polandprzem
05-19-2008, 08:31 AM
http://www.nola.com/hornets/t-p/index.ssf?/base/sports-3/1211088242167050.xml&coll=1&thispage=1
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Peter Finney
The other day, at a Metairie coffee-and-beignet shop, in walked a family of four dressed as a team.
Mom and pop, son and daughter, were all wearing yellow No. 3 jerseys, which happens to be the Big Easy's color, not to mention number, of the moment.
After I passed the scene on to Bob Pettit, one of the NBA's all-time legends by way of LSU, he began telling a story of his own.
"I'm playing bridge last week with three ladies," he said, "and the conversation wasn't about a trump, a no-trump, a contract. They only wanted to talk about the Hornets and Chris Paul and David West."
For the ladies, a card game gave way to questions about the give-and-go, on points in the lane.
Pettit remembered sitting there, amused and amazed, waiting to hear one of the ladies suggest "when Chris drives the lane and flips a lob pass to Tyson Chandler for an alley-oop, I guess it's like bidding a contract to trump the other team."
"Right now, New Orleans is definitely a basketball city," said Pettit, who 50 years ago carried the St. Louis Hawks to an NBA championship, the same year Billy Cannon and company carried his alma mater to a college football championship.
"It's great to see the city in this kind of frenzy, with basketball having its moment. The Hornets have the Arena rocking. And it's going to get rockier on Monday. The defending champs coming to town for a Game 7. Coming into a sea of gold. Can basketball life get any better?"
Pettit was around for Pistol Pete Maravich and the Jazz.
He remembers the night in 1975 that torrential rains flooded the city, a night in which a crowd of 25,000 found their way to the Superdome to watch the Jazz play the Lakers.
He remembers the January night in '78, with the Jazz on a roll, in playoff contention for the first and only time, the night Pistol suffered a season-ending knee injury while attempting a half-court, between-the-legs pass in the Dome against the Buffalo Braves.
"Pete was an unforgettable show all by himself," said Pettit. "This is a different kind of show. In Chris Paul, you have someone who has a great way about him, who has a knack of bringing everyone together, doing it with an unbelievable quickness and decision-making. He has an on-court presence that is riveting. Even if you don't completely understand the ins and outs of the game at the professional level, he's a treat to watch. If you do understand them, you're more amazed at what a 6-foot athlete has accomplished in a game played by highly gifted giants."
Paul and the Hornets, said Pettit, are going about business in a day when NBA marketing is light years ahead of what it was when Pettit suited up for the Hawks.
"Every team in the league does a great job in getting the fans involved," said Pettit. "Today, you've got Hugo diving through a flaming hoop. In my day, you had a group like the Four Freshmen, and sometimes we had the great Count Basie Band providing the entertainment, but doing it after the game, not at halftime or during timeouts."
As for a Game 7, Pettit was involved in a piece of history he'll never forget when the Hawks faced the Celtics in Boston Garden in 1957, a time both franchises were in search of their first NBA championship.
"You want drama?" said Pettit. "We were in the second overtime with the Celtics, leading 125-123. We called timeout with two seconds left. We had the ball under the Boston basket. Alex Hannum was our player-coach. Alex decided we had only one chance. He told me to go down court and wait at the free-throw line. He said he was going to throw the ball the length of the court and hit the backboard. My job was to catch the ball and make a field goal to send the game into a third overtime."
So what happened?
"The ball wound up in my hands," said Pettit. "I caught it in the air and took a shot before I came down. It spun off the rim."
The Celtics, with rookie Bill Russell pulling down 32 rebounds, had won their first of 16 championships. Pettit, who had 39 points and 19 rebounds in a losing cause, would have to wait until the following year, when the Hawks defeated the Celtics in six games for their first and only championship behind Pettit's 50 points.
So what does Pettit expect in Game 7 on Monday?
"Obviously, I'm pulling for the Hornets, and I'm looking for the first close game of the series. The Spurs are battle-tested enough to make the Hornets realize they'll have to go out and win it, that the home team won't be getting any favors. That's what makes the matchup so fascinating. Go Hornets."
One of my favorites players is against me :pctoss
:nope
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Peter Finney
The other day, at a Metairie coffee-and-beignet shop, in walked a family of four dressed as a team.
Mom and pop, son and daughter, were all wearing yellow No. 3 jerseys, which happens to be the Big Easy's color, not to mention number, of the moment.
After I passed the scene on to Bob Pettit, one of the NBA's all-time legends by way of LSU, he began telling a story of his own.
"I'm playing bridge last week with three ladies," he said, "and the conversation wasn't about a trump, a no-trump, a contract. They only wanted to talk about the Hornets and Chris Paul and David West."
For the ladies, a card game gave way to questions about the give-and-go, on points in the lane.
Pettit remembered sitting there, amused and amazed, waiting to hear one of the ladies suggest "when Chris drives the lane and flips a lob pass to Tyson Chandler for an alley-oop, I guess it's like bidding a contract to trump the other team."
"Right now, New Orleans is definitely a basketball city," said Pettit, who 50 years ago carried the St. Louis Hawks to an NBA championship, the same year Billy Cannon and company carried his alma mater to a college football championship.
"It's great to see the city in this kind of frenzy, with basketball having its moment. The Hornets have the Arena rocking. And it's going to get rockier on Monday. The defending champs coming to town for a Game 7. Coming into a sea of gold. Can basketball life get any better?"
Pettit was around for Pistol Pete Maravich and the Jazz.
He remembers the night in 1975 that torrential rains flooded the city, a night in which a crowd of 25,000 found their way to the Superdome to watch the Jazz play the Lakers.
He remembers the January night in '78, with the Jazz on a roll, in playoff contention for the first and only time, the night Pistol suffered a season-ending knee injury while attempting a half-court, between-the-legs pass in the Dome against the Buffalo Braves.
"Pete was an unforgettable show all by himself," said Pettit. "This is a different kind of show. In Chris Paul, you have someone who has a great way about him, who has a knack of bringing everyone together, doing it with an unbelievable quickness and decision-making. He has an on-court presence that is riveting. Even if you don't completely understand the ins and outs of the game at the professional level, he's a treat to watch. If you do understand them, you're more amazed at what a 6-foot athlete has accomplished in a game played by highly gifted giants."
Paul and the Hornets, said Pettit, are going about business in a day when NBA marketing is light years ahead of what it was when Pettit suited up for the Hawks.
"Every team in the league does a great job in getting the fans involved," said Pettit. "Today, you've got Hugo diving through a flaming hoop. In my day, you had a group like the Four Freshmen, and sometimes we had the great Count Basie Band providing the entertainment, but doing it after the game, not at halftime or during timeouts."
As for a Game 7, Pettit was involved in a piece of history he'll never forget when the Hawks faced the Celtics in Boston Garden in 1957, a time both franchises were in search of their first NBA championship.
"You want drama?" said Pettit. "We were in the second overtime with the Celtics, leading 125-123. We called timeout with two seconds left. We had the ball under the Boston basket. Alex Hannum was our player-coach. Alex decided we had only one chance. He told me to go down court and wait at the free-throw line. He said he was going to throw the ball the length of the court and hit the backboard. My job was to catch the ball and make a field goal to send the game into a third overtime."
So what happened?
"The ball wound up in my hands," said Pettit. "I caught it in the air and took a shot before I came down. It spun off the rim."
The Celtics, with rookie Bill Russell pulling down 32 rebounds, had won their first of 16 championships. Pettit, who had 39 points and 19 rebounds in a losing cause, would have to wait until the following year, when the Hawks defeated the Celtics in six games for their first and only championship behind Pettit's 50 points.
So what does Pettit expect in Game 7 on Monday?
"Obviously, I'm pulling for the Hornets, and I'm looking for the first close game of the series. The Spurs are battle-tested enough to make the Hornets realize they'll have to go out and win it, that the home team won't be getting any favors. That's what makes the matchup so fascinating. Go Hornets."
One of my favorites players is against me :pctoss
:nope