Skip to main content

Tommy Heinsohn's take on the low shooting percentages of the 50's & 60's

Image
By

 As always, I find the tweets of @frostybias fascinating. This one got my particular attention.

Out of curiosity, I compared the Celtics team from the 1964-65 season to the present 2021-22 crew. I compared "Field Goals Attempted" and "Field Goal Percentage" from both versions of The Green. Some of what Tommy proposed holds true, but I don't think that tells the whole story. Here are the stats looking at the top-8 players in minutes-played from both the old and the new:

FIELD GOALS ATTEMPTED

THE OLD: 101.0 FIELD GOALS ATTEMPTED PER GAME

THE NEW: 93.5 FIELD GOALS ATTEMPTED PER GAME

 Okay, so the 64-65 team attempted an average of 7.5 shots per game. Now let's look at the percentages:

FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE

THE OLD: .420

THE NEW: .480

What's in question with the FG% numbers? Well, there was no 3-point shot in the mid-60's, opening up the stance that the accuracy numbers are even further apart than they appear. 

I watched the most Celtics games in person in the mid-60's at the Old Garden and fast breaks by Boston were a "given". I fondly recall Heinsohn running the floor - circling the ball around his body - and laying it up while being guarded by the 76ers' Luke Jackson. 

Tommy's argument has validity, but my take is that today's players are more athletic - have better hand/eye coordination - and can put that ball, through the hoop with more precision that the players of the past. What think you, my readers?



Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Elm Street Nightmare

By
 A true-and-suspenseful horror tale of haunting, homicides and the hunt for triple-murderer, Daniel Laplante - as told by the cops that were there By Lt. Thomas Lane (Ret.)  Daniel Laplante - cold, calm, clever, calculating- Photo: YouTube   Elm Street  surfaces on six (6) occasions in the Laplante saga: 1.) He  resided on Elm Street  in Townsend, Massachusetts  2.) He  kidnapped a woman  at gunpoint on  Elm Street, Pepperell , Massachusetts 3.) That kidnapped woman fled to the Gillogly residence on Elm Street after escaping from the armed fugitive, Laplante. 4.) He was arrested and transported to Massachusetts State Police Barracks on Elm Street in Concord . 5.) He was  tried, convicted   and sentenced for the murders at  Superior Court , corner of  Elm Stree t and Gorham Street, Lowell, Massachusetts. 6.) The author, Thomas Lane, lived on Elm Steet, Pepperell, Massachusetts while a police Sgt./Lt. for the t...
19 comments
Read more

In defense of Marcus Smart

By
 Let me make it clear first of all that I am totally against making a threat of any kind that even hints at harming, or certainly killing, another human being. Marcus Smart was wrong in doing so in the Celtics loss to the tanking Oklahoma City Thunder , and he deserved the one-game suspension. But to be honest, part of me loved that it occurred. . This type of thing can happen when a player gets to a point "beyond frustration" and is having a bad game. Marcus and his teammates have been under-performing generally - were in the process of losing to a pathetic-and-tanking Thunder team - and Smart was having a bad game . And he let loose verbally at the closest target - an NBA official. Wilt Chamberlain did a similar act versus referee, Earl Strom when Wilt was having his usual tortuous time at the free throw line (per Chicago Tribune's Sam Smith): ''He was in one of those 1-for-13s,'' recalls referee Earl Strom. ''Nothing was getting close. S...
Post a Comment
Read more

Did the Celtics Kevin McHale really have a wingspan of 8-feet?

By
According to many sources, the Celtics Kevin McHale did indeed have an estimated wingspan of 8-feet. One of those sources is Wikipedia, as seen below: Kevin McHale American basketball player DescriptionKevin Edward McHale is an American retired basketball player who played his entire professional career for the Boston Celtics. He is a Basketball Hall of Fame inductee, and is regarded as one of the best power forwards of all time. He was named to the NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team. Wikipedia Born: December 19, 1957 (age 61 years), Hibbing, MN Wingspan: 8′ 0″ Height: 6′ 10″ Spouse: Lynn McHale (m. 1982) NBA draft: 1980, Boston Celtics (Round: 1 / Pick: 3) Hall of fame induction: 1999 Number: 32 (Boston Celtics / Power forward, Center) Kevin was listed at 6'10" tall when he was drafted with the 3rd pick in the 1980 draft. Red Auerbach, in yet another heist, brought in both McHale and center Robert Parish (via trade) prior to the Celtics' 1980-81 Champion...
Post a Comment
Read more