1972-73 Willis Reed back in the game after injury
Willis Reed returned to the team after his injury, which limited him to
only 11 games in the previous seaon. Earl Monroe and Walt Frazier, long-time
adversaries when Monroe was with Baltimore, learned to play together for the
Knicks. Jerry Lucas, like Monroe, had been obtained in a trade and took the
center spot next to Reed. Bill Bradley and Dave DeBusschere were at their
forward spots, with Phil Jackson again in reserve. But the best team in the
regular season was Boston, which had rebuilt its team around John Havlicek with
Jo Jo White, Dave Cowens, veteran Paul Silas, and Don Chaney, Don Nelson and
Satch Sanders. Boston won 68 games, only one shy of the league record
established by the Lakers a year earlier. Meanwhile, Philadelohia, which lost
Billy Cunningham (he went to the ABA), establihed an NBA worst-season record
with 9-73.
New York easily beat Baltimore, then fought tooth-and-nail against Boston,
which succumbed in Game 7. The Lakers defeated Chicago in seven games, then
Golden State in five to reach the Finals. In the same Finals matchup for the
third time in four years, the Knicks won in four straight to get a second title.
"Tiny" makes big impression. While Boston shined during the regular
season with 68 victories and New York won its second Championship, a remarkable
even took place somewhere else. The Cincinnati Royals had moved after the 1972
season and were splitting home games between two cities: Kansas City and Omaha.
Although the team finished the season with 36-46 and didn't make the Playoffs,
the fans were fascinated by a short guard Nate "Tiny" Archibald, in his third
season.
Archibald led the NBA in both scoring (34.0) and assists (11.4). He played a
league-leading 46 minutes per game. More than two decades later, no one has come
close to Archibald's achievement.
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