. Danny Ainge was Red's choice for GM of the club. Red always had faith that Danny was the man to lead the Celtics back to glory and, as always when it came to basketball, he was right. Red's passing has left a void in the basketball world that will never be filled. On this, the 91st anniversary of Red's birth, we remember him... and miss him.

Memorable Moments and Milestones in Sonics' History

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 07:03:55 -0500

As a Cleveland Browns fan who lost his team in 1995 and had to endure three years in NFL exile followed by nearly a decade of on field ineptitude, I have great empathy for Seattle SuperSonics' fans. Here is a look back at some key moments from each of the 41 seasons of Sonics' basketball: 1967-68: The Sonics posted a 23-59 record in their first season, finishing fifth in the six team Western Division; the San Diego Rockets, also an expansion team, went 15-67. Walt Hazzard--a 6-2 guard who later converted to Islam and changed his name to Mahdi Abdul-Rahman--ranked seventh in the NBA in scoring (1894 points, 24.0 ppg) and fifth in assists (493, 6.2 apg). Hazzard became the first All-Star in Sonics' history, scoring nine points in the midseason classic. 1968-69: The Sonics traded Hazzard for Hall of Famer Lenny Wilkens, who ranked ninth in the NBA in scoring (1835 points, 22.4 ppg) and second in assists (674, 8.2 apg). Wilkens made the All-Star team. Second year center Bob Rule emerged as a big time player, ranking fourth in the NBA in scoring (1965 points, 24.0 ppg). The Sonics improved to 30-52. 1969-70: Rule and Wilkens both make the All-Star team as the Sonics finished 36-46 and missed qualifying for the playoffs by just three wins. Wilkens not only served as player-head coach but he also became the first Sonic to lead the NBA in a major statistical category (9.1 apg). 1970-71: The Sonics again missed the playoffs by just three wins (38-44). After prevailing in a case that went all the way to the Supreme Court and paved the way for underclassmen and high school players to sign with NBA teams, Spencer Haywood jumped from the ABA to the Sonics and averaged 20.6 ppg and 12.0 rpg in 33 games. Wilkens won the All-Star Game MVP and ranked second in the NBA in assists (9.2 apg). 1971-72: Haywood became the first Sonic to make the All-NBA Team, earning a First Team selection after ranking fourth in the NBA in scoring (26.2 ppg). The Sonics went 47-35 but again narrowly missed making the playoffs, this time by four wins. Wilkens ranked second in the NBA in assists (9.6 apg) in his final season as Seattle's player-head coach; the Sonics traded him to Cleveland after the season. 1972-73: The Sonics took a big step backwards without Wilkens, plummeting to 26-56 despite Haywood setting a franchise single season scoring record (29.2 ppg, third in the NBA) and earning a second straight All-NBA First Team selection. 1973-74: Hall of Famer Bill Russell became Seattle's coach and led the Sonics to a 36-46 record as Haywood ranked among the league leaders in scoring (23.5 ppg, eighth) and rebounding (13.4 rpg, seventh). Haywood made the All-NBA Second Team. 1974-75: Russell guided the Sonics to a 43-39 record and the franchise's first playoff berth; they fell 4-2 in the Western Conference semifinals to eventual champion Golden State. Haywood ranked ninth in the NBA in scoring (22.4 ppg) and made the All-NBA Second Team. 1975-76: Fred Brown emerged as the team's best player after the Sonics traded Haywood to the Knicks. Brown ranked fifth in the NBA in scoring (23.1 ppg). His backcourt partner Donald "Slick" Watts led the NBA in assists (8.1 apg) and steals (3.2 spg). The Sonics again went 43-39 and lost 4-2 in the Western Conference semifinals, this time to the Suns. 1976-77: Bill Russell resigned after the Sonics slipped to 40-42 and missed the playoffs. 1977-78: The Sonics fired Coach Bob Hopkins after a 5-17 start, paving the way for the triumphant return of Lenny Wilkens. Three years removed from his playing days and fresh off of a two year run as Portland's coach, Wilkens led the Sonics to a 42-18 record down the stretch. The Sonics made their first trip to the NBA Finals but lost 4-3 to the Washington Bullets. 1978-79: The Sonics finished with the best record in the Western Conference (52-30) and defeated the Bullets 4-1 in a Finals rematch, claiming the first and only championship in Sonics history. Dennis Johnson won the Finals MVP. Second year center Jack Sikma ranked fifth in the NBA in rebounding (12.4 rpg) and made the first of seven straight All-Star Game appearances. 1979-80: The Sonics won 56 games, setting a franchise record that stood until 1993-94, but the L.A. Lakers beat the Sonics 4-1 in the Western Conference Finals to end Seattle's quest to make a third straight trip to the Finals. Sikma again ranked fifth in the NBA in rebounding (11.1 rpg), while Dennis Johnson and his backcourt partner Gus Williams each made the All-NBA Second Team.Select Read More to see memorable Seattle SuperSonics moments

Memorable Moments and Milestones in Sonics' History

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 08:49:44 -0500

Will the NBA Right a Wrong?

Fri, 15 Feb 2008 12:44:12 -0500

One of the finalists for this year's Hall of Fame induction is Dennis Johnson. It has always seemed a disgrace to me that DJ wasn't inducted into the Hall of Fame when Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish. Joe Dumars were elected to the Hall and I would say that DJ deserved it just as much, or even more so. The evidence was clearly there to prove that he was worthy of being in the Hall of Fame. In 1,100 games, Johnson scored 15,535 points, grabbed 4,249 rebounds and handed out 5,499 assists for career averages of 14.1 points, 3.9 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game. He was known particularly for his defense (as was Dumars)and was elected to nine straight All-Defensive First and Second Teams. DJ was also known as a clutch player. He played smothering defense on Magic Johnson in the 1984 NBA Finals. He converted a last-second layup in Game 4 of the 1987 Eastern Conference Finals after Larry Bird's steal. He hit innumerable big shots throughout his career and most importantly, he won championships with two different teams, winning the 1979 NBA Finals MVP award. DJ was a competitor and was also known for his durability. In 14 NBA seasons, he played in 1,100 of a possible 1,148 games and participated in 180 playoff games. Only 11 other players played in more. When he retired, DJ was only the 11th NBA player to amass more than 15,000 points and 5,000 assists. All that, and he was never inducted into the hall of fame. Larry Bird called DJ the best teammate that he ever played with. That is saying a lot considering the other Celtic' legends that Larry played with. One of the biggest injustices in the NBA was that DJ been not been inducted into the Hall of Fame when his teammates and contemporaries like Joe Dumars were inducted. DJ is one of the 15 finalists for this year's induction. Maybe this year they will make up for the travesty of not having inducted him in previous years. It is a year too late for DJ to enjoy it, but he belongs there. The NBA needs to right the wrong that has gone on too long.

Someone Call Up "The Chief"

Sat, 03 Feb 2007 20:01:59 -0500

If I went on a mission to round up the Celtics team from exactly 20 years ago- Dennis Johnson, Danny Ainge, Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, and Robert Parrish- would they be able to win one game out of 14? Because the current Celtics team hasn't been able to.