Word: sharman
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...dominant factors as the poised New York Knicks upset the prestigious Los Angeles Lakers 114-92. Even the Lakers were awed as the sharpshooting Knicks passed and moved through swift, intricate patterns; in the first half, they hit 72% of their field shots. Rasped Los Angeles Coach Bill Sharman, victim of a long siege of laryngitis: "They could be the best-shooting team in basketball...
...remained favorites; the title, if they take it, would be their first since they moved to Los Angeles in 1960. They have finished second seven times; they were the team that the Knicks beat for the championship in 1970. But this season, under the skillful shaping of New Coach Sharman, who came to Los Angeles from the Utah Stars of the A.B.A., the Lakers have become one of the most formidable squads in N.B.A. history. They set league records for both consecutive victories (33) and most wins in a season (69, against a mere 13 defeats...
Selfless. Nowhere has Sharman's shaping been more evident than in the play of Chamberlain, who earns about $250,000 a year as center and has occasionally been accused of being something less than a team player. Not this season. Never in his 13-year pro career has the "Dipper" concentrated so little on shooting (he once scored 100 points for Philadelphia against New York) and ILLUSTRATED so much on rebounding, blocking shots and setting up someone else to score. As an intimidating pivot and selfless team captain. Chamberlain has led the Lakers to their new heights...
What is the Lakers' secret? Guard Jerry West says that it is not the $5 bonus that Sharman doles out for each blocked shot or ball-stealing play. "I don't know what it is, really," confesses West, whose Laker salary is a reported $200,000 a year. "But whatever it is, we like it." Sharman knows exactly what it is, and he has printed the answer on the dressing room blackboard in large letters: RUN. The fast-breaking Lakers have read the word and reacted by outhustling all comers...
With half the season still to go, Sharman has no doubt that the going will get tougher. Noting that the 1916 Giants set their record while playing at home, he explains that "it's harder to sustain a winning streak in basketball. We have tougher travel conditions and have to fight the other teams' home court advantage, which doesn't mean as much in baseball." That argument does not impress Laker Center Wilt Chamberlain, who remembers his days with the Harlem Globetrotters' traveling basketball show. "I played with them when they won all their games...