johnloch

1947-48: Stags made it twice REGULAR SEASON EASTERN 1. Boston Celtics (34-14) 2. Philadelphia Warriors (32-16) ----------------------------------------- 3. New York Knicks (26-22) 4. Providence Steam Rollers (8-40) WESTERN 1. Chicago Stags (33-15) 2. Washington Capitols (23-25) ----------------------------------------- 3. St. Louis Bombers (21-27) 4. Baltimore Bullets (15-33) FINALS Stags defeated Celtics by 4-3 AWARDS MVP: PF Joe Fulks (Warriors, 34.4 PPG, 10.9 RPG - 2nd time) ROTY: SG Carl Braun (Celtics, 21.0 PPG, 6.3 RPG - Rd.1-1) Best Defender: C John Mills (Capitols, 9.3 PPG, 19.3 RPG, 5.4 BPG - 1st time) 6th Man: PF Chet Carlisle (Celtics, 8.1 PPG, 14.5 RPG - 1st time) MIP: PF Coulby Gunther (Knicks, 22.4 PPG, 16.4 RPG) All-league 1st team: C Connie Simmons (Celtics, 22.3 PPG, 16.3 RPG - 1st time) F Joe Fulks (Warriors - 2nd time) F Coulby Gunther (Knicks - 1st time) G Carl Braun (Celtics - 1st time) G Belus Smawley (Bombers, 25.5 PPG, 7.1 RPG - 2nd time) All-rookie 1st team: C Jack Hewson (Bombers, 8.1 PPG, 18.6 RPG, 3.1 BPG - Rd.1-5 by Warriors) F Red Rocha (Bullets, 18.9 PPG, 12.6 RPG - Rd.1-4) F Eddie Ehlers (Bombers, 4.1 PPG, 3.7 RPG - Undrafted) G Carl Braun (Celtics) G Andy Phillip (Warriors, 12.1 PPG, 7.4 RPG, 4.9 APG - Rd.1-2 by Bombers) OFFSEASON Dispersal draft - Four franchises were folded after the 1946-47 campaign, letting some quality players to shine for their new hosts via a dispersal draft, including F Stan Miasek (Celtics from Detroit Falcons, 18.8 PPG + 11.5 RPG) and F Hank Zeller (Stags from Pittsburgh Ironmen, 16.0 RPG + 4.0 BPG) FA signings - The biggest signing in terms of contract sum was C John Mills by the Washington Capitols, who was somehow went undrafted in the dispersal draft and eventually ended up with the Best Defender Award. THE UPPER DECK The Stags lifts the league trophy again after getting through a hard-fought series against the Boston Celtics. Team leader F Max Zaslofsky had another solid season (27.6 PPG + 6.1 RPG) for the champion, supported by Playoffs MVP C Chuck Halbert (16.5 PPG + 17.2 RPG 3.5 BPG) and defensive guru PF Hank Zeller. The Celtics and the Warriors were neck-to-neck all through until the last regular season game, where the Celtics beat the Warriors 124-99 in a classic head-to-head matchup. The Celtics bounced back from their dismal season a year ago, thanks to the core consists of C Connie Simmons, ROTY SG Carl Braun and defensive PF Chet Carlisle off the bench (who was last season's Best Defender), while the Warriors clearly need more than Joe Fulks' individual effort for being treated as a contender. THE DOWN UNDER This season the worst league record was held by the Steam Rollers with a terrible 16.7% winning percentage. Rookie C Dick Holub (14.2 PPG, 16.2 RPG - Rd.1-3) and veteran PF Hank Beenders (12.8 PPG + 18.6 RPG) are the few names that are worth to mention. Despite sitting at the bottom of the division, expansion team Baltimore Bullets did shown some hopes with the help of rookie PF Red Rocha and former All-league 1st team PG Kenny Sailors (18.3 PPG + 7.9 RPG, FA signing from the disbanded Cleveland Rebels). AROUND THE LEAGUE Keep moving, Sid - Rookie SG Sid Tanenbaum had a tough taste of a journeyman's life despite just entered the professional rank out of college. Tanenbaum was drafted by the Knicks out of NYU as the 6th pick overall, but about 4 months later he was shipped to the Warriors for F Coulby Gunther (which turned out to be a wonderful deal for the Knicks), then the poor little Sid was packed again, this time to the Capitols in exchange of SF Gene Vance, making him played in a league-high 51 games in total (all as a starter and with a statline of 12.0 PPG + 5.6 RPG).

I once played from 1946 to around 1980 at the time when the Mavs came in. Luckily the transition was smooth.

<p>1946-47: Chicago Stags crowns the inaugural season</p><p> </p><p> <strong>REGULAR SEASON</strong></p><p> </p><p> <strong>EASTERN</strong></p><p> </p><p> 1. Washington Capitols (41-19)</p><p> 2. New York Knicks (36-24)</p><p> 3. Philadelphia Warriors (33-27)</p><p> -----------------------------------------</p><p> 4. Toronto Huskies (27-33)</p><p> 5. Providence Steam Rollers (24-36)</p><p> 6. Boston Celtics (18-42)</p><p> </p><p> <strong>WESTERN</strong></p><p> </p><p> 1. Chicago Stags (50-10)</p><p> 2. Pittsburgh Ironmen (31-29)</p><p> 3. Detroit Falcons (29-31)</p><p> -----------------------------------------</p><p> 4. St. Louis Bombers (22-38)</p><p> 5. Cleveland Rebels (19-41)</p><p> </p><p> <strong>FINALS</strong></p><p> </p><p> Stags defeated Capitols by 4-0</p><p> </p><p> <strong>AWARDS</strong></p><p> </p><p> MVP: PF <strong>Joe Fulks</strong> (Warriors, 54.6 PPG, 13.3 RPG)</p><p> Best Defender: PF <strong>Chet Carlisle</strong> (Stags, 11.6 PPG, 24.7 RPG, 5.3 BPG)</p><p> 6th Man: PF <strong>Coulby Gunther</strong> (Warriors, 14.4 PPG, 14.1 RPG)</p><p> </p><p> All-league 1st team:</p><p> C <strong>Hank Beenders</strong> (Steam Rollers, 18.4 PPG, 22.6 RPG, 4.6 BPG)</p><p> F Joe Fulks (Warriors)</p><p> F <strong>Max Zaslofsky</strong> (Stags, 37.4 PPG)</p><p> G <strong>Kenny Sailors</strong> (Rebels, 24.0 PPG, 9.9 RPG, 3.0 APG)</p><p> G <strong>Belus Smawley</strong> (Bombers, 22.1 PPG, 7.4 RPG)</p><p> </p><p> <strong>THE UPPER DECK</strong></p><p> </p><p> Joe Fulks is undoubtedly the league's scoring machine. The "Jumping Joe" sets the record for the single-game highest points scored at 83 against the Celtics in a 133-129 OT win on 23 January, 1947 and eventually topped Max Zaslofsky by more than 17 points per game, yet it was for the latter to enjoy the last laugh by winning the first league title for the Chicago franchise. The Stags in fact displayed quality defence throughout the season as being the only team for keeping their opponents to score less than 100 points per game (95.2), thanks to the presence of Chet Carlisle, the defensive player of the year, and the 6'9" C <strong>Chuck Halbert</strong> (18.3 PPG, 16.7 RPG, 2.7 BPG).</p><p> </p><p> <strong>THE DOWN UNDER</strong></p><p> </p><p> The Celtics was bugged by injuries all the way through and finished with the worst record at 18-42. All-league 2nd team C <strong>Connie Simmons</strong> (28.2 PPG and 14.7 RPG) was not enough to save the team singlehandedly.</p><p> </p><p> <strong>AROUND THE LEAGUE</strong></p><p> </p><p> <strong><em>First game in history</em></strong> - On October 29, 1946, the Knicks hosted the Warriors at Madison Square Garden III, winning 121-116. All starters of the home team scored double-digit to eliminate the 63-point effort by the visitors' Joe Fulks before 4,058 fans.</p><p> </p><p> <strong><em>Scoring high at low scoring percentages</em></strong> - The Warriors led the league by scoring 118.0 points per game (representing a 6-point margin pver the 2nd place Capitols) and at 37.9% on the court, which is way under par by the modern day's FG% standard. The leader in this category is <strong>George Nostrand</strong>, a 6'8" C of the Huskies with a .449 FG%.</p>

A few years ago I'd started a similar project but unfortunately my interest was lost after the first season. This time I decided to run in a short and simple format by presenting only one report for each season since 1946. Again this will be operated in sandbox mode, also no coaching and scouting to keep variables to a minimum.