HH Tournament: (2) Bob Cousy vs (7) Dennis Johnson

Bob Cousy and Dennis Johnson is the next matchup in the Hardwood Houdini Tournament

After a scare at the beginning, Kevin McHale pulled away and advanced to the Elite Eight with a win over Sam Jones. The last second round matchup on Side A is between Bob Cousy and Dennis Johnson. The winner will take on McHale in the Elite Eight next round.

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.

Bob Cousy – 1971 Hall of Fame Inductee

18.4 PPG, 7.6 APG, 5.2 RPG

13 Seasons with Boston, 6x Champion, 13x All-Star, 1x MVP, #14 Retired by Celtics

Hardwood Houdini is named in honor of the legendary career that Bob Cousy had with the Boston Celtics. When you get a site named after you, you know that you did something right in your career. Anyone would get out of their seat for Cousy’s passes, earning him the nickname the Houdini of the Hardwood .

Point guards weren’t viewed as elite scorers in the 1950s and 60s, rather as distributors to set up the centers on the teams. Cousy had as good of a core as anyone in history to pass to. Bill Russell, John Havlicek and Bill Sharman are just a couple of Hall of Famers that Cousy played alongside. In an era where every point guard looked to pass, Cousy still managed to lead the league in assists per game for eight straight seasons.

In 1959-60, at the age of 31, Cousy amazingly averaged a career-high 9.5 assists per game. Averaging a double-double with assists is rare in today’s NBA but it was even less common back then. Therefore, averaging at least six assists per game in 12 of 13 seasons is remarkable.

Not to mention that Cousy was one of the first guards to consistently use behind the back and no look passes. He received the nickname the Houdini of the Hardwood due to his playground-like style of play. In an era where the bounce and chest pass were the only two passes used, Cousy pushed the boundaries and added a level of excitement never seen in the NBA.

Bob Cousy is still the franchise leader in total assists and ranks second to Rajon Rondo in assists per game.

He had an unbelievable team to pass too, however there is no denying that Cousy was one of the first great passers in NBA history. He averaged a double-double in the 1958-59 playoffs and simply added an excitement factor to the game that other point guards of the era lacked.

Dennis Johnson – 2010 Hall of Fame Inductee

12.6 PPG, 6.4 APG, 1.2 SPG

7 Seasons with Boston, 2x Champion, 1x All-Star, #3 Retired by the Celtics

Dennis Johnson is still considered one of the best all-around point guards in franchise history. He scored, passed, rebounded and played defense. Through seven seasons with Boston, he was the franchise point guard they needed to lead them to two more championships. Johnson did whatever was asked of him, but his defense put him among elite company in the NBA.

Dennis Johnson averaged 14.2 points per game with the Celtics, but being named to an All-Defensive Team four straight years to start his tenure with Boston best represents his playing style. In fact, in his career, Johnson was named to nine consecutive All-Defensive Teams with five of them being to the First Team.

With all the recognition he received for his defense, it’s no surprise that Johnson was great at forcing turnovers. He averaged 1.2 steals per game with the Celtics and never averaged fewer than 1.1 per game.

During the playoffs, Johnson was even better. With Boston, he averaged 1.4 steals per game in the postseason and shined on the defensive end during their championship runs. During the 1985-86 postseason run, Johnson contributed 2.2 steals per game. It was arguably the best stretch of defense Johnson played during his time with the Celtics.

Johnson was never much of a shot blocker with the Celtics as that part of his game dwindled once he got older. Although, he still ranks eight all-time in franchise history in total steals.

Dennis Johnson did a lot for two championship winning teams, but his intensity and ball hawk ability on defense separates him from other great point guards. He was a solid offensive player, but there’s good reason to consider him one of the best defensive guards in Celtics history.

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: HH Roundtable: Which Celtics Will Step Up?

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