Monday, September 27, 2010

Good Grief: No Love For Moncrief

"When you play against [Sidney] Moncrief, you're in for a night of all-around basketball. He'll hound you everywhere you go, both ends of the court. You just expect it."

Nice praise. The quote sounds like Moncrief was reasonably well respected while he played or had really nice teammates that gathered some words together to make him sound like a valuable NBA player/teammate. 'He's a gamer' is what this quote means coming from most people. This quote, however, did not come from most people; it came from the greatest ever. It came from Michael Jordan. Jordan didn't and doesn't throw praise around when unwarranted. He's a bitter man who spends more time talking about his doubters and the people he defeated than people he praised (look at his Hall of Fame induction speech for crying out loud). So for MJ to offer up a comment like this, to a division foe no less, it shows a lot of respect for Moncrief coming from the greatest player the game of basketball has ever seen.

Sidney Moncrief is the Rodney Dangerfield of the NBA, the dude gets no respect. It takes every good-natured fiber in my body NOT to back-hand slap "NBA fans" who don't know, respect or care about Moncrief's game. Sidney "the Squid" Moncrief belongs in the Hall of Fame and he deserves to be known by not only fair weather Bucks fans but NBA fans in general.

Before Moncrief even set foot on NBA hardwood, he was a basketball legend. He resurrected the basketball program for the University or Arkansas. Say what you will about Marvin Delph, Ron Brewer and Eddie Sutton (people probably don't have much to say since they didn't know about Moncrief in the first place; I could back-hand myself at this point. FRUSTRATED!) but Moncrief was the unquestioned leader and straw that stirred the drink for Arkansas. College basketball in Arkansas, at the time, was like football is in North Carolina right now (Who cares? When does basketball season start?). Moncrief changed that and Arkansas cares about basketball to this day. Moncrief averaged 16.9 points per game (PPG) and 8.3 rebounds per game (RPG) over his college career and 22.0 PPG and 9.6 RPG in his senior season (Moncrief was 6'3" at best and damn near averaged a double-double with points and rebounds, who does that now? Nobody.). He's part of the '2,000 point, 1,000 rebound' club in Division 1 (HE'S ONLY 6'3"!!!).

When the Bucks drafted him fifth overall (after David Greenwood and Greg Kelser...who?) I'm sure they hoped that they got a guy that could lead their team through the decade of the 80s. As you'll find, YES, the Bucks got that guy.

In the 80s, basketball was dominated by the Lakers and the Celtics; Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. Use your best guess and try to figure out who the 3rd best team in the 80s was (hint: it ain't the Philadelphia 76ers, the Detroit Pistons or the Portland Trailblazers). I'll wait...

(Cue the Jeopardy! music while I fix myself a drink because the answer is one that the casual NBA fan has no idea about.)

The Milwaukee Bucks of the 80s had the 3rd best winning percentage of the decade behind the Celtics and Lakers. They took bronze in the 80s which was THE BEST decade of basketball that we've EVER seen. The Celtics and Lakers of the 80s are viewed, arguably (but there shouldn't be much argument), as the best teams the league has ever seen. We're talking Bird, Magic, McHale, Kareem, Parrish, Worthy, Ainge, Cooper,  DJ etc...and that's just two teams! Not to mention (but to mention) the aforementioned Jordan, Barkley, Gervin, Bernard King, Moses, Dr. J, Olajuwon, Wilkins, Karl Malone, Isiah Thomas, Ewing, Stockton, Drexler etc. This was the best basketball era ever and the Bucks had the third best team in that era. Who was the constant for the Bucks in that decade? Who was their unquestioned leader? Sid "The Squid" Moncrief, that's who.

Sidney Moncrief's career started in 1979-80 and here's the Bucks' record with Moncrief:
1979-80: 49-33 (seventh best in the league; won division)
1980-81: 60-22 (third best in the league; won division)
1981-82: 55-27 (fourth best in the league; won division)
1982-83: 51-31 (sixth best in the league; won division)
1983-84: 50-32 (fourth best in the league; won division)
1984-85: 59-23 (third best in the league; won division)
1985-86: 57-25 (third best in the league; won division)
1986-87: 50-32 (sixth best in the league: third in division)
1987-88: 42-40 (twelfth best in the league; fifth in division)
1988-89: 49-33 (eighth best in the league; fourth in division)

So, Moncrief as team leader compiled a 522-298 record as the heart and soul of the Milwaukee Bucks. That's better than a 52-30 record average for a decade, and not just any decade, only the best decade of basketball ever. If the Bucks go 52-30 in this era, Bucks' fans are catatonic from excitement (once again 52-30 was their AVERAGE during the 80s). In the 80s, it was shooting under par without winning a trophy. Not to mention they NEVER had a losing record (aka; Always competitive, if not elite). Let's look at the playoffs:

1979-80: Lost in Conference Semifinals to Seattle as underdogs in 7 games
1980-81: Lost in Conference Semifinals to Philadelphia as underdogs in 7 games (lost by 1 in game 7)
1981-82: Lost in Conference Semifinals to Philadelphia as underdogs in 6 games
1982-83: Lost in Conference Final to Philadelphia as underdogs in 5 games (Lost to the champions and swept Boston in the prior series. Yeah, the Larry Bird Celtics.)
1983-84: Lost in Conference Final to Boston as underdogs in 5 games (Boston won it all this year.)
1984-85: Lost in Conference Semifinals to Philadelphia as underdogs in 4 games
1985-86: Lost in Conference Finals to Boston as underdogs in 4 games (Boston won it all this year.)
1986-87: Lost in Conference Semifinals to Boston as underdogs in 7 (One of the more underrated playoff series of that decade, it REALLY could've gone either way and was always close.)
1987-88: Lost in first round to Atlanta as underdogs in game 5 of 5 game series
1988-89: Lost in Conference Semifinals to Detroit in 4 games (Detroit won it all this year.)

The Bucks were contenders every year he played, seriously. They lost to 4 eventual champions in the playoffs during the 80s and were always in the mix. 'The Squid' never missed the playoffs while he played for the Bucks. When Sidney Moncrief played for the Bucks, they were a force to be reckoned with in the best era the NBA has seen to this point. It makes you wonder how things would transpire had the Celtics, Lakers and, to a lesser degree, the 76ers not been the best the NBA has ever seen.

Notice I haven't said Matt Foley 'jack squat' about what Moncrief did on his own in that era. The Milwaukee Bucks were constant contenders while he was their best player. Here's the short version of what he accomplished in that lofty era:

  • Two time Defensive Player of the Year (1983, 1984)
  • All NBA First Team (1982-83)
  • Four time All NBA Second Team (1981-82, 1983-84, 1984-85, 1985-86)
  • Four time NBA All-Defensive First Team (1982-83, 1983-84, 1984-85, 1985-86)
  • NBA All-Defensive Second Team (1981-82)
  • Five time All-Star (1981-82 through 1985-86)
  • Two time All-Star Game Starter (1983-84 and 1985-86)
  • Top 10 in MVP voting (1981-1986)
This alone makes him one of the greatest of his era (once again, ahem, THE GREATEST ERA IN BASKETBALL HISTORY!!!). Consider this, though, if that wasn't enough. In his day Moncrief was known as a defensive mastermind (5 time NBA Defensive team; more importantly he was a two time Defensive Player of the Year! For those scoring at home, he was the BEST defensive player in 1983 and 1984). In an era where the Celtics and Lakers are dominating the NBA as cocaine and the Reagan administration were dominating the decade of the 80s (interestingly enough the Celtics, Lakers, cocaine and the Reagan administration did dominate the 80s altogether), Moncrief was dominating when it came to defense and basketball. The Defensive Player of the Year award started in 1982-83 and Moncrief won the first two years it was established. It should be "the Sidney Moncrief Defensive Player of the Year Award" honestly, he did set the bar after all. Not to mention (but TOTALLY mentioning!) since the award's inception almost three decades ago, only three other true guards have won the award (Alvin Robertson [Recall election, anybody? Katherine Harris ALERT!], the G.O.A.T. Michael Jordan and Gary Payton) but only one has done it twice. The guy who did it twice? SIDNEY MONCRIEF!!! The Squid didn't just win it more than any other guard ever has (including Michael "The Greatest Player EVER" Jordan) but he was also the smallest guy to ever win the award. It seems like nowadays you have to be at least 6'10" to win the award; whereas Moncrief instituted the award at a mere 6'3" (at most).

While Mocrief was dominating on defense, he was also taking care of business on offense (1981-82 19.8 PPG, 1982-83 22.5 PPG, 1983-84 20.9 PPG, 1984-85 21.7 PPG, 1985-86 20.2 PPG). It's not unusual to score over 20 PPG in this league, but you know what is? Being a defensive specialist that can score over 20 PPG while shooting over 50% (for Moncrief's career!) from the field and 83% from the free throw line as a 6'3" guard. Bruce Bowen is praised for his wing defense in the current era but he doesn't have to guard Jordan, Wilkins, Bird and the like. Yeah, I mean the same guys Moncrief had to battle with on a regular basis. Bowen averaged 6.1 PPG a year over his career while Moncrief averaged over double that at 15.6 a game for his career. So Bowen is viewed as an ultimate perimeter defender in this current era, without scoring ability. Moncrief was an elite perimeter defender, if not the best, WITH scoring ability in an elite era. If Bowen is revered in an era that is diluted unlike Moncrief's era, shouldn't Sidney Moncrief be a first ballot Hall of Famer? He's arguably the best defender of his era and could hold up his end of the donkey on the offensive end as well.

All of Moncrief's accomplishments came in a time where the NBA talent level was at it's peak. Sidney Moncrief was an elite performer and should be recognized as such whether Michael Jordan believed it or not.

Yeah, Michael Jordan respected him, but it's more than that. Sidney 'the Squid' Moncrief made the playoffs 10 years in a row, lead his team there every year, established the Defensive Player of the Year award as the first and second recipient, was a 5 time All-Star, 5 time All-NBA guy, 5 time NBA All Defensive team guy and was the top dog on a team that won more games than everyone except the Celtics and Lakers in the 80s. Put "The Squid" in the Hall of Fame, and keep him in your brains people. RESPECT.

2 comments:

  1. Very nice. Definitely kept me interested, could not stop reading. I think journalism is a strong area of yours. Write more.

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  2. I'm not even a basketball fanatic, but I thought this article was awesome. I had no idea that the Bucks were ever that good! I love your writing. It's in a nice conversational tone which really flows. Quite entertaining!

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