The NBA in Black and White by Ray Scott

Author:Ray Scott [Fischman Sheila]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781644211991
Publisher: Seven Stories Press
Published: 2022-04-05T18:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

“BENNIE AND THE JETS”

Although it would end in profound disappointment, the 1973-74 season was exhilarating.

The Pistons’ games at Cobo Hall were like a big party, and we had a theme song that roused the fans—Elton John’s “Bennie and the Jets.” An organist, Tyrone Hemphill, played the tune and Dennis Rowland sang the words when the Pistons first came onto the court during our pregame warm-ups, also during timeouts, quarter-breaks, the halftime intermissions, and after the game. The song had the perfect rhythm and rallied the fans, who would respond by clapping their hands in time and singing along. At one point, Elton John’s agent came to a game to thank us for making the song such a big part of our game-time entertainment.

Several other professional teams had similar routines. Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline” was the theme song of the Boston Red Sox. And before the Philadelphia Flyers played every home playoff game, Kate Smith made a personal appearance to sing “God Bless America.” The TV program Soul Train originated in Chicago, so the song of the same name became the Bulls’ theme.

Moreover, the team had a solid game plan that was based on playing hard defense and sharing the ball. Credit Bing (18.8 points per game), and Lanier (22.5) for sacrificing shots for passes. Plus, Mengelt and Trapp provided productive scoring off the bench.

On defense, we varied our pressures—picking up at three-quarter court, half-court, and springing strategic double teams. Adams and Chris Ford excelled at team defense, while Curtis Rowe was rock-solid and a lock-down one-on-one defender. We finished allowing only 100.3 points per game, fourth best in the league.

Equally important were Ben Kelso and Bobby Nash, the two guys at the far end of the bench. They practiced hard and never complained about their lack of playing time.

We started off at 12-11, but as we increasingly became patient and more disciplined, we began to be competitive with the league’s best teams. Plus, there were several key games that boosted our confidence.

The first of these was in Chicago in the middle of November, when we had possession, a 2-point lead, and five seconds on the game clock. The Bulls’ obvious plan was to foul somebody ASAP, right? So, as Bing stood with the ball out of bounds on the sideline, it was no secret that a quick pass had to be made and the receiver would then be fouled. Now, since Bing and Adams were buddies, Dave threw the ball to Don.

“I was thinking that I’d get Don two free throws to add to his numbers.”

But Chet Walker anticipated the pass, made the interception, was fouled by Bing, and canned a pair of foul shots to send the game into overtime. The Bulls won when Bob Love hit a 22-footer, a shot that was way out of his range.

We were all hurting in the postgame locker room. Dave was on the verge of tears as he accepted the blame. “I’m sorry,” he said. “This’ll never happen again.”

And it never did.

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