HH Tournament: (3) Kevin McHale vs (14) Don Chaney

Kevin McHale and Don Chaney face off in the newest Hardwood Houdini Tournament match-up

Robert Parish had a convincing win over his first round match-up in K.C. Jones. He will be taking on Jo Jo White in the second round, making two second round match-ups decided. Today, we have two old-time Celtics who will try to make a deep run in this tournament.

Don’t forget that this is based solely off their playing careers with the Boston Celtics. Any coaching or front office experience shouldn’t be taken into account, neither should their collegiate careers or any other NBA teams they may have played for.

Kevin McHale – 1999 Hall of Fame Inductee

17.9 PPG, 7.3 RPG, 1.7 BPG

13 Seasons with Boston, 3x Champion, 7x All-Star, 2x Sixth Man of the Year, #32 Retired by Celtics

Kevin McHale is widely considered the best sixth man the league has ever seen. Unlike a lot of stars nowadays, McHale accepted his role off the bench and became an integral piece to three championship runs with the Celtics, although he did start 62 of 68 games played during the 1985-86 season which is considered one of the best teams in NBA history.

However, McHale started just 41.2 percent of career games, yet managed to average at least 15 points, seven rebounds and two blocks per game for seven straight seasons. He put up an outstanding 26.1 points per game in 1986-87 when he became the every night starting power forward for the Celtics, showing what type of numbers he could have put up throughout his career.

McHale’s game is most remembered for the torture chamber. He arguably had the best footwork the league has ever seen, giving his post game that nickname. Defenders stood nearly no chance at guarding McHale in the paint due to his swift moves and amazing footwork. Simply put, he could not be stopped in the paint. It led to him leading the league in field-goal percentage two straight seasons. McHale shot an absurd 60.4 percent from the field two straight seasons for the Celtics.

Just like most NBA players back then, McHale was chippy in the paint on defense. Even though he’s one of the best defensive power forwards the league has ever seen, he wasn’t afraid to get physical. In the 1984 NBA Finals, he delivered a hard shot to Kurt Rambis‘ throat, leading to a bench clearing brawl between the Celtics and Lakers. It’s one of the most memorable moments in NBA history and really highlights how much the game has changed over the years.

The third overall pick in 1980 currently ranks second in blocks, fourth in games played, fifth in points and sixth in rebounds in Celtics history.

Playing alongside Larry Bird and Robert Parish, McHale’s numbers could have been so much more if he was the star of a team. Although being named to six All-Defensive Teams and one All-NBA Team highlights his pure dominance on both ends of the floor, and shows that he was still able to contribute in a big way despite taking a bench role on a winning team.

Don Chaney – 5x All-Defensive Team

8.7 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 1 SPG

10 Seasons with Boston, 2x Champion

Don Chaney was drafted was drafted 12th overall in 1968, and became the only player to play alongside both Bill Russell and Larry Bird as he had two stints with the Celtics. He won a championship as a rookie alongside Russell and then later teamed up with Bird to win his second.

Chaney was never a dominating offensive player, but he did improve quickly in the NBA and turned out to be a decent player for the Celtics on that end of the floor. He ended up averaging 13.1 points per game on 48.2 percent shooting during his fifth year with Boston. It was a big improvement from his 31.9 percent shooting as a rookie.

Although, Chaney’s biggest impact was always felt on the defensive end. He was a consistent member of the NBA All-Defensive Second Team as he was named to it in five of six seasons in the early 1970s. Sadly, defensive statistics weren’t recorded for the first five seasons of his career.

He did average 1.5 steals and 0.8 blocks per game with the Celtics during his last year in his first stint. Those types of numbers make you imagine the amount of steals he was able to average during the prime of his career before his game started to diminish.

The diminishment of his game started happening away from Boston and he was a mere shell of himself during his second stint with the Celtics. Chaney still played in all 18 playoff games during the Celtics 1973-74 championship run, averaging 9.5 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game – led the playoffs with 24 steals.

Despite steals not being an official stat until the middle of his career, Chaney recorded 344 steals with the Celtics. If he were to average just 45 steals per season during his first five seasons (averaged 68.8 per season), he would have cracked the top-10 in steals in Celtics history. 688 steals in his career – what he was on pace for – would have landed him sixth in Celtics history.

Chaney was never an All-Star, but there were few perimeter defenders better during his time. He was amazing at creating turnovers and was a serviceable offensive player who contributed a little on the glass. Maybe not the first guy you think of when reminiscing of the Celtics’ historic teams, but he played a major factor in the Celtics success late in his career.

Don’t forget to vote on Twitter @HoudiniCeltics! The poll is up for 20 hours. Comments on here don’t count as votes, only the poll on Twitter will be looked at to determine who goes on to round two.

Next: Expectations for Ben Bentil's Career With Boston

Also, look at tomorrow’s match-up to see the results from today’s showdown.