Some new footage came down the pipe the other day..an ABA batch, including several old Pacers games. I figured I'd take in game 6 of the 1973 finals and give my impressions:
-Initial impressions of the old Coliseum: it's pretty loud. Of course, that could be due to the poor audio quality of the day, ad the fact this is game 6 of the finals. Also, is it me or does the old floor design look cooler than the current one? At the very least, the center court logo looks classy.
-Just about every key player in this game is super-young. Daniels, Hillman, McGinnis,Keller, Freeman, all under the age of 28. Roger Brown is the old man of the group at 30. On the Kentucky side, their big 3 of Issel, Gilmore and Dampier have an average age of 25. This is like Oklahoma City meeting Chicago in the finals.
-Back to the frontcourt matchup, my god. McGinnins/Daniels vs Issel/Gilmore. I need to watch the rest of this series. I don't care if it's black and white film. Daniels vs Gilmore reminds me of watching Patrick Ewing and David Robinson.
-Louis Dampier caught fire early. He destroyed poor Billy Keller. Almost unlimited range and a super-quick release. Reminds me a bit of hibachi with his quick release and total lack of disregard for everyone else on the floor.
-There was a LOT of flopping in this game. I think they hired these refs from local highschools. Every block is being called a goaltend, and the forward are constantly standing in the lane to take charges from smaller guards. Even the TV guys are getting on the poor acting jobs.
-McGinnis I swear gets paid by the shot. On one sequence, he actually grabbed a rebound, took the ball coast to coast, missed a force over 2 defenders, missed the tip, chased down his own rebound, and turned around for a 6-foot jumper. I dont know whether to admire the commitment or marvel that 3 defenders did not even make him think twice about shooting.
-The cat-and-mouse contest between Daniels and Gilmore is the highlight of this game. It's a shame they only see the ball about once every 8-9 possessions. Both guys are damn near unstoppable in the post. Daniels can't cope with Gilmore's size and athletic advantage, but Gilmore can't bother Mel's fadaways in the high post.
-late 3rd quarter, Kentucky is in control for 2 reasons: Dampier's shooting, and the inability for anybody to find Dan Issel in transition. He's piling up points simply by beating his man down the floor for easy layups and jumpers.
-Indiana finally found some perimeter players with a pulse. Freddie Lewis and Donnie Freeman catch fire and the building comes to life again. A 12 point lead is sliced to 2.
-I'm highly amused at the tip-offs to start every quarter. Didn't know about that.
-Indiana comes out in the 4th only down by 4, and falls flat. White hibachi Dampier is smoking hot. Even his bad shots are rolling in. Just like that, the lead is 12 again.
-With 6 minutes left, it's 94-79 Kentucky. I'm fairly certain Dampier has outscored the Pacers by himself in the 4th quarter. He's touched the ball 7 times and he's got 14 points. For the most part, Mel has taken advantage of Gilmore's lack of concentration on the glass. On this occasion though, Gilmore gets even. Mel fails to box him out on a missed Issel FT, and Artis takes one power dribble and throws down a thunderous and-1 dunk over Mel. Put that on sportscetner and it's a top-10 play. I don't care if it is in black and white.
-White hibachi runs a PnR with Gilmore that results in a reverse-alley oop. That play will happen in the NBA sometime 20 years down the road...call the 3-pointer a gimmick if you must, but that play doesn't happen without the 3-point line. Of course, I may be over-reacting and Dampier may have just been trying to pass it into the basket.
-Indiana blows a chance to clinch it at home, 109-93. Hopefully I'll be able to review game 7 sometime in the future.
-Initial impressions of the old Coliseum: it's pretty loud. Of course, that could be due to the poor audio quality of the day, ad the fact this is game 6 of the finals. Also, is it me or does the old floor design look cooler than the current one? At the very least, the center court logo looks classy.
-Just about every key player in this game is super-young. Daniels, Hillman, McGinnis,Keller, Freeman, all under the age of 28. Roger Brown is the old man of the group at 30. On the Kentucky side, their big 3 of Issel, Gilmore and Dampier have an average age of 25. This is like Oklahoma City meeting Chicago in the finals.
-Back to the frontcourt matchup, my god. McGinnins/Daniels vs Issel/Gilmore. I need to watch the rest of this series. I don't care if it's black and white film. Daniels vs Gilmore reminds me of watching Patrick Ewing and David Robinson.
-Louis Dampier caught fire early. He destroyed poor Billy Keller. Almost unlimited range and a super-quick release. Reminds me a bit of hibachi with his quick release and total lack of disregard for everyone else on the floor.
-There was a LOT of flopping in this game. I think they hired these refs from local highschools. Every block is being called a goaltend, and the forward are constantly standing in the lane to take charges from smaller guards. Even the TV guys are getting on the poor acting jobs.
-McGinnis I swear gets paid by the shot. On one sequence, he actually grabbed a rebound, took the ball coast to coast, missed a force over 2 defenders, missed the tip, chased down his own rebound, and turned around for a 6-foot jumper. I dont know whether to admire the commitment or marvel that 3 defenders did not even make him think twice about shooting.
-The cat-and-mouse contest between Daniels and Gilmore is the highlight of this game. It's a shame they only see the ball about once every 8-9 possessions. Both guys are damn near unstoppable in the post. Daniels can't cope with Gilmore's size and athletic advantage, but Gilmore can't bother Mel's fadaways in the high post.
-late 3rd quarter, Kentucky is in control for 2 reasons: Dampier's shooting, and the inability for anybody to find Dan Issel in transition. He's piling up points simply by beating his man down the floor for easy layups and jumpers.
-Indiana finally found some perimeter players with a pulse. Freddie Lewis and Donnie Freeman catch fire and the building comes to life again. A 12 point lead is sliced to 2.
-I'm highly amused at the tip-offs to start every quarter. Didn't know about that.
-Indiana comes out in the 4th only down by 4, and falls flat. White hibachi Dampier is smoking hot. Even his bad shots are rolling in. Just like that, the lead is 12 again.
-With 6 minutes left, it's 94-79 Kentucky. I'm fairly certain Dampier has outscored the Pacers by himself in the 4th quarter. He's touched the ball 7 times and he's got 14 points. For the most part, Mel has taken advantage of Gilmore's lack of concentration on the glass. On this occasion though, Gilmore gets even. Mel fails to box him out on a missed Issel FT, and Artis takes one power dribble and throws down a thunderous and-1 dunk over Mel. Put that on sportscetner and it's a top-10 play. I don't care if it is in black and white.
-White hibachi runs a PnR with Gilmore that results in a reverse-alley oop. That play will happen in the NBA sometime 20 years down the road...call the 3-pointer a gimmick if you must, but that play doesn't happen without the 3-point line. Of course, I may be over-reacting and Dampier may have just been trying to pass it into the basket.
-Indiana blows a chance to clinch it at home, 109-93. Hopefully I'll be able to review game 7 sometime in the future.
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