bird mystique

[RACE --- <race@midusa.net>]

obviously, claiming that Bird is the master-of-all-recent-good in the 
Celtics organization is silly.... it is equally absurd to suggest (as i 
may have been guilty of claiming ML as the root cause of all celtic 
sadness) ...
BUT
it is also true that Bird's mystique is earned.
He understands the game of basketball intricately.
He did not succeed on pure atheleticism but on practice makes perfect 
and a lightning mental understanding of the game.
One need not denigrate ML to recognize that in terms of basketball 
knowledge Bird is a few notches up the ladder...
and so are many of the other celtics past including assistants jones and 
johnson....
ML is a passionate individual and motivator but does anyone really 
believe that Bird's involvement would be passive?
We need not put ML out on the streets to put Bird in the driver's seat. 
 Surely there are places in the organization deserving of ML's special 
talents 
but
coaching and general management don't appear to be the highlights.

dbr