It should surprise exactly no one that Jerry West gets it better than anyone. For years, we’ve had to endure the tired act of graying Miami Dolphins players popping champagne corks whenever the last undefeated NFL team loses its first game, a sad rite that tells you just how insecure that great team is of maintaining its greatness once someone joins them in their unblemished spot in history.
West?
West was the cornerstone of the 1971-72 Lakers, who won 69 games and then blitzed to the NBA championship, beating the Knicks in five in the Finals, finally delivering a title to West after so many runner-up finishes. Those Lakers, of course, won 33 games in a row, the standard for professional sports in America, and one of the great team accomplishments in history.
One that is under siege now, thanks to the remarkable run the Miami Heat are on. Basketball savants always get their heart racing whenever a team starts to win 13 or 14 in a row, but the Heat have taken it a step further, introducing degree of difficulty to the proceedings, coming back from 17 down against the Knicks, from 13 down in the fourth quarter against the Celtics earlier this week and, then, from 27 down in Cleveland two nights later.
And West, rather than rooting for the Lakers’ record to stand, told a teleconference the other day he’ll be happy to see the Heat take the baton.
“Honestly, I think they’ve got an incredible chance to do it,” West said. “I really do. And people say to me, ‘Does it bother you?’ Absolutely not. I think it’s great for the league, and I’m delighted for my friend Pat Riley [a teammate in ’72] to be able to maybe replicate this not only as an executive but as a player. It’s pretty special.
“If they would break it, my gosh, I think it would be a wonderful story. I have no problem with that.”
Here’s the thing, too: The ’72 Lakers will retain a place in history anyway. There won’t be an asterisk to help that along, just logic. Because in many ways, the NBA of 1972 was a different league entirely than the league of 2013. Better in some ways, worse in others. Different in every way.
Some are obvious: The Heat fly by charter now, the Lakers in commercial planes that even in first class, presented certain physical challenges to basketball players. And on the other hand, while some bemoan how watered-down a 30-team NBA is, even in their time the Lakers knew the league might never been as watered down as it was thanks to a lit rivalry with the ABA and expansion that had added eight teams in the prior six seasons.
Much has been made about the way the Heat have been able to fight off back-to-backs: five times in all across 25 games, starting with the streak’s first two games, at Toronto and home to Charlotte. In ’72, the Lakers won four times in back-to-back-to-back situations, including games 23, 24 and 25 — an appropriate bench mark, in which they won 129-99 against Golden State, 132-106 at Phoenix and 152-132 against the Sixers.
Still, even if some of those old-time schedules really do make you shake your head, there are some quirks to think about. The Lakers played those 33 games in only 64 days; if the Heat get there, it will be 33 games in 63 days. The Lakers’ streak finally ended in Game 34 against Lew Alcindor and the Bucks; lurking in Game 34 for the Heat are … the Bucks.
When the streak ended, West said, the Lakers “felt like we’d lost our best friend,” a feeling the Heat will surely appreciate.
Assuming … well, you know. That they ever actually lose again.
Whack Back Vac
Mark Rossi: I still feel the sky is the limit for the Knicks if we could ever get a 60 percent Amar’e with Chandler and Melo. The other guys will fit nicely into their roles. Going to be a great stretch run. Knick on wood, LOL!
Vac: Every time I see a Knicks fan actually express some optimism, honestly, I have to read twice to make sure I’m not being punked.
Scott Martin: If the Rangers were as obsessed at actually clearing Lundqvist’s crease as the very, very overrated shot blocking, they wouldn’t be such a bad team. They’re the worst team in the NHL at clearing the cease. Period. All Tortorella.
Vac: I would suggest it is time for the Blueshirts to get their act together and put together a little streak, wouldn’t you agree?
@no1yankeefan: Blame Harvard’s upset of New Mexico on the aliens that crashed at Roswell. Lobos phone home!
@MikeVacc: You know, it’s good that Steve Alford apparently didn’t emulate Bob Knight, temperament wise. But it also wouldn’t hurt if he were a quarter of the coach the old man was, either.
Vinny Mooney: Could you have ever imagined writing that Kenyon Martin, Kurt Thomas, and Marcus Camby were the bright lights back in October? This team makes the Yanks look like they’re in a youth movement.
Vac: Herb Williams joked in Utah he could give six minutes and six fouls if they needed him. At least I think he was kidding.
Vac’s Whacks
It’s A little hard for me to wrap my brain around the idea of Harvard students being the underdogs of anything having to do with life, but maybe that’s just me.
* The last time someone in New York City won a title as unopposed as David Wright’s for Mets captaincy, they were backed by Tammany Hall.
* Every time I listen to Mike Woodson swear he is committed to reducing Carmelo Anthony’s minutes, I’m reminded of various friends and family members who’ve flipped a Marlboro out of the pack and declared, “This last one, and then I’m done …”
* One of the great sports books of my adolescence was Jerome Holtzman’s “No Cheering in the Press Box,” where veteran sportswriters swapped dozens of great stories. Old friend Dennis D’Agostino has written a terrific spiritual descendant, “Keepers of the Game,” an oral history told by a gaggle of veteran baseball writers. I swear you don’t have to have a press pass dangling around your neck to like it.