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NBA San Francisco Dons vs. NBA Georgetown Hoyas

Our next matchup features two programs whose past success centered around one of the greatest players in college basketball history. San Francisco won back-to-back championships with the legendary Bill Russell in 1955 and 1956, but they have not been back to the championship game since, and they have not even been to the NCAA tournament since the turn of the century. Patrick Ewing led Georgetown to three NCAA championship games in four seasons, but they have not been back to the big game since he graduated, and they’ve fallen on hard times in recent years, even with Ewing taking the reins as the head coach. The battle between the NBA San Francisco Dons vs. NBA Georgetown Hoyas features these two legends going head-to-head, but will likely be determined by the other pros from each school’s respective history.

Key Matchups

Battle of the Big Men – While Russell and Ewing are the headliners, each is starting next to another big man in a Twin Towers lineup, and they may not directly match up against each other as a result. Russell will be paired with Bill Cartwright, who has ample experience guarding Ewing from the Bulls-Knicks rivalry in the 1990s. Cartwright played Ewing tough in those contests, but Ewing still dominated, averaging 23.0 PPG and 11.3 RPG in 25 regular season head-to-head matchups, and 22.3 PPG and 11.0 RPG in 29 postseason matches. The best version of Cartwright, however, came before this rivalry, when he himself was a member of the Knicks. Cartwright could score effectively from the post, averaging 16.8 PPG on 55.2% shooting from the field over 8 seasons in New York. He’ll be heavily relied-upon by the scoring-deficient Dons, though he’s facing a fleet of elite defensive big men. Alonzo Mourning, one of those big men, will join Ewing in the starting lineup and will be Russell’s primary adversary. Both are among the greatest interior defenders to ever play; Mourning will try to use his bulk to establish post position, while Russell will try to use his speed and quickness to get out in transition and push the pace. Georgetown has the luxury of subbing in Dikembe Mutombo for either Ewing or Mourning and losing nothing on the defensive end of the court. San Francisco will have to rely on the likes of Erwin Mueller and Pete Cross if Russell or Cartwright gets tired or in foul trouble, which will be death against the Hoyas’ frontcourt.

K.C. Jones vs. Allen Iverson – Iverson presents a difficult challenge for the Dons’ perimeter defensive ace. Jones will use his high basketball IQ to bother Iverson, but nobody can keep AI out of the lane. How Iverson balances his role of creator and scorer, and how he deals with Jones’s defense, will ultimately help determine the effectiveness of Georgetown’s offensive attack.

Biggest Mismatches

Georgetown’s bench – San Francisco has one threat off the bench (Fred Scolari), while the rest of the reserves are replacement-level players (or worse). Georgetown’s bench complements their starting lineup and allows them to play more versatile, modern lineups. Reggie Williams and Jeff Green will get plenty of minutes at two guard and power forward, respectively, though Green’s minutes at the four will be limited in this series with the Dons playing two centers at a time. Jerome Williams will be a better fit next to one of Georgetown’s centers, to keep them competitive on the glass. Mutombo, Roy Hibbert, and Greg Monroe are all superior options to anything San Francisco can offer, and Mutombo specifically will help ensure that Ewing and Mourning get adequate rest. The Hoyas should wear the Dons out with their plethora of options.

Georgetown’s scoring options – San Francisco will have a lot of trouble scoring in the halfcourt. Expect Phil Smith to be their primary perimeter threat. Georgetown doesn’t have a great option to stop him in the starting lineup; Otto Porter will likely start off guarding him, and David Wingate may be their best defensive option off the bench. Outside of Smith though, San Francisco will rely on the inconsistent Quintin Dailey for shot creation, beyond their dual-center threat. Cartwright and Russell were good offensive players who were best suited to supporting roles, and they will have to generate offense against Georgetown’s fantastic defensive centers. The Hoyas have Iverson, Sleepy Floyd, Otto Porter, and Reggie Williams who can hurt San Francisco from the perimeter, and Ewing and Mourning will provide interior post scoring, in addition to second chance opportunities off the glass.

Bill Russell – Although the roster comparison doesn’t look good for San Francisco, Bill Russell is the greatest winner in basketball history. One could easily see him taking Mourning out of his normal game, and making Iverson and Floyd think twice about driving to the hole. One man cannot win a series, but it’s always helpful to have the best player on your side.

X-Factor

1982 – That’s the most recent year that an impact player was drafted on San Francisco’s roster (Quintin Dailey). Even though Georgetown’s had mixed success since the 1990s, San Francisco’s complete irrelevance in that time has severely hampered their NBA roster.

Results

This proves to be an ugly series, with a slew of low-scoring games. Ultimately, San Francisco simply cannot find enough ways to score against Georgetown’s defense. Although it seems blasphemous to say this, Bill Russell can’t make it out of the first round.

Georgetown wins, four games to one.

Next Round

The Hoyas face the NBA Duke Blue Devils.

NBA San Francisco Dons

Our next profile features a program that has not made the NCAA tournament since 1997-98. In fact, they’ve never really recovered since they chose to shut their basketball program down for three seasons (1983-85) due to multiple NCAA violations. While their recent history is putrid, they once were a significant program, earning 15 tournament appearances in a 28-year span. Ultimately, the main reason they’re in this tournament, and have two NCAA championships, is due to the presence of one of the GOATs of the sport. The NBA San Francisco Dons are led by the incomparable Bill Russell, who will try to work his magic with modest NBA talent around him.

K.C. Jones, the starting lead guard, was one of the great defensive players of his era. His offensive limitations were pronounced, which did not make a difference during his playing career (he won a title in his first eight seasons as a Celtic), but will be limiting for this team. Jones was below average from the field, even accounting for his era (for his career, he was 9% worse than league average), was a horrendous foul shooter for a guard (64.7%), and he averaged just 7.4 PPG for his career. He was, however, a key piece of the greatest dynasty we’ve ever seen, and as a playmaker, he ranked in the top 12 in assists six years in his career. The starting wings will take on an outsized scoring role for their rotation. Quintin Dailey was a good mid-range shooter who put up 15.3 PPG over the first seven seasons of his career. His impact statistics, however, were horrendous (career 101 offensive rating, 111 defensive rating, 0.050 win shares per 48 minutes), and his teams averaged just 25 wins per game over that period. Dailey had his troubles on both the college and pro levels, and his admission that he accepted money for a bogus job was the last straw that led to the university suspending its program. He was, however, immensely talented, and he’ll be surrounded by winning players in the starting lineup. Phil Smith, the other starting wing, had the talent to be a 3-and-D wing in the modern game. He was a tremendous athlete who in his prime years (his 2^nd to 5^th seasons before an Achilles injury slowed him down) averaged 19.6 PPG on 48.0% from the field, and 4.4 APG while making an all-NBA defensive team and an all-NBA second team appearance. He’ll be one of the key players on this roster, and will have to guard larger wings due to their lack of small forwards.

The starting frontcourt consists of two big men who combined to win 14 championships in their pro careers. Bill Russell is the greatest winner of all time, and the greatest defensive player ever. He has the most career defensive win shares in NBA history, and has the second most rebounds and rebounds per game ever. One researcher estimated that he averaged more than 8 blocks per game in his career based on more than 100 games for which reports are available. When accounting for pace, these numbers are less impressive, but Russell’s impact went far beyond the box score. Although impossible to quantify, he seemed to have a mental edge over his opponents, frequently intimidating them on defense, and knowing their tendencies and weaknesses as well as anyone who has ever played. He was 10-0 in game sevens in his career. And, of course, he won the championship in 11 of his 13 seasons, which will never be duplicated. His skillset would translate to any era of NBA basketball, which includes the intangibles that helped lead to all of his success. His frontcourt mate, Bill Cartwright, was best known for his supporting role on the Bulls championship teams, but he started his career off as a true offensive threat, averaging 20.9 PPG on 55% shooting over his first two years in the league. Throughout his Knicks career (from 1979-80 to 1987-88), Cartwright had a major impact on both ends of the court, as seen in his offensive (116) and defensive (106) rating over that period. He’ll be one of the prime offensive weapons for this team, and his weaknesses as a big man (rebounding, defending the rim) should be more than compensated for by Russell.

Off the bench, Fred Scolari was a pioneering point guard whose impact on both sides of the ball led to two all-star game selections and two all-BAA honors. He was more of an offensive threat than K.C. Jones as a lead guard, and can give this team a different look when he comes into the game. After Scolari, I don’t have anything informative to say about anyone else on the rest of the bench. Depth is a major problem for this team, as none of the remaining six players even approached mediocrity at the pro level. While Russell averaged 42+ minutes per game in his career, the other players will need rest, so these journeymen will be forced into action to the detriment of the team’s chances at winning.

Overall, the NBA San Francisco Dons will be offensively challenged, but should be among the best defensive teams in the tournament due to their famed Celtics duo, along with Smith and Cartwright. As the 13^th seed, they have a tough first round matchup against the NBA Georgetown Hoyas.

Worst Game 7 Performances in NBA History

In 2016, LeBron James had the defining moment of his career, slaying the 73-9 Golden State Warriors in game seven on their home floor. James had a triple-double that game and added perhaps the most iconic blocked shot in league history. However, that game was an offensive struggle for both teams, with James shooting 9 for 24 from the field.

NBA history is littered with uneven shooting performances when the stakes are highest, even among the game’s greatest players. Larry Bird and Magic Johnson combined to shoot 11 for 32 in Game 7 of the 1984 NBA Finals. Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen combined to shoot 15 for 43 in Game 7 of the 1998 Eastern Conference Finals against Indiana. Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan shot 6 for 24 and 10 for 27, respectively, in Game 7 of the 2010 and 2005 NBA Finals, and still brought home MVP honors for those series (as did Bird in 1984 and James in 2016).

There are some Game 7 performances that particularly stand out for the wrong reasons. What happened to the players during these games? Was the moment too big, or did the defense figure them out after a six-game sample? Did they simply have a bad shooting day at an inopportune time? Every circumstance is different, as you’ll see below.

This post highlights 10 of the worst Game 7 performances in NBA history. This list is skewed toward offensive performances, since defensive tracking is difficult for games, especially in the pre-merger era. I’m also focusing on the very highest stakes games – only semifinals and finals games are included.

Dishonorable Mention: The first three quarters of Kobe’s performance in Game 7 of the 2010 NBA Finals were shockingly awful, but he had a spirited fourth quarter and wound up with 23 points and 15 rebounds in spite of his 6 for 24 shooting performance. In the same game, Ray Allen shot 3 for 14, capping a series where he shot just 36.7% overall…In Game 7 of the 1979 Eastern Conference Finals, Tom Henderson put up 0 points on 0 for 9 shooting in 30 minutes. Despite his effort, tbe Bullets beat the Spurs and went to their second straight NBA Finals…Bob Love shot 6 for 26 from the field in a four-point Chicago loss to Golden State in the 1975 Western Conference Finals. Chicago only scored 79 points that game, and Love shot 10 more times than any other teammate…The Boston Celtics shot 32.7% from the field as a team in Game 7 of the 1962 NBA Finals and still found a way to beat the Lakers by the three…In the previous round, the Celtics won another Game 7, this time against the Philadelphia Warriors, and won on a last second Sam Jones shot. Paul Arizin shot 4 for 22 for Philadelphia. Curiously, Wilt Chamberlain, who averaged 50.4 PPG in the regular season, took only 15 shots. He scored 22 points and grabbed 22 rebounds, and was clutch down the stretch, but this was the rare example of the Warriors version of Wilt being too unselfish.

10. Terry Rozier, Marcus Smart, and Jaylen Brown, 2018 Eastern Conference Finals, Game 7 (combined 8 for 42 from the field, 21 total points): In 2018, an overachieving Celtics team without Kyrie Irving (and Gordon Hayward, who missed virtually the entire season after a gruesome opening-night injury) advanced to the brink of the NBA Finals in a weak Eastern Conference. LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers stood in their way, but they were not the juggernaut of year’s past. Kevin Love, Cleveland’s second leading scorer, did not play in this game due to a concussion. Boston also had homecourt, since Cleveland only won 50 games that season. However, the moment seemed too big for a young Celtics team. Brown, who played like a future star throughout their unlikely playoff run, shot 5 for 18 from the field, and 3 for 12 from 3. Marcus Smart, a notoriously inconsistent shooter, made only one of his 10 shots. Finally, the clock struck midnight on Terry Rozier, who impressively filled Irving’s shoes throughout the playoffs. Rozier shot 2 for 14 from the field, and 0 for 10 from three, part of an embarrassing 7 for 39 team performance from long distance. While Boston would have had no chance against the Golden State Warriors in the Finals, this game may have represented their best shot at the Finals in this era, considering the rise of the Toronto Raptors the next season and the dominance of Giannis Antetokounmpo in the following years.

9. Chris Bosh, 2013 NBA Finals, Game 7 (0 for 5 from the field, 0 points): The Heat won the 2013 Finals, and Bosh’s rebound in Game 6, and subsequent pass to Ray Allen, will live in history. However, it’s odd for a future Hall-of-Famer who averaged 16.6 points per game in the regular season to score zero points and shoot only five times in the season’s biggest game. Bosh was an all-around player, and wound up +1 for the game, but this performance would have been (rightfully) vilified if Miami lost. It should be noted that Ray Allen also had 0 points in this game, but he was more of a role player than Bosh in the Heat’s scheme, and was fresh off of perhaps the greatest shot in NBA history in Game 6.

8. Oscar Robertson, 1974 NBA Finals Game 7 (2 for 13 from the field, 6 points, 11 assists): The storybook ending to one of the greatest careers ever did not come to fruition. Game 6 was one of the best games in NBA history, with the Bucks staving off elimination with a double-overtime victory in Boston. However, the Bucks could not muster the same spirit back home in Game 7, and the Celtics won by 15. Did playing 58 minutes in the previous game affect the aging Robertson? He was well past his prime at this point, only averaging 12.7 points per game during the regular season, and 14.0 PPG in the postseason. He could not get on track during this game, and the greatest era in Bucks history ended with a whimper. This was Robertson’s last game in the NBA, and after a disappointing 38-44 record the next year, Milwaukee shipped off Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to the Lakers and have not been back to the Finals since.

7. Stephen Curry, 2016 NBA Finals Game 7 (6 for 19 from the field, 4 of 14 from 3): Chalk this one up to the burden of high expectations. Curry’s 17-point performance wasn’t the seventh worst in history, but it certainly was one of the most disappointing. The unanimous MVP had one of the greatest seasons ever, and his team’s 73 regular season wins may never be surpassed. It’s still hard to pinpoint what happened in the last three games of this series. Certainly, LeBron James and Kyrie Irving deserve credit, but Golden State’s performance, and especially Curry’s, will live in infamy.

6. The Jordannaires, 1990 Eastern Conference Finals Game 7 (Horace Grant, Scottie Pippen, B.J. Armstrong, Craig Hodges, and Bill Cartwright – combined 11 for 57 from the field, 28 points): A back-and-forth series ended with a blowout as the Bulls failed to step up to the challenge. Scottie Pippen had a migraine, which helps explain his 1 for 10 performance, but what about the others? Horace Grant was 3 for 17, though he did contribute 14 rebounds. Craig Hodges was 3 for 13, and 2 for 12 from three, which was a shockingly high number at the time. Armstrong was 1 for 8, and Cartwright was 3 for 9. The team scored 74 points total, with Michael Jordan contributing 31 of those. It was fair to wonder whether Jordan’s supporting cast would ever step up in crunch time after this game, but luckily for Chicago fans, they answered all questions the following year in a dominant 15-2 postseason run.

Worst Game 7 Performances in NBA History - Chicago Bulls, 1990 Eastern Conference Finals

5. Trevor Ariza, 2018 Western Conference Finals, Game 7 (0 for 12 from the field, 0 for 9 from three, 0 points): Ariza, a tested veteran and NBA champion, simply could not hit a shot during this deciding game. The Rockets shooting performance is infamous, as the team missed 27 three pointers in a row at one point, and shot 7 for 44 from three for the game. Yes, they were missing their point guard (Chris Paul), and no, Ariza wasn’t alone in his futility. However, 0 points and -15 in 41:50 of playing time represents a historic meltdown on the league’s second biggest stage.

4. Bob Cousy and Bill Sharman, 1957 NBA Finals Game 7 (combined 5 for 40 from the field, 21 total points): This is a candidate for the single greatest game in NBA history. A double-overtime classic in Game 7 of the Finals. Bill Russell, in his first year in the league, facing third-year stud Bob Pettit. The NBA regular season and all-star game MVP Bob Cousy looking for his first ring. Cousy capped his historic season with a shockingly poor game 7, finishing 2 for 20 from the field in 58 minutes. His backcourt mate, Hall-of-Famer Bill Sharman, was 3 for 20 in 48 minutes. Boston’s two leading scorers in the regular season came up empty, but their rookie frontcourt mates carried the load, as Tom Heinsohn and Bill Russell led them to victory. The Hawks would get their revenge the following year, but Boston would defeat St. Louis two more times in the finals on their way to eight championships in a row between 1959 and 1966, a record that’s likely never going to be broken.

3. Danny Green, 2013 NBA Finals Game 7 (1 for 12 from the field, 1 for 6 from 3, 5 points): Through five games in this series, Danny Green looked like he was heading toward the most unlikely Finals MVP campaign in league history. During that stretch, he averaged 18 PPG on 56.6% shooting from the field and an unimaginable 65.8% from 3, with five made three pointers per game. Unfortunately, he lost his hot hand at the worst possible time. In games 6 and 7, he scored 4 PPG on 10.5% shooting and 18.2% from downtown. Game 7 was particularly tough, as Green could only make 1 of his 12 field goal attempts as the series slipped from San Antonio’s hands. This series was Green’s breakout performance on a national stage, but just as his hot shooting brought the Spurs to the brink of an unlikely championship, his cold spell was a big reason they were unable to bring the championship home.

2. John Starks, 1994 NBA Finals Game 7 (2 for 18 from the field, 0 for 11 from 3, 8 points): Starks was coming off of a brilliant Game 6 (27 points, 50% from the field, 5 for 9 from 3), but had a last second shot blocked by Hakeem Olajuwon to force a game 7. Unfortunately for Knicks fans, their notoriously hot and cold shooting guard came up empty in their biggest game of that era. The Knicks as a team averaged 11.1 three-point field goal attempts per game in 1994, so it was appalling to see Starks match that output on his own in this game and fail to make a single one. Hubert Davis only played four minutes while Rolando Blackman was a DNP-CD. Knicks fans will always wonder if Pat Riley should have played either of them more instead of watching Starks melt down in 42 minutes of play.

1. Dennis Johnson, 1978 NBA Finals Game 7 (0 for 14 from the field, 4 points): The expected rematch of the 1977 Finals between the Blazers and Sixers turned into a surprising encounter between the 44-win Bullets and 47-win SuperSonics due to Bill Walton’s injuries and Washington’s upset of Philadelphia. Even though Seattle had game 7 at home, Washington eked out a victory on the road. Johnson entered the game averaging 18.7 PPG on 44.8% from the field in the series, but he came up shockingly empty in Game 7. The fact that Seattle still had a chance to win at the end makes this performance all the more painful. Luckily for Johnson, he’d have five more Finals appearances in his career, including the following year, when he captured Finals MVP in the rematch between these teams.

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