-EG> The 49ers traded Greg Caliri to the Jets for saying:
-EG> GC> There were no mini-series against the Sacramento Kings or teams like
-EG> GC> that.
-EG> That's right, they didn't have to play ANY first round
-EG> series until late in their dynasty. The NBA sent them
-EG> directly to the division finals. Imagine how many FEWER
-EG> championships they'd have won if they had to play more
-EG> games in the first round OR 4 full rounds (That's one
-EG> reason why it was easier for UCLA to win as many as they
-EG> did. Had they played as many rounds as today, they'd have
-EG> gotten picked off more).
The odds would indicate that . Except that we were talking
overall W-L playoff records.  And in this case, the Celtics
of the 60s had no Sacramento Kings series to go 3-0 or 4-0
to fatten up the W-L record.  Sure, if they had more
seemingly endless playoff series to go through, they
may have lost one or more of the years that they did
win.
 
-EG> GC> so, then play the Philadelphia 76ers in a best-of-seven, and
-EG> GC> then, probably with one or two days off, play the Los Angeles
-EG> GC> Lakers in the NBA Finals.
-EG> Wrong. The Celtics only played Finals series with 2 days 3
-EG> times (never after 1 day). They played Finals series after
-EG> 3 days 3 times, 4 days once, 5 days twice, 6 days once, 7
-EG> days once and 9 days once.
OK, 1 day, 2 days, 9 days.   There was never a nine day
break between series in the old days.  Those were built
in to accomodate CBS.  Back in the 60s, if both teams
got through the divisional finals in four or five games
the final playoff round started almost immediately.
 
And you forget travel arrangements.  Harsher in the 50s
and 60s.  Some series were played in a 2-2-1-1-1 format.
Some were played in a 1-1-1-1-1-1-1 format.  NEVER 2-3-2
even if cross-country travel was a consideration. That
was brought in in 1985 after the Lakers complained in
1984 that they woulda won if the travel was different.
(gee I didn't know the Celtics didn't have the same
travel schedule in that series).
 
--- 
---------------