1951–52 New York Knicks season
| 1951–52 New York Knicks season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Joe Lapchick[1] |
| General manager | Ned Irish |
| Arena | Madison Square Garden[1] |
| Results | |
| Record | 37–29 (.561) |
| Place | Division: 3rd (Eastern) |
| Playoff finish | NBA Finals (lost to Lakers 3–4) |
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
| Local media | |
| Television | WPIX |
| Radio | WMGM[2] |
The 1951–52 New York Knicks season was the sixth season for the team in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Knicks finished third in the Eastern Division with a 37–29 record, and advanced to the NBA Playoffs for the sixth consecutive season.[3]
In the first round of the Eastern Division playoffs, the Knicks defeated the Boston Celtics in a best-of-three series, two games to one, to move on to the Eastern Division finals. New York won 3–1 in a best-of-five series with the Syracuse Nationals to reach its second straight NBA Finals.[3][4] In the Finals, the Knicks lost to the Minneapolis Lakers in seven games.[4] The Knicks became the first NBA team to erase a 3–0 deficit in a best-of-seven series and force a deciding game 7.[5]
NBA draft
[edit]Note: This is not an extensive list; it only covers the first and second rounds, and any other players picked by the franchise that played at least one game in the league.[6]
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | School/Club Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Ed Smith | F |  United States | Harvard |
| 2 | 15 | Roland Minson | G | United States | Brigham Young |
| 6 | 55 | Al McGuire | G/F | United States | St. John's |
Regular season
[edit]Season standings
[edit]| W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Neutral | Div | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| x-Syracuse Nationals | 40 | 26 | .606 | – | 26–7 | 12–18 | 2–1 | 21–15 |
| x-Boston Celtics | 39 | 27 | .591 | 1 | 22–7 | 10–19 | 7–1 | 22–14 |
| x-New York Knicks | 37 | 29 | .561 | 3 | 21–4 | 12–22 | 4–3 | 23–13 |
| x-Philadelphia Warriors | 33 | 33 | .500 | 7 | 24–7 | 6–25 | 3–1 | 14–22 |
| Baltimore Bullets | 20 | 46 | .303 | 20 | 17–15 | 2–22 | 1–9 | 10–26 |
- x = clinched playoff spot
Record vs. opponents
[edit]| 1951–52 NBA records | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | BAL | BOS | FWP | IND | MIL | MIN | NYK | PHI | ROC | SYR |
| Baltimore | — | 1–8 | 2–4 | 2–4 | 4–2 | 0–6 | 2–7 | 4–5 | 2–4 | 3–6 |
| Boston | 8–1 | — | 3–3 | 3–3 | 5–1 | 3–3 | 4–5 | 6–3 | 3–3 | 4–5 |
| Fort Wayne | 4–2 | 3–3 | — | 5–4 | 4–5 | 5–4 | 3–3 | 2–4 | 3–6 | 0–6 |
| Indianapolis | 4–2 | 3–3 | 4–5 | — | 7–2 | 4–5 | 3–3 | 2–4 | 3–6 | 4–2 |
| Milwaukee | 2–4 | 1–5 | 5–4 | 2–7 | — | 1–8 | 2–4 | 1–5 | 1–8 | 2–4 |
| Minneapolis | 6–0 | 3–3 | 4–5 | 5–4 | 8–1 | — | 4–2 | 2–4 | 7–2 | 1–5 |
| New York | 7–2 | 5–4 | 3–3 | 3–3 | 4–2 | 2–4 | — | 6–3 | 2–4 | 5–4 |
| Philadelphia | 5–4 | 3–6 | 4–2 | 4–2 | 5–1 | 4–2 | 3–6 | — | 2–4 | 3–6 |
| Rochester | 4–2 | 3–3 | 6–3 | 6–3 | 8–1 | 2–7 | 4–2 | 4–2 | — | 4–2 |
| Syracuse | 6–3 | 5–4 | 6–0 | 2–4 | 4–2 | 5–1 | 4–5 | 6–3 | 2–4 | — |
Game log
[edit]| 1951–52 game log | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Date | Opponent | Score | High points | Record | |||||
| 1 | November 3 | @ Milwaukee | 68–66 | Vince Boryla (25) | 1–0 | |||||
| 2 | November 4 | @ Fort Wayne | 75–84 | Vince Boryla (23) | 1–1 | |||||
| 3 | November 6 | @ Indianapolis | 83–73 | Harry Gallatin (19) | 2–1 | |||||
| 4 | November 10 | Minneapolis | 89–73 | Nathaniel Clifton (15) | 2–2 | |||||
| 5 | November 11 | @ Rochester | 78–80 | Ray Lumpp (22) | 2–3 | |||||
| 6 | November 13 | @ Philadelphia | 85–82 | Max Zaslofsky (19) | 3–3 | |||||
| 7 | November 17 | Syracuse | 79–72 | Ernie Vandeweghe (17) | 3–4 | |||||
| 8 | November 18 | @ Boston | 93–87 | Ernie Vandeweghe (21) | 4–4 | |||||
| 9 | November 20 | N Baltimore | 88–86 | Max Zaslofsky (21) | 5–4 | |||||
| 10 | November 22 | Philadelphia | 88–102 | Nathaniel Clifton (23) | 6–4 | |||||
| 11 | November 24 | Boston | 70–68 | Max Zaslofsky (14) | 6–5 | |||||
| 12 | November 23 | @ Syracuse | 73–100 | Vince Boryla (19) | 6–6 | |||||
| 13 | November 27 | @ Philadelphia | 81–83 | Nathaniel Clifton (22) | 6–7 | |||||
| 14 | November 29 | Rochester | 78–74 | Nathaniel Clifton (17) | 6–8 | |||||
| 15 | December 1 | @ Baltimore | 82–84 | Max Zaslofsky (20) | 6–9 | |||||
| 16 | December 2 | Philadelphia | 72–86 | Vince Boryla (30) | 7–9 | |||||
| 17 | December 7 | @ Philadelphia | 91–93 | Boryla, Gallatin (19) | 7–10 | |||||
| 18 | December 9 | @ Boston | 94–103 | Dick McGuire (20) | 7–11 | |||||
| 19 | December 11 | Milwaukee | 83–88 | Gallatin, Zaslofsky (19) | 8–11 | |||||
| 20 | December 14 | @ Indianapolis | 79–83 | Max Zaslofsky (21) | 8–12 | |||||
| 21 | December 16 | @ Fort Wayne | 80–71 | Max Zaslofsky (16) | 9–12 | |||||
| 22 | December 18 | Minneapolis | 86–77 | Max Zaslofsky (14) | 10–12 | |||||
| 23 | December 22 | Syracuse | 73–92 | Dick McGuire (21) | 11–12 | |||||
| 24 | December 23 | @ Syracuse | 75–72 | Harry Gallatin (19) | 12–12 | |||||
| 25 | December 25 | Fort Wayne | 65–72 | Max Zaslofsky (23) | 13–12 | |||||
| 26 | December 26 | N Milwaukee | 76–78 | Vince Boryla (16) | 13–13 | |||||
| 27 | December 27 | @ Rochester | 85–98 | Connie Simmons (20) | 13–14 | |||||
| 28 | December 30 | @ Boston | 90–100 | Connie Simmons (16) | 13–15 | |||||
| 29 | December 31 | Boston | 86–87 (OT) | Max Zaslofsky (30) | 14–15 | |||||
| 30 | January 1 | @ Milwaukee | 68–65 | Vince Boryla (16) | 15–15 | |||||
| 31 | January 2 | N Milwaukee | 89–67 | Max Zaslofsky (27) | 16–15 | |||||
| 32 | January 4 | @ Indianapolis | 73–83 | Dick McGuire (15) | 16–16 | |||||
| 33 | January 6 | @ Minneapolis | 92–107 | Max Zaslofsky (18) | 16–17 | |||||
| 34 | January 8 | Rochester | 74–107 | Ernie Vandeweghe (18) | 17–17 | |||||
| 35 | January 10 | @ Syracuse | 96–110 | Connie Simmons (15) | 17–18 | |||||
| 36 | January 12 | Indianapolis | 77–86 | Harry Gallatin (23) | 18–18 | |||||
| 37 | January 13 | @ Rochester | 70–97 | Dick McGuire (15) | 18–19 | |||||
| 38 | January 19 | Philadelphia | 88–94 | Vandeweghe, Zaslofsky (20) | 19–19 | |||||
| 39 | January 21 | @ Baltimore | 99–83 | Dick McGuire (22) | 20–19 | |||||
| 40 | January 22 | @ Philadelphia | 82–78 | Simmons, Zaslofsky (17) | 21–19 | |||||
| 41 | January 26 | Indianapolis | 93–99 | Connie Simmons (25) | 22–19 | |||||
| 42 | January 27 | @ Fort Wayne | 92–100 | Max Zaslofsky (25) | 22–20 | |||||
| 43 | January 29 | N Indianapolis | 72–100 | George Kaftan (13) | 22–21 | |||||
| 44 | January 30 | @ Minneapolis | 65–77 | Max Zaslofsky (14) | 22–22 | |||||
| 45 | February 2 | Boston | 83–91 | Dick McGuire (21) | 23–22 | |||||
| 46 | February 3 | @ Boston | 95–100 | Harry Gallatin (23) | 23–23 | |||||
| 47 | February 4 | @ Baltimore | 81–82 | Nathaniel Clifton (16) | 23–24 | |||||
| 48 | February 6 | Baltimore | 70–73 | McGuire, Zaslofsky (14) | 24–24 | |||||
| 49 | February 8 | N Baltimore | 103–83 | Ray Lumpp (23) | 25–24 | |||||
| 50 | February 9 | Philadelphia | 86–96 | Connie Simmons (18) | 26–24 | |||||
| 51 | February 12 | Syracuse | 69–78 | Connie Simmons (15) | 27–24 | |||||
| 52 | February 16 | Baltimore | 82–102 | Max Zaslofsky (26) | 28–24 | |||||
| 53 | February 17 | @ Syracuse | 61–66 | Harry Gallatin (11) | 28–25 | |||||
| 54 | February 19 | Minneapolis | 96–98 | Max Zaslofsky (23) | 29–25 | |||||
| 55 | February 22 | @ Philadelphia | 95–118 | Harry Gallatin (22) | 29–26 | |||||
| 56 | February 23 | Fort Wayne | 77–82 (OT) | Max Zaslofsky (24) | 30–26 | |||||
| 57 | February 25 | @ Baltimore | 89–84 | Dick McGuire (17) | 31–26 | |||||
| 58 | March 1 | Boston | 84–78 | Ernie Vandeweghe (22) | 32–26 | |||||
| 59 | March 2 | @ Boston | 89–87 | Harry Gallatin (21) | 33–26 | |||||
| 60 | March 4 | Rochester | 90–92 (OT) | George Kaftan (30) | 34–26 | |||||
| 61 | March 5 | N Baltimore | 88–82 | Simmons, Zaslofsky (19) | 35–26 | |||||
| 62 | March 8 | N Milwaukee | 99–103 | Max Zaslofsky (24) | 35–27 | |||||
| 63 | March 9 | @ Fort Wayne | 79–80 | Harry Gallatin (25) | 35–28 | |||||
| 64 | March 12 | @ Minneapolis | 83–85 | Harry Gallatin (19) | 35–29 | |||||
| 65 | March 15 | Syracuse | 90–97 | Harry Gallatin (24) | 36–29 | |||||
| 66 | March 16 | @ Syracuse | 90–84 | Ernie Vandeweghe (19) | 37–29 | |||||
Playoffs
[edit]Player statistics
[edit]| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game |
Awards and records
[edit]![[icon]](File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small} | This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (February 2013) |
Transactions
[edit] | This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (February 2013) |
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b "1951–52 New York Knicks Roster and Statistics". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved September 17, 2011.
- ^ Jaker, Bill; Sulek, Frank; Kanze, Peter (2008). The Airwaves of New York: Illustrated Histories of 156 AM Stations in the Metropolitan Area, 1921–1996. McFarland & Company. p. 194. ISBN 978-0-7864-3872-3. Retrieved September 17, 2011.
- ^ a b "New York Knickerbockers Franchise Index". Basketball-Reference. Archived from the original on January 6, 2010. Retrieved January 2, 2010.
- ^ a b "1952 NBA Playoff Summary". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved January 2, 2010.
- ^ "Celtics–Heat Game 7 by the numbers: Can Boston complete NBA's first 3–0 comeback?". WBZ-TV. May 29, 2023. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
- ^ "1951 NBA Draft". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved September 17, 2011.