Another world; another era. Basketball was such a different game back in the 1960s. The sport was not as reliant on brute strength or elite athleticism, but moreso around grace and strategy.
Check out the video below, as the Cincinnati Royals take on the Boston Celtics in Game 5 of the 1966 NBA Eastern Conference Semi-Finals. The Celtics won the match 112-103, giving them the nod in the Best of 5 series, 3-2. They went on to win the NBA title, defeating the Los Angeles Lakers in the Finals after a 54-26 regular season.
That Celtics squad consisted of the likes of John Havlicek, KC Jones, Sam Jones, Don Nelson, Bill Russell and was coached by legendary Red Auerbach.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=GzsiLJh8gk0
As you can see, the style of play was vastly different… and of course, there was no three-point line!
Meanwhile on the other side of the court were Hall of Famers Jerry Lucas and league legend Oscar Robertson, who averaged 31.3ppg, 11.1apg and 7.7rpg that season. You may not know Lucas, but he was one of only two players to average a 20-20 that season, along with Wilt Chamberlain. Bill Russell was never a big time scorer, despite averaging 22.8rpg himself that season, along with his 12.9ppg.
Watch the original triple-double master, Robertson, drop 37 points in this same game:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=OCR7OyYIjNg
