Great Player List

Sanders counts the DeBusscheres, Havliceks, Fraziers, Robertsons, and Jabbars on the list of great players. "A guy like Dave DeBusschere who can be working hard on defense can suddenly start contributing points," Sanders said. "He can give you 10 or 12 field goals with hardly any difficulty at all."

In the playoffs, defense becomes decisive. Scoring is low and hard earned. The weak defensive players get burned. Two years ago in the NBA finals, the Lakers destroyed the Knicks 4 games to 1 by isolating Gail Goodrich on Earl Monroe. Monroe's weak knees slowed up his defense and Goodrich gobbled him up for better than 25 points a game.

The team that plays the best overall defense has the best chance of winning it all because as Sanders said, "In the playoffs, things get tight. The players are nervous and tense. One of the first things to go is the shooting touch."

"The team that can play defense is geared to concentration," he added. "It is a matter of who wants to work harder when you step on the court. You are always able to play defense."

Theories Aside

Despite all the theories, the playoffs boil down to the individual teams. In the East, the Capital Bullets meet the New York Knicks and the Celtics battle the Buffalo Braves.

The Knicks-Bullets series promises to be a great one. The matchups are intense. Bill Bradley will go against ex-Knick Mike Riordan. Last year, Dollar Bill smothered Riordan so it's Riordan's chance for revenge.

Walt Frazier took it easy against the Bullets last year, but he'll have his hands full with Phil Chenier, who has been averaging over 20 points per game. And Dave DeBusschere will have a headache trying to cover either Elvin Hayes or Wes Unseld who is back after a series of injuries.

The knicks will have their troubles but should sneak away with the victory. It's DeBusschere's last year and maybe Bradley's if he decides to run for Congress. Both would like to go out winners.

Hotshooting MacAdoo

The Celtics should run all over Buffalo in their series, but league-leading scorer Bob MacAdoo will blind the Celts with his shooting. Buffalo's Ernie "No D" Digregorio will be tragically victimized by either Chaney or White.

It should be the Knicks-Celts again. The Celts will try and run. The Knicks will try to slow down the Celtic running game, but Willis Reed will not get so many rebounds this year. Cowens will be firing fast-break passes all night unless the Knicks find a way to stop him. And Heinsohn's new coaching tactics will pay off especially in the play of Paul Westphal.

"The Knicks play strong percentage games," Sanders said. "They allow Chaney and Silas to take more free shots than they originally would, while they gamble on the hope that they are not hitting. If they are hitting, the Knicks are going to have the problems. And now Westphal is a problem because he's a good shooter."

In the Western Conference, the Chicago Bulls face the Detroit Pistons and the Bucks take on the Los Angeles Lakers.