bill russell

NBA Playoffs 2025-26 Quick Thoughts

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The playoffs are here again, and it’s time to examine some of the key questions that stand out—FAQ style…. Yes, the Oklahoma City Thunder are favorites, but are they prohibitive favorites? OKC lapped the field again, going 64–18 despite some key injuries and a general sense that they eased up after their amazing start. Their 2024–25 squad had the best SRS ever.  This team ranks “only” sixth best in NBA history. For a little context, here are the top ten SRS teams and how they fared in the … [Read more...] about NBA Playoffs 2025-26 Quick Thoughts

A Closer Look At The Cavs Hot Start

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The biggest positive story of the new season is Cleveland’s 15-0 start, which puts the Cavs in pretty elite company.  Much has been written about this great start but I thought we could take another look, FAQ style, and see if we can squeeze a few more interesting nuggets… How is Cleveland doing this? In simplest terms, the offense has exploded.  The Cavs were a defense-first team last season (6th in defensive rating) that had to eke out offense (18th in offensive rating) by … [Read more...] about A Closer Look At The Cavs Hot Start

Bill Russell v. Tom Heinsohn and the 1956-57 ROY

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With the recent passing of the great Bill Russell, I was thinking about his beginning.  Though he was an instant star, Russell did not win Rookie of the Year.  Let’s do a moderate dive into how this happened and whether it should’ve happened. It’s clear that the Olympics robbed Russell of the ROY.  Russell missed several months of his rookie year because he was playing in the 1956 Olympics in Sydney and did not debut with Boston until December 22, 1956, 24 games into the … [Read more...] about Bill Russell v. Tom Heinsohn and the 1956-57 ROY

2021-22 NBA Finals Preview

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Celtics/Warriors is a particularly interesting matchup for the NBA Finals on many levels.  Let’s breakdown some of the facts that caught my attention…. Ancient History Between Celtics and Warriors It has little relevance to the current squads but the Celtics and the old Warriors had quite an interesting rivalry while Wilt Chamberlain was with the Philly/Golden State franchise.  Wilt had little luck actually beating Bill Russell during that time but here’s the breakdown of their … [Read more...] about 2021-22 NBA Finals Preview

Q&A with Wilt Author Robert Cherry

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Since 2005, when we interviewed Robert Cherry, the author of “Wilt: Larger Than Life,” he has published two books. “Cherry Delight” is a memoir of his family and while, as he points out, neither of his parents ever led the NBA in points or rebounds, they are still worth writing and reading about. The other book is “Living Liberia: Laughter, Love and Folly,” a memoir/travel book of his life as a Peace Corps volunteer in a West African village. He was also asked in 2019 by the Library of Congress … [Read more...] about Q&A with Wilt Author Robert Cherry

Bill Russell’s Dynasty Review

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With all this talk of Michael Jordan’s Bulls and their amazing dynasty, I started thinking about the NBA’s original and most prolific dynasty, the Bill Russell Celtics.   Russell’s teams won 11 titles in 13 years, which is basically an unmatchable run today.  The primary reason that the record won’t be touched is because the playoffs were much shorter than gauntlet that modern teams have had to run.  For example, the 1956-57 Celtics only had to win one three-game series to … [Read more...] about Bill Russell’s Dynasty Review

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