1953–54 New York Knicks season

1953–54 New York Knicks season
Division champions
Head coachJoe Lapchick
General managerNed Irish
ArenaMadison Square Garden
Results
Record47–23 (.671)
PlaceDivision: 1st (Eastern)
Playoff finishEast Division Semifinals
(Lost double Round Robin to Celtics and Nationals 0–4)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
TelevisionWPIX
RadioWMGM
< 1952–53 1954–55 >

The 1953–54 New York Knicks season was the eighth season for the team in the National Basketball Association (NBA).[1] New York won its second straight regular season Eastern Division title with a 44–28 record,[1] which placed them two games ahead of the Boston Celtics and Syracuse Nationals.[2] The first round of the 1954 NBA Playoffs consisted of round-robin tournaments, where the top three teams in each division played each other in home and away matchups. The Knicks went 0–4 against the Celtics and Nationals, and did not qualify for the Eastern Division Finals.[3]

NBA draft

Main article: 1953 NBA draft

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.[4]

Round Pick Player Position Nationality School/Club Team
T – Walter Dukes C  United States Seton Hall
2 8 Don Ackerman G  United States Long Island
2 14 Nield Gordon F  United States Furman
5 – Bob Santini F  United States Iona
– – Richard Atha G  United States Indiana State University
– – Joe Smyth F  United States Niagara

Regular season

Season standings

Eastern Division
 W L PCT GB Home Road Neutral Div
x-New York Knicks 44 28 .611 – 18–8 15–13 11–7 24–16
x-Boston Celtics 42 30 .583 2 17–6 10–19 15–5 25–15
x-Syracuse Nationals 42 30 .583 2 26–6 11–17 5–7 21–19
Philadelphia Warriors 29 43 .403 15 10–9 6–16 13–18 19–21
Baltimore Bullets 16 56 .222 28 12–18 0–22 4–16 11–29
x – clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents

1953-54 NBA Records
Team BAL BOS FWP MIL MIN NYK PHI ROC SYR
Baltimore — 1–9 0–8 2–6 2–6 3–7 4–6 1–7 3–7
Boston 9–1 — 4–4 6–2 3–5 5–5 6–4 4–4 5–5
Fort Wayne 8–0 4–4 — 9–2 5–5 3–5 6–2 3–8 2–6
Milwaukee 6–2 2–6 2–9 — 3–8 3–5 3–5 1–9 1–7
Minneapolis 6–2 5–3 5–5 8–3 — 5–3 6–2 6–5 5–3
New York 7–3 5–5 5–3 5–3 3–5 — 7–3 7–1 5–5
Philadelphia 6–4 4–6 2–6 5–3 2–6 3–7 — 1–7 6–4
Rochester 7–1 4–4 8–3 9–1 5–6 1–7 7–1 — 3–5
Syracuse 7–3 5–5 6–2 7–1 3–5 5–5 4–6 5–3 —

Game log

1953–54 Game log
# Date Opponent Score High points Record
1 October 31 Minneapolis 67–91 Vince Boryla (15) 1–0
2 November 4 N Milwaukee 73–67 Vince Boryla (16) 2–0
3 November 6 @ Milwaukee 80–68 Carl Braun (21) 3–0
4 November 7 @ Minneapolis 62–70 Harry Gallatin (14) 3–1
5 November 8 @ Fort Wayne 75–70 Harry Gallatin (17) 4–1
6 November 12 Philadelphia 65–81 Harry Gallatin (21) 5–1
7 November 14 @ Baltimore 83–88 Carl Braun (16) 5–2
8 November 15 Baltimore 79–91 Connie Simmons (19) 6–2
9 November 18 N Philadelphia 83–88 Harry Gallatin (28) 7–2
10 November 19 N Baltimore 96–85 Carl Braun (28) 8–2
11 November 21 Syracuse 67–68 Nathaniel Clifton (20) 9–2
12 November 22 @ Syracuse 84–80 (OT) Connie Simmons (27) 10–2
13 November 24 N Boston 103–92 Vince Boryla (20) 11–2
14 November 25 @ Boston 84–96 Vince Boryla (20) 11–3
15 November 28 Rochester 90–95 (OT) Jim Baechtold (21) 12–3
16 November 29 @ Rochester 69–64 Harry Gallatin (18) 13–3
17 December 3 @ Philadelphia 74–79 Carl Braun (18) 13–4
18 December 5 Fort Wayne 92–73 Carl Braun (22) 13–5
19 December 10 Boston 113–108 (2OT) Harry Gallatin (30) 13–6
20 December 11 @ Milwaukee 70–82 Harry Gallatin (19) 13–7
21 December 12 @ Minneapolis 67–71 Nathaniel Clifton (19) 13–8
22 December 13 @ Fort Wayne 69–68 Vince Boryla (23) 14–8
23 December 15 Minneapolis 79–80 (OT) Carl Braun (29) 15–8
24 December 19 @ Baltimore 65–63 Harry Gallatin (15) 16–8
25 December 20 Baltimore 67–75 Carl Braun (19) 17–8
26 December 25 Syracuse 80–89 Carl Braun (21) 18–8
27 December 26 @ Rochester 78–77 Connie Simmons (18) 19–8
28 December 27 Philadelphia 76–79 Carl Braun (23) 20–8
29 December 30 @ Baltimore 79–86 Nathaniel Clifton (21) 20–9
30 December 31 Boston 95–74 Jim Baechtold (20) 20–10
31 January 2 @ Minneapolis 74–78 Carl Braun (18) 20–11
32 January 3 @ Fort Wayne 74–72 Boryla, Braun (18) 21–11
33 January 7 Baltimore 70–82 Jim Baechtold (23) 22–11
34 January 9 @ Rochester 88–87 Harry Gallatin (20) 23–11
35 January 10 Rochester 69–81 Harry Gallatin (21) 24–11
36 January 13 N Syracuse 93–72 Carl Braun (15) 24–12
37 January 14 @ Philadelphia 83–71 Carl Braun (20) 25–12
38 January 16 Fort Wayne 82–88 (OT) Carl Braun (28) 26–12
39 January 17 @ Boston 87–84 (2OT) Connie Simmons (23) 27–12
40 January 19 @ Milwaukee 78–75 Dick McGuire (16) 28–12
41 January 22 N Philadelphia 82–84 Harry Gallatin (16) 29–12
42 January 23 Milwaukee 63–75 Carl Braun (17) 30–12
43 January 24 N Milwaukee 66–68 Carl Braun (23) 30–13
44 January 26 N Rochester 71–74 Carl Braun (17) 31–13
45 January 28 @ Syracuse 66–79 Connie Simmons (18) 31–14
46 January 30 Syracuse 65–66 Nathaniel Clifton (22) 32–14
47 January 31 @ Syracuse 70–114 Baechtold, Braun, Clifton, McGuire (10) 32–15
48 February 3 N Minneapolis 79–91 Carl Braun (21) 32–16
49 February 4 N Syracuse 90–82 Carl Braun (35) 32–17
50 February 6 Baltimore 83–98 Carl Braun (19) 33–17
51 February 7 @ Boston 87–78 Harry Gallatin (19) 34–17
52 February 10 N Fort Wayne 73–69 Carl Braun (20) 35–17
53 February 11 N Boston 81–84 (OT) Harry Gallatin (20) 35–18
54 February 13 Fort Wayne 79–73 Braun, Clifton (17) 35–19
55 February 14 @ Boston 89–103 Fred Schaus (23) 35–20
56 February 16 Boston 85–87 Dick McGuire (21) 36–20
57 February 17 @ Baltimore 80–84 Carl Braun (19) 36–21
58 February 18 @ Philadelphia 69–60 Fred Schaus (17) 37–21
59 February 20 Philadelphia 89–75 Nathaniel Clifton (19) 37–22
60 February 21 N Baltimore 85–76 Jim Baechtold (22) 38–22
61 February 23 Minneapolis 100–82 Nathaniel Clifton (20) 38–23
62 February 25 N Fort Wayne 62–82 Connie Simmons (15) 38–24
63 February 27 Milwaukee 58–57 Carl Braun (13) 38–25
64 February 28 N Philadelphia 83–78 Harry Gallatin (19) 38–26
65 March 2 Boston 71–86 Nathaniel Clifton (21) 39–26
66 March 3 N Philadelphia 79–88 Harry Gallatin (20) 40–26
67 March 5 N Rochester 66–70 Harry Gallatin (17) 41–26
68 March 7 Rochester 91–88 Carl Braun (25) 41–27
69 March 9 N Milwaukee 72–65 Harry Gallatin (15) 42–27
70 March 10 @ Minneapolis 85–76 Connie Simmons (27) 43–27
71 March 13 Syracuse 60–67 Harry Gallatin (16) 44–27
72 March 14 @ Syracuse 83–113 Connie Simmons (23) 44–28

Playoffs

1954 playoff game log
Division Round Robin Semifinals: 0–4 (home: 0–2; road: 0–2)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Record
1 March 16 Boston L 71–93 Carl Braun (18) — Simmons, Baechtold (3) Madison Square Garden III 0–1
2 March 18 @ Syracuse L 68–75 Harry Gallatin (15) Harry Gallatin (20) Jim Baechtold (5) Onondaga War Memorial 0–2
3 March 20 @ Boston L 78–79 Harry Gallatin (15) — Braun, Simmons (3) Boston Garden 0–3
4 March 21 Syracuse L 99–103 Carl Braun (32) Nat Clifton (16) Carl Braun (6) Madison Square Garden III 0–4
1954 schedule

Awards and records

References

  1. ^ a b "New York Knickerbockers Franchise Index". Basketball-Reference. Archived from the original on January 6, 2010. Retrieved February 8, 2010.
  2. ^ "1953–54 NBA Season Summary". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved February 8, 2010.
  3. ^ "1953–54 New York Knickerbockers Schedule and Results". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved February 8, 2010.
  4. ^ "1953 NBA Draft". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved December 15, 2012.
  5. ^ a b "All-NBA & All-ABA Teams". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved June 8, 2013.