Jonathan Davis’ Blog

Former NBA head coach Chuck Daly who led the Detroit Pistons to back-to-back NBA titles and the original Dream Team to an Olympic Gold Medal in 1992 at Barcelona passed early Saturday morning May, 9 in Jupiter, FL from pancreatic cancer. He was 78 years old.

 

Back in March, according to ESPN, the Pistons had announced that Daly had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and was seeking treatment. According to this past Sunday’s edition of Newsday, the diagnosis which was in the latter stages is the cause of over 34,000 deaths in the United States each year.

 

In honor of Daly, the National Basketball Association (NBA) dedicated this year’s playoffs to the St. Marys, Pennsylvania native as all the coaches and broadcast media all are wearing lapel pins with his initials “CD” in gold letters with the color purple in the background.

 

What separated Daly from those he coached against at the high school, college and professional level was his ability to mold players of different personalities and different agendas into a team that was focused on one goal at all times. Whether it was Ivy Leaguers he coached in the beginning of his coaching career or NBA greats like Michael Jordan, Isiah Thomas and Dennis Rodman, Daly had an ability to make them understand that the only way for a team to be successful for each player to do their job individually and for the team to do their job collectively to reach their full potential.

 

“It’s a player’s league. They allow you to coach them or they don’t,” Daly said once, according to newjerseynets.com. “Once they stop allowing you to coach, you’re on your way out.”

 

After two years of service in the military, Daly began his basketball coaching journey in 1955 at Punxsutawney High School in Pennsylvania, a town best known for its groundhog. In eight seasons as the Chucks head coach, he compiled a 111-70 record. He also coached the golf team and served as an English and speech teacher.  

 

In 1963, Daly moved on to be an assistant coach under Vic Bubas at Duke University. He got the opportunity by writing a blind letter to Bubas, whose Blue Devils were defeated in the semifinals. In that same year prior to writing the letter, Daly in his first trip to the NCAA Final Four, bought a ticket from a scalper and sat in the last row of the stadium.

 

Daly got the job and joined a three-man coaching staff that included Bubas and current ESPN/ABC color analyst Hubie Brown. In their six seasons together, Duke was Atlantic Coast Conference Champions and reached the Final Four in 1964 and 1966.

 

In 1969, Daly replaced Celtics legendary floor general Bob Cousy as head coach of Boston College. After an 11-13 record in his first season, the Eagles under Daly’s direction improved to a 15-11 record in the 1971 campaign.

 

Daly after that season returned homed to coach the University of Pennsylvania in 1971 as he took over for Dick Harter. Penn under Daly won 20 games or more and were champions of the Ivy League in his first four seasons. The most successful season came in 1972 when the Quakers won 25 out of 28 games, going 13-1 in conference play and advanced to the NCAA East Regional Final where they lost to North Carolina Tar Heels 73-59. In six seasons on the Penn sidelines, Daly had a 125-38 overall record, going 74-10 in the Ivy League.

 

In 1979, Daly then moved on to the NBA as an assistant coach of the Philadelphia 76ers. His first head coaching job came in 1981 when he was hired by the Cleveland Cavaliers. He was unfortunately fired after a 9-32 record and was replaced by Bill Musselman, who did not fair much better with just two victories in 23 games. The Cavs that season finished with a 15-67 record. Daly returned to the 76ers and worked as a broadcaster.

 

In 1982 at the NBA meetings in Los Angles, CA, a very concerned unemployed Daly stood behind a potted palm tree with Boston Globe columnist Bob Ryan. Daly moaned to Ryan, “I’m 52 years old. Who’s going to hire me?” 

 

In the summer of 1983, he was hired by the Detroit Pistons that for five consecutive years won an average of 30 games and went through five head coaches of Herb Brown, Bob Kauffman, current ESPN College Basketball Analyst Dick Vitale, former NBA longtime assistant coach Richie Adubato and Scotty Robertson.

 

He turned the Pistons from a high-scoring soap opera lead by Isiah Thomas and Vinnie “The Microwave” Johnson into a defensive team that came to be known as the Bad Boys lead by the likes of Bill Laimbeer, Rick Mahorn, John Salley and Dennis Rodman.

 

The first three seasons under Daly saw the Pistons finish second in the Central Division in consecutive seasons winning 49 games in 1983-84 and winning 46 games in 1984-85. The team also won 46 games in 1985-86 finishing third in the Central.

 

In those three seasons, they had early post season exits losing to the New York Knicks in five games in 1984. The next season, they defeated the New Jersey Nets in a 3-game sweep, but lost to the eventual Eastern Conference Champion Boston Celtics in six games. The team regressed in the 1986 playoffs when they were defeated by the Atlanta Hawks in four games.

 

The Pistons really hit their stride under Daly in the 1986-87 NBA campaign as they tied a franchise record at that time of 52 wins and finishing second in the Division. In the playoffs, they swept by the Washington Bullets in three games in the quarterfinals. They followed that by avenging their first-round lost to the Hawks by defeating them in five games in the Eastern Conference semifinals. In their first visit to the Eastern Conference Finals, the Pistons battled the Celtics for seven games, but lost the series.

 

The next season, the Pistons improved once again with at 54-28 record, winning their first division title since 1955-56 when they were the Fort Wayne Pistons.

 

In the post-season, they defeated the Bullets for the second straight season in the quarterfinals in 3-2. In the semifinals, the Pistons defeated the Chicago Bulls 4-1 to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals for the second straight season. They met up again with the Celtics and this time defeated in six games to advance to the NBA Finals for the first time in team history and their first conference title since 1956.

 

In the 1988 Finals, they faced the defending NBA Champion Los Angles Lakers, who were trying to become the first team in 19 seasons at that time to win back-to-back titles.

 

The Pistons showed that they were true challengers in the Finals as they stole home-court advantage by defeating the Lakers in Game 1 105-93. The Lakers would respond though with victories in Game 2 and in Game 3 at the Pontiac Silverdome in Detroit. The Pistons battled back into the series by winning Game 4 and 5 taking a 3-2 and one victory away from the team’s first NBA title.

 

In Game 6, the Lakers stormed out of the gates and led by eight points in the third period. It was then when Thomas took over scoring 14 points in a row. On the Pistons next offensive possession, Lakers guard Michael Cooper stepped on Thomas’s foot and rolled his ankle. Thomas was helped off the floor, but returned the game and continued his scoring onslaught. By the end of stanza, Thomas had scored 25 third quarter points, a new NBA Finals record. He went 11 for 13 from the field. The Pistons in the fourth quarter led 102-99 with nearly a minute left in the game. They championships dreams on this night were not meant to be as Byron Scott connected on a 14-footer and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar hit his signature sky hook in the closing moments to give the Lakers the last four points and the victory 103-102 to force a Game 7.

 

In the first Game 7 since 1984 and the first since the NBA went to a 2-3-2 format beginning in 1985, the Pistons and Lakers battled to a classic stand still. Detroit led 52-47 at intermission led by Thomas who scored 10 points. Unfortunately, his sprained ankle stiffened in between halves and was unable to play much in the second half and the Lakers took advantage as they turned a five-point deficit into a 90-75 lead late in the fourth period.

 

Detroit would battle back as the lineup of Rodman, Salley, Joe Dumars and Johnson ignited a 17-8 run that to cut the Lakers lead to 98-92 with 3:52 left. Dumars hit a jumper to cut the margin to 102-100 with 1:17 remaining. With the Lakers leading 103-100 in the closing moments, Rodman took a jumper from the right side that missed and Scott converted on two free-throws that gave the Lakers a 105-100 lead. With the score 106-105, Lakers forward A.C. Green scored on a layup on a length-of-the-court pass from Earvin “Magic” Johnson that gave the Lakers a three-point lead and back-to-back titles.

 

In the 1988-89 campaign, the Pistons won 63 games and once again were Central Division champs. In the quarterfinals they swept the Celtics 3-0. They defeated the Knicks 4-2 and defeated the Chicago Bulls in the Conference Finals 4-2 claiming their second consecutive Eastern Conference crown.

 

In the 1989 Finals, the Pistons met up with the Lakers again hoping to avenge last years defeat in seven games. The Lakers, who came into the Finals a perfect 11-0, started the Finals without starting shooting guard Byron Scott who suffered a severe injury to his hamstring.

 

Without their top shooter and top defender in the backcourt, the Pistons guard trio of Thomas, Dumars and Johnson had a field day in Game 1 scoring 24, 22 and 19 points respectably and the Pistons dominated Game 1 winning 109-97.

 

In Game 2, the Lakers came out strong in the first half, despite the blistering shooting of Dumars who scored 24 of his 33 points in the first 24 minutes. The Lakers led 62-56 at intermission. The momentum of the game changed at about the four minute mark of the third quarter where after a fastbreak score by the Pistons that was ignited by a Salley block shot on Lakers forward Mychal Thompson, “Magic” Johnson in retreating defensively pulled his hamstring and was lost for the rest of the game.

 

The Pistons would take advantage of the situation by turning a tie score at 75 into a 90-81 late in the fourth quarter. Trailing 102-95 and a 2-0 series deficit starring right in front of them, the Lakers charged back with a 9-4 run to cut the deficit to 106-104.

 

After the Pistons turned the ball over on a 24-second violation on their next possession, the Lakers got the ball back and went to James Worthy and he drew a foul on a drive to the basket. He would make only one of the two free throw attempts leaving the Lakers trailing 106-105 and Thomas made two more free throws and the Pistons won Game 2 108-105.

 

With their backs to the wall the Lakers came out a blazing in Game 3 as Worthy scored 26 points, Abdul Jabbar had 24 points and 13 rebounds. Cooper had 15 points and 13 assists for the Lakers.

 

The Pistons stayed close thanks to Dumars who had 21 of his 31 points in the third quarter including 17 points in succession. Johnson scored 13 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter and Thomas chipped in with 26 points and eight assists.

 

With Detroit leading 113-108 with about 15 seconds remaining, Thomas was tied up by Green, which forced a jump ball. After the Lakers won the tip, Thomas fouled rookie guard David Rivers, who went to the line and sank both foul shots and cut the Piston lead to 113-110.

 

Despite the odds being stacked against them, the Lakers with great defense forced a Pistons turnover when Dumars lost the ball out of bounds, giving LA a chance with nine seconds remaining.

 

The Lakers ran a play out of bounds and found Rivers in the corner for a three-point attempt to tie the game, but Dumars quickly raced to the corner and blocked Rivers three-point attempt and saved the ball from going out-of-bounds. Detroit ran out the clock and won the game 113-110 to take a commanding 3-0 series lead.

 

In Game 4, the Lakers started out with a burst lead by Worthy who scored 40 points going 17 for 26 from the field. His efforts gave Los Angles a 35-23 after the first. The Pistons clawed their way back into the contest and cut the margin to 55-49 at intermission.

 

The Pistons took control of the contest in the third quarter as a Laimbeer three-pointer began a 9-3 run that gave the Pistons a 59-58 lead. Worthy helped the Lakers recapture the lead at 78-76 entering the fourth quarter.

 

The Pistons began the fourth outscoring the Lakers 22-18 and lead 100-94 and went on to win 105-97 winning their first ever NBA title as they swept the Lakers 4-0. Dumars was named the MVP of the Finals as he averaged 27.3 points per contest.

 

In their defense of their championship, the Pistons won 59 games in the 1989-90 NBA season and won their third straight Central Division crown.

 

Their quest to win back-to-back titles began with a sweep of the Indiana Pacers 3-0 in the first round. They continued their dominance in the conference semis as they defeated the Knicks 4-1.

 

Their biggest challengers to their championship dreams came in the Bulls who they defeated the past two post seasons in the semis. While Detroit won the first two games at home, they lost both contest in Chicago by five in Game 3 (107-102) and by seven (108-101) in Game 4.

 

In Game 5, the Pistons showed their championship pride as they defeated the Bulls 109-91. They were unable to close the deal in Game 6 as the Bulls won 109-91 forcing a Game 7.

 

The Pistons would as they have done throughout the season rise to the occasion and they final put the Bulls behind them winning 93-74 and advancing to their third straight Finals.   

 

In the Finals they met up with the champs of the Western Conference, the Portland Trail Blazers, who like the Pistons, finished with 59 regular season victories.

 

Right from the opening tip in Game 1, the Pistons found out right away that the Blazers were going to make this a competition and not a coronation.

 

Portland built a 90-80 lead with seven minutes remaining the contest. With the game in the balance, the Pistons went on a 9-2 run to cut the lead to 92-89.

 

After a Buck Williams score made the count 94-89, Thomas scored 10 in succession, including the game clinching three-pointer that gave Detroit a 99-94 lead and they went on to win Game 1 105-99.

 

The Blazers though were undaunted as they took control of Game 2 until the closing moments. A Salley tip in gave the Pistons a 94-91 with 49 seconds remaining. Moments later, Blazers guard Clyde Drexler, who finished with 33 points, hit a free-throw to cut the lead to 94-92. After Thomas missed a layup to seal the victory, Blazers guard Terry Porter tied the contest at 94 all by connecting twice at the foul line. The Pistons had a chance to for the win, but Thomas missed a jumper in the closing moments that game went to overtime.

 

Detroit quickly gained control in the extra frame with a score by James Edwards and two three-pointers by Laimbeer, who hit a Finals record at the time six triples which gave the Pistons a 102-98 lead with 1:30 remaining.

 

Portland battled back to tie it up at 102 when Porter connect again twice at the charity stripe and Drexler scored on a 17-footer. The Blazers took the lead moments later at 104-102 and the things got much tougher for the Pistons when Thomas fouled out at the 1:10 mark of overtime.

 

The Pistons took back the advantage when Laimbeer nailed a three-pointer from the right side that gave the Pistons a 105-104 lead with 4.1 seconds left.

 

On their next possession, Portland went to Drexler who was able to draw a foul on Rodman with two seconds remaining. He nailed both free throws that gave the Blazers a 106-105 lead.

 

The Pistons on their final possession got the ball to Edwards, but his game-winning attempt fell short and Portland emerged victorious 106-105 and squared the Finals 1-1.

 

After losing home court advantage, there were a lot of questions about Detroit chances to win back-to-back titles. For starters could they win in Portland, where they had not won since 1974; they would be without Rodman for Game three because of a stiffened ankle and their shooting guard Dumars mind was on his ailing father, Joe Dumars II, who was suffering from diabetes. The disease had force both of his legs to be amputated in 1985.  

 

Despite all of those distractions the Pistons were victorious in Game 3 121-106 behind a 21 points on 9 for 13 from the floor from Johnson and 33 points from Dumars, who after the game got the news from his wife Debbie that his father did pass away. Dumars decided that he would play in Game 4, but declined to be interviewed.

 

The Pistons got of to a rough shooting beginning in Game 4 and trailed 32-22 after the first quarter. They were able to fight their way back thanks to a 9-0 spurt that cut the lead to a point. The Pistons defense held Portland to 14 points in the second stanza and they took a 51-46 lead to the locker room.

 

The third quarter belonged to Thomas as he scored 22 points in the period and Detroit built the lead to 81-65 late in the third quarter.

 

Portland fueled by its defense used a 28-11 spurt that gave them a 93-92 lead with 5:20 remaining.

 

With both teams trading scores back and fourth, Dumars gave the Pistons some breathing room as his jumper at the 1:16 mark brought the lead to 106-102.

 

Buck Williams connected on only one of two free throws and the Detroit still held a one point advantage at 106-105.

 

With the Pistons clinging to a 112-109 lead, Portland quickly threw ball in to Danny Young who threw up a 35-foot shot and he made it. However after the officials gathered together, they determined that the basket was no good and Detroit won and took a commanding 3-1 series lead.

 

In Game 5, the Pistons as they did in Game 4 shot the ball poorly from the field missing seven of their first 11 shot attempts, but lead after the first quarter 26-22.

 

This contest came down to two scoring runs by Johnson in the fourth period. “The Microwave’s” first spurt of nine consecutive points gave Detroit a 77-76 lead with 6:35 remaining. After Portland used a 14-6 run to take a 90-83 lead, Johnson again scored seven of Detroit’s final nine points, which included a 15-footer that he connected over Jerome Kersey that gave the Pistons a 92-90 victory and their second straight NBA title as they defeated Portland 4-1.

 

The Pistons became the first team to win games 3, 4 and 5 in the new 2-3-2 format of the Finals since it was implemented in 1985.

 

With the victory, Daly became the seventh just the seventh coach at that time to lead his team back-to-back NBA championships.

 

The Pistons run of championships and Central Division titles though came to an end one year later as the 50-win team of 1990-91 lost in the Eastern Conference Finals 4 -0 to the eventual NBA champs of 1991 the Chicago Bulls.

 

“In the heat of those battles, Chuck was always a friend of coaches,” Lakers coach Phil Jackson said to the media on Sat. May, 9.

 

“He was a good guy. He’s always in the coaching fraternity and extending a friendly hand and were going to miss him in the NBA a lot.”

 

The next year would by Daly’s final one in Detroit as the 48-win team of the 1991-92 season lost in five games to the Knicks in the first-round. He would resurface though in a big way that summer.

 

In that summer, Daly was the head coach of the original Dream Team that competed in the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona. It was the first time that the United States national basketball team had assembled a 12-man roster of professional basketball players to compete in the Summer Olympics.

 

The team consisted of Charles Barkley, Drexler, David Robinson, Patrick Ewing, Larry Bird, “Magic” Johnson, Michael Jordan, John Stockton, Karl Malone, Scottie Pippen, Chris Mullin and collegiate basketball player from Duke Christian Laettner.

 

The team did not disappoint as they went 6-0 in the qualifying round and started the business at hand by defeating Angola by 68 points 116-48 paced by 24 points from Barkley. Jordan led the attack with 21 points as they cruised by a talented Croatia squad 103-70. The “Dream Team” then defeated Germany 111-68 as Bird had high scoring honors with 19 points and Malone was second with 18. The United States then proceeded to beat Brazil 127-83 as seven players scored in double-figures paced by Barkley’s 30 points, a new single-game scoring record. Team USA closed out their pool set with a dominating 122-81 win over Spain.

 

The team did not slow down in the quarter finals as they cruised by Puerto Rico 115-77 as Mullin lead the way with 21 points. In the semis, the U.S. blew out Lithuania 127-76 as nine players scored in double-figures. In gold medal game, the U.S. had it lowest margin of victory as they defeated Croatia 117-85 as Jordan lead all scorers with 22 and Barkley had 17.

 

On the world’s grandest stage, Daly was able to get a group of great players, 10 of them that were selected as the “50 Greatest Players in NBA History” to put aside their egos and do what was best for the team and they came away with the Gold Medal.

 

“You will see a team of professionals in the Olympics again, but I don’t think you’ll see another team quite like this. This was a majestic team,” Daly said.

 

“He managed the egos of the Dream Team,” Johnson said. “He told us all at the very beginning, ‘Look this is what’s going to happen. Some of you are going to start the first five to six games and then I am going to start John Stockton Magic. So you are not going to have a problem with it will you. I said no. No problem. He was a gentleman and the sharpest dresser in the NBA; him and Pat Riley.”

 

There are a lot of coaches that can have the talent that Chuck Daly had in his coaching carrier whether it be in college or the pros and not have success because of egos of the players. Daly was able to convince all of his teams that if they leave their egos at the door, they can win. If they play hard and play for each other, they will win.

 

“He had a tremendous impact on all of us,” said Thomas, who was named the new head coach of Florida International University Men’s Basketball Team on Apr. 14.

 

“He gave us the courage to win and the courage to compete in a league where everyone had pretty much settled. He was great for us and till the day he died, he was still coaching us. He was good to all of us.” 

 

His 151-62 record in college, 638-437 record in the NBA, including a 75-51 record in the playoffs, two NBA titles and a Gold Medal from the 1992 Olympics shows that he knew how to win and win consistently. On top of that, some of his former players have carried on his way of how to win with toughness and teamwork as coaches.

 

“I probably don’t go to an airport in the country where someone doesn’t say, ‘I don’t remember your name, but you use to coach the “Bad Boys” or something to that effect,” Daly said back in 2001.

 

Two of his former players Laimbeer and Mahorn are coaches of the Detroit Shock, who they have led to three WNBA titles in 2003, 2006, 2008.

 

“He made us be accountable for ourselves and I think that’s missing a lot in coaching today,” said Mahorn. “I learned a lot from Chuck. It’s all in the coach’s persona and how you relate to people. You don’t have to scream at everybody, but you got to get the best out of your players.

 

After the Olympics, Daly then moved on to be head coach of the New Jersey Nets, where he replaced Bill Fitch. In two years with the Nets, he led them to winning seasons of 43 wins in 1992-93 and 45 victories in 1993-94. They were unable to get past the first round as they lost in those two seasons to the Cavs in five in 1993 and the cross town rival Knicks in 1994.

 

In 1994, Daly had the honor of being elected into the Basketball Hall of Fame. His entrance that year made him the first Hall of Famer to have a NBA title and an Olympic Gold Medal on his resume.

 

He would spend the next three years as a basketball color analyst for Turner Sports as he would broadcast games alongside the likes of Bob Neal, Dick Stockton and Verne Lundquist.

 

His final years of coaching in the NBA were with the Orlando Magic for the 1997-98 and the 1998-99 seasons. He helped guide the team to the playoffs in 1999, but they lost 3-1 to the Philadelphia 76ers.

 

From his days in college as an assistant coach to being a head coach on the collegiate and professional hardwood, Daly was someone who coached with a style that made his stars players Hall of Famers and role players key and valuable components to the team puzzle. He was always about effort and teamwork and not about the glamour and style points. He had people skills that made him relatable and he had ability in still confidence in those that he was surrounded by.

 

“Chuck Daly never saw a situation he couldn’t handle and he never saw a player that he couldn’t deal with,” says long time Pistons announcer George Blaha.

 

While he may be gone, he will always be remembered, as the guy who coached the “Bad Boys.”

 

Statistical Information, quotations game information and win/loss records are courtesy of en.wikipedia.com (Chuck Daly, Isiah Thomas, 1989, 1990 NBA Finals); www.maxpreps.com; www.allprosports-bruce.blogspot.com; Sunday, May 10, 2009 edition of ESPN Sports Reporters on ESPNEWS at 12 p.m.; Sat. May 9, 2009 edition of the T-Mobile Halftime Report of Game 3 between the Cleveland Cavaliers at Atlanta Hawks; Sat. May 9, 2009 edition of Kia NBA Shootaround on ESPN.