The NBA History: NBA 1979-Christmas Day-Philadelphia 76ers @ New York Knicks: Highlights

Source:The NBA History– The 76ers and Knicks from 1978.

“Dr. J, Henry Bibby, ”Jellybean” Bryant and Doug Collins took the floor against Earl ”The Pearl” and the Knicks.”

From The NBA History

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Philadelphia-New York, is a great rivalry in any sport. Eagles-Giants in the NFL, which is probably the best one. Flyers-Rangers, in the NHL, Phillies-Mets in MLB and yes the 76ers-Knicks in the NBA. Which today is not nearly the rivalry it was twenty-five or thirty years ago. But it was a big deal in the 1960s, 70s and 80s.

But now both franchises, especially in the 76ers case, haven’t been very good for a long time. The 76ers, have only been to the Conference Finals twice since winning their last NBA Finals in 1983. And the Knicks have struggled just to make the Eastern Conference Playoffs for the last ten years or so.

As far as this game, the 76ers were still one of the best teams in the NBA at this point. They lost in the Eastern Conference Finals in 1978 and got to the Eastern Conference Semifinals in 1979.

Dr. J Julius Erving, certainly the best forward in basketball at this point and arguably the best all around player in the NBA as well at this point. Trying to lead the 76ers under head coach Billy Cunningham back to the NBA Finals. This was a bit of a homecoming for The Doctor who played for the Nets on Long Island. And the fact that he now played for the 76ers in this game was on Christmas Day, 1978 and they Sixers won big, made this game much more special.

What is also interesting about this game, is that Bob McAdoo, one of the top power forwards in the NBA in the 1970s was playing for the Knicks in this game. That were a pretty bad team in the late 70s. After leaving Buffalo in like 1976, he ends up playing for like three teams in four years. Here’s one of the best players in the NBA at this point getting shipped around from bad team to bad team in the late 70s. Before finally finding a home where he could finish his career with in Los Angeles with the Lakers in 1982.

There was a lot of talent on both teams in this game, especially for the 76ers, but they were clearly the better team.

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CBS Sports: NBA 1978- Eastern Conference Finals Game 1: Washington Bullets @ Philadelphia 76ers: Elvin Hayes Highlights

Source:CBS Sports– Bullets backup center Mitch Kupchak.

“Elvin Hayes – 1978 ECF Gm 1 – (28pts 18reb 6blk 4stl) vs. 76ers”

From Basketball Composition

This was back when the Bullets and 76ers were pretty good rivals. Because both teams were always in contention for the Eastern Conference championship and NBA Finals. But this rivalry was all but gone by the late 1980s when the Bullets became perennial losers.

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Lamar Matic: NBA 1986- Eastern Conference 1st Round Game 1- Washington Wizards @ Philadelphia 76ers: 4th Quarter

Source:Lamar Matic– the Wizards and 76ers from 1986.

“One of the greatest NBA comebacks ever. The Washington Bullets are down by 17 with 4 minutes left and seems like have lost the first playoffs game of 1986. However, veteran Dan Roundfield scoring on one end and Charles Barkley with Julius Erving choking on the other lets the Bullets get back in the game and win it with an impossible game winning three by Dudley Bradley. 1986 NBA Eastern Conference Playoffs Round 1 Game 1.”

From Lamar Matic

Definitely one of the most surprising comeback victories of all-time and perhaps the best comeback in Bullets playoff history.

You come back from eighteen points with four minutes left in the game especially in a playoff game, you are getting a lot of breaks with the team with the lead falling asleep and thinking they’ve already won the game. Which is what the 76ers did, as well as the Bullets never giving up and coming up with a lot of great plays. Especially on defense, but scoring every time they had the ball.

When you have a big lead like this, all you really have to do is work the clock, don’t turn the ball over and hit your foul shots. You do all of those things and even if the other team scores every time they have the ball, they won’t have enough time to come all the way back. The 76ers failed to even do these basic fundamental things late in this game.

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CBS Sports: Moses Malone Feature With Washington Wizards (1987)

Source:CBS Sports– interviewing Wizards center Moses Malone in 1987.
“Interview with Moses Malone mid-season after trade to Washington Bullets.”

“Interview with Moses Malone mid-season after trade to Washington Bullets.”

From NBA Trades

The worst move that Harald Katz ever made running the Philadelphia 76ers (and there might be a David Letterman top 10 list of bad moves that he made running the 76ers) was trading Moses Malone to the Wizards. They were called the Washington Bullets back then, but trading Moses and not getting anything in return with Jeff Ruland who had a bad leg before that trade told 76ers fans and perhaps the rest of the NBA that the 76ers were not only no longer NBA Finals contenders, but they weren’t interested in being contenders. Especially with 1987 being Julius Erving’s last season.

A healthy Moses Malone with the 76ers in 87 and finishing his career there with Charles Barkley and you add a small forward to come after Dr. J and the 76ers would have remained not just a playoff team in the late 1980s and 1990s, but they would have remained a contender for the NBA Finals.

The 76ers after trading Moses have never been the same since. They were a solid playoff team in 1989, 1990 and 1991, but the fell back and missed the playoffs in 92 and then make another trade with Charles Barkley and were essentially a last place team for the rest of the 1990s.

And after two great seasons personally that Moses had for the Wizards in 87 and 88, the Wizards make a bad move themselves by not resigning Moses who was 33 at that point and probably had another 3-5 good years left in him. But that’s on Abe Pollin who at least in the 1980s was only interested in making the NBA Playoffs and putting enough people in the seats at the Capital Centre to make a profit for his team.

The Wizards keep Moses to go along with Jeff Malone and a young and very talented, but undisciplined player in John Williams, Bernard King would have still been there and Wizards would have at least remained a consistent playoff team in the 1990s.

I’ve never figured out how come Moses played for six NBA teams. I mean he is one of the top 4-5 NBA centers of all-time. Maybe only Wilt Chamberlain was a better rebounding center than Moses. Arguably the best center of the 1980s. Certainly in the Eastern Conference and you could argue about Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, or Moses for the NBA as a whole. And yet the team he played the most games with was the Houston Rockets which was for six seasons. Even though he’s known as the great low-post player both offensively and defensively and the great rebounder and for bringing another NBA championship to the 76ers.

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Ginoong Kamote: Vintage NBA- Moses Malone: ‘The Chairman of The Boards’

Source:Ginoong Kamote– Moses Malone, when he was with the Houston Rockets, playing the Boston Celtics, perhaps in 1981.

Source:The Daily Press

“Moses Malone is an American former National Basketball Association (NBA) basketball player who also played in the American Basketball Association (ABA), as well as on the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks, Houston Rockets, Milwaukee Bucks, Philadelphia 76ers, San Antonio Spurs and Washington Bullets. Malone played 21 seasons in the NBA. Before retiring from basketball, he was the last ABA participant to still be playing in the NBA. In 2001, he was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame”

From Ginoong Kamote

Just from looking at the background of this photo, I would say this game was played at the Atlanta Omni, with the Philadelphia 76ers playing the Atlanta Hawks. But that’s all I know about it.

Source:NBA-TV– one of the thing that made Moses Malone so effective as an NBA big man, was his ability not just to get to the free throw line, but make his free throws. He always shot around 75-80% from the foul line, which always made him one of the best free throw shooting big men in the NBA. Which put even more pressure on the other teams big men, because not only where they in foul trouble a lot, but they were also giving up a lot of free points to Moses and his team.

Moses Malone was simply a bull with a lot of skills who was almost impossible to box out with his brute strength, quickness and determination. Whose one of the top five centers of all-time because of what he could do in the paint both offensively and defensively. Who also might be the best offensive rebounder of all-time as well. Kareem, Wilt, Bill Russell and maybe Hakeem and that would be the only centers I would take over Moses and I could easily have Moses over Hakeem, but that would be a tossup.

Imagine a man 6’9-6’10 260 pounds or so, of brute strength and muscle, but who was also very quick and athletic. The man was impossible to box out for the most part, I’m not sure Wilt Chamberlain could box out Moses in his prime. The man was simply a bull physically as a man, but with a heart bigger than that. And when he was finally put on a very good team, a great team, one of the best teams of all-time in the NBA, the 1983 Philadelphia 76ers, you really got to see how great he was and how great he could make other players, including other great players.

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