1,
Sport Talk
by Ron Sykes, Sports Editor
NBA Forecast: Atlantic Division
1. Philadelphia 76ers
2. Boston Celtics
3. New Jersey Nets
4. Washington Bullets
5. New York Knicks
1. Philadelphia
The Sixers are young, gifted and
with the combination of Julius Er-
vlng and Moses M alone, should
beat out the Celtics. The Atlantic
race, however, should not be de
cided until the last week of the sea
son. Coach Billy Cunningham ’s
speed conscious Sixers are loaded
from top to bottom. The hot-shoot
ing Andrew Toney is now ready to
achieve the superstar potential that
all have predicted for him. Toney is
< remarkable shooter from any
range. His consistent shooting will
team well with swift point guard
Maurice Cheeks. Checks finished
list year ranking second in the league
with 667 assists and third with 209
■Heals. The Sixers are so loaded in
the back court that they were able to
trade defensive stalwart Lionel Hol
lins to San Diego. The Sixers were
the weakest offensive rebounding
team in the Atlantic Division last
year. So all they did was go out and
sign the most devastating offensive
rebounder the game has ever
known, Moses M alone. Now,
Moses just may not walk on water,
but he will help Philadelphia walk
all over everyone in the East.
2. Boston Celtics
Many pre-season pollsters had al
ready penciled in the Celtics for first
place. But that was before Philly
picked up Moses.
The Celtics, like the Sixers, arc
talented to say the least. Boston’s
Res Auerbach pulled a major coup
when he somehow persuaded
Milwaukee to trade Quinn Buckner,
a very active point guard for Dave
Cowens, a very inactive power for
ward.
The Celtic strength lies in their
>
¡o n w H
patent front line.
Larry Bird, their all-everything
power forward is the offensive lead
er. Last year Bird scored at a 22.9
clip, led the team in steals (143) and
ranked second in rebounds with
837.
Joining Bird at the small forward
spot is the very reliable Cedric Max
well.
Maxwell at 6-8 is very quick and
gest out well on the break.
In the middle (he Celts return the
brilliant Robert Parish, who won
the team M V P award by averaging
19.9 points per game and blocking
192 shots. Parish is exceptionally
mobile for a big man and an excel
lent shot blocker. And when Parish
needs a rest the Celts send for the 6-
10 Kevin McHale. McHale is a hust
ler from the John Havlicek school.
He is so good that he could start for
almost any other team in the league.
In a part time role Kevin averaged
13.6 ppg and nine rebounds.
As talented as the front line is it
would be hard pressed to outshine
the back court. The acquisition of
Bruchner to go along with the high
flying Tiny Archibald and the slick
Gerald Henderson does nothing but
solidify the guard position for the
Celts. Last year the Celts were hurt
when Tiny suffered an injury during
the playoffs and were forced to play
the inexperienced Dan Ainge for too
many minutes. Bruchner is insur
ance that that won’t happen this
year.
Allen, National Junior Olympic
champion for the past three years, is
The Salvation Army’s brightest star
in a newly-formed boxing program
for youth at the people-helping
group's Moore Street Corps Com
munity Center in North Portland.
The program is headed-up by
former number-one heavyweight
contender and I960 Olympic team
champion Thad Spencer. Spencer, a
Salvation Army volunteer, is also
the Northwest’s first black fights
Coach Larry Brown posted a
good 44-38 record last year and
garnered a spot in the playoffs.
A talented backcourt will be the
strong point for the Nets. They will
be led by the All-Star and hot shoot
ing Otis Birdsong. Otis missed 30
games last year due to a knee injury
that now appears to be fully sound
again. Otis w ill be joined in the
backcourt by his old KC teammate
Phil Ford whom Brown obtained in
a trade. Ford’s leadership should be
promoter.
Allen, with 80 amateur fights un
der his belt—and only three losses—
will head up a team of top boxers
from Oregon as they battle U.S.
Army challengers.
The 6-1, 160 1b. middleweight,
who knocked out 30 other fighters
thus far in the ring, is in prime con
dition for the bout, said Salvation
Army Lt. Brian Pockett, the officer
in charge o f The Moore Street
Corps Community Center.
" H e ’s been here every day, train
ing hard with Thad, and he’s look
ing better than ever,” Pockett re
marked. "W e think he can easily
take on any challenger the U .S.
Army can send in against him.”
Allen will be wearing a blue robe
and red and yellow trunks— The
Salvation Army’s colors.
RENT THIS 19” COLOR
TELEVISION RY PHONE
2397451
ABSOLUTELY NO CREDIT HASSLE!
ALL RENT APPLIES TO PURCHASE!
SAME DAY
DELIVERY!
(In m o d r o H t )
NO DEPOSIT
REQUIRED!
F$48
FREE Battery Test
FREE Electrical check
J*.
3. New Jersey Nets
Salvation Army sponsors
Portland amateur boxer
It ’ll be Army vs. Army November
J 3, when 16-year-old Marcelles
Allen becomes Portland's first box
er to throw punches under Salvation
Army colors in an amateur fight
against U.S. Army personnel in the
M att Dishman Center ring. The
bouts begin at 8 p.m.
• FREE Installation
PER
month
LESS ’ 15.00 OFF
First Month With
Tht. *4 .
h<»»l
ONLY *33 »^,1
DELIVERY
AND SERVICE
INCLUDED
WE CARRY
OUR OWN
ACCOUNTS!
AND THAT'S NOT ALL WE CARRY. .
Microwave Ovens
Freezers
Washers and Drye
Refrigerators
Dishwashers
Furniture
YOU CAN ESTABLISH YOUR OWN CREDIT WHEN YOU
RENT TO OWN AT
3121 NE SANDY BLVD. • 239-7451 SATURDAY 9 to 5*" J
LARRY BIRD
a steadying influence on the young
Nets. Top draft pick Eric “ Sleepy”
Floyd out of Georgetown U niver
sity, brings good credentials to the
Nets. Floyd will be looked upon to
back up Birdsong.
Darwin Cook, ex-University of
Portland Ace, is showing a lot of
improvement and will prove to be a
better than adequate backup for
Ford.
The young Nets will return 6-8
strongman Buck W illiam s to the
front court to be joined by the irre
pressible Albert King. Williams is a
tireless performer who bangs the
boards a la Mose Malone. Williams
was named to the first team A ll-
Rookie team.
Albert King, 6-6, from Maryland,
is an excellent shooter and a steady
performer. King averaged 12.6 ppg
last year and shot .473 from the
field.
Coach Brown is high on Jawes
Griffin of Illinois, a fine runner and
gifted shot blocker. James Bailey, 6-
9, acquired from Seattle, should
provide added strength and depth to
the front line. Hard working Len El
more and steady M ike O ’ Koren
make the young Nets a legitimate
contender in the Atlantic. The Nets
are loaded but young. They are def
initely the team of the future.
4. Washington Bullets
Coach Gene Shue used ’8 l / ’82 as
a rebuilding year; still his young
Bullets were able to put together a
record of 43-39.
The hustle, hustle of the Bullets
gained (hem a p layo ff berth last
year where they downed the Nets 2-0
in the mini-series.
The resurgence of Spencer H ay
wood was one of (he big surprises of
the NBA. Spencer, after spending a
year in Europe, returned to lead the
Bullets in scoring 13.3 points per
game and 10 rebounds.
Brilliant power playing forward
Greg Ballard will team with H ay
wood to form a strong front line.
Top draft pick Dwight Anderson
from USC, should help in the back
court.
Billy Ray Bates, newly arrived
from Portland, will add excitement
and clutch shooting for the Bullets.
Given the chance Billy Ray will be
come an important cog in the Bullet
offense. With Speedy Don Collins
and hot shooting Kevin Grevy the
Bullets appear to be more than ade
quate in the backcourt.
Both Ballard and Haywood
should again provide the offense for
the Bullets.
I he Bullets were the surprise of
the East last year, and if they can get
help from Jeff Ruland and Jim
Chones at center, they could be
come a force in (he East.
6. New York Knicka
The Knicks, like the Blazers, did
nothing to enhance their club.
They lost on the even trade of
Truck Robinson for Maurice Lucas.
At 6-9, Luke can do more than a
few things better than Truck.
New York finished last season at
33-49 and Coach Hubie Brown can
only expect to do worse this year. A
team that loses its best two players,
Lucas and guard Michael Ray Rich
ardson, can hardly be expected to
improve.
Coach Brown wants only disci
plined players on his squad. This
year he’s in trouble.
3007 N.E. Union Ave.
TIRE RANCH
HOME
Of
AV* SVH m A*
J
NEW USED & RECAPPED
AS LITT1 F AS
$30°°
A PAIR
Arquello vs Pryor
TAe time has come the boxing fan
said to talk o f many things.. .o f
shoes, o f ships, o f sealing wax and
whether Arguello will be King!I
Botteriea
- srtoexs
AVE N . E .
mag wheels
2 6 5 7 UNION
Portland. Oregon
That question will certainly be an
swered this Friday night when
Alexis Arquello goes after Aaron
Pryor’s junior welterweight title.
As everyone knows Alexis will be
attempting to win an unprecedented
fourth boxing title.
His quest will be met by a man,
Aaron Pryor, who believes himself
invincible. I t ’s a classic match be
tween the boxer, Arquello, and the
slugger, Pryor.
Pryor is relentless in his attack
and will smother the smaller Arquel
lo from round one to round 13. In
order for Arquello to win he must
be able to use his superior boxing
skills. The thought here is that the
slugger Pryor will not allow this to
happen. He will force Arquello into
a slugging match, and th at’s a
match Alexis can’t win. Our choice
is with Aaron "The Hawk” Pryor.
Next Week
The Observer will provide exclu
sive coverage of the U.S. A.-Cuba
amateur boxing competition to be
held November 13th in Reno, Ne
vada. Earlier this year, the Cubans
beat the U.S. 11-1.
OPEN MON
SAT
288 - 9700
WE'RE
HERETO
HELP
YOU!
Expert
consultation
on your
transportation
needs
on both new
and used cars.
WENDELL BROWN
Setts Rtpresfi fniive
RON TONKIN
CHEVROLET-HONDA CO
1 2 2 N .E . 1 2 2 n d A v e .
S a n iu ta y Part» 4 S o
THE O N LY DEALER