CBS Sportsline Celts Preview

[Chris Littlefield <chris@mjr.com>]

Check this out.  This guy downplays pretty much everything, then says the
C's will take 5th place in the division.

Whatever.  I hope he's right.   Sorry about the awful formatting.

Chris



Article starts here.


Here's a little warning for Celtics fans: Don't get your hopes up too high
for this season. Yes,
                                                      Rick Pitino has
arrived. Yes,
                                                      the team has been
overhauled
                                                      after last season's 15-67
                                                      disaster. And yes,
the Celtics
                                                      drafted very well back in
                                                      June. But this is not
going to
                                                      be an overnight success
                                                      story. Pitino is a
good bet to
                                                      restore this team's
glory, but
                                                      it's going to take a few
                                                      years. When Pitino talks
                                                      about the Celtics, he
talks
                                                      about "journeys" and
                                                      "destinations,"
saying that
                                                      the road to success
is often
                                                      more gratifying than the
                                                      success itself. This
may be
                                                      true, but if Pitino
thought he
                                                      had an instant winner
here,
                                                      he wouldn't talk that
way.

                                                      Pitino is a magnificent
                                                      college basketball
coach, but
                                                      his two years with the
                                                      Knicks were not
                                                      earth-shattering.
This time
                                                      around, he has tried
to bring
                                                      a college atmosphere
to his
 NBA team by making sure he earned more money than the majority of his
players and by
 casting off a lot of veterans who were set in their ways. If this is a
formula for success, it's a
 long-term plan. Pitino's Celtics return just five players from last year's
roster. Only three
 players are in their 30s, and eight are under the age of 25. All of
Pitino's starters are likely to be
 under 24 years old, and the backcourt will feature two 21-year-old rookies.

 In many ways, Pitino will feel like he never left the college ranks. Three
of his players played
 for him at Kentucky, and most are still best known for their collegiate
careers. Pitino wants a
 team he can grow with -- a team that can grow together. This is Pitino's
dream job and it's his
 dream team. But while everyone else is trying to win this year, Pitino's
Celtics are focused on
 the year 2000 and beyond. They'll get some big wins in 1997-98 and come up
in the standings,
 but they'll be very lucky to make the playoffs. Be patient, Boston fans,
your time will come
 again.

 Guards: Two first-round picks, two starting guards. Chauncey Billups (No.
3 overall) will
 start at point guard. He'll need a couple of years to master the position,
but Pitino won't waste
 any time giving him the reins. Shooting guard Ron Mercer (No. 6 overall)
played for Pitino last
 year at Kentucky, and that should help his adjustment to the NBA. Veteran
Dee Brown is
 excited about his new coach and may return to his old form. Tyus Edney and
Dana Barros might
 have to play more than expected if Billups isn't up to the challenge.

 Forwards: Antoine Walker is the real star of this team. He led the team in
scoring and
 rebounding as a 20-year-old rookie, and Pitino, his college
 coach, will make him that much better. Walker, a power
 forward, is a future superstar who will probably be the key
 ingredient to the next Celtics dynasty. Having traded Chris
 Mills, Pitino must find another starting forward. His choices
 include 6-10 Andrew DeClercq, 6-10 Walter McCarty (the
 third Kentucky player on this team) and rookie John
 Thomas, a 1997 first-round pick who played in the Final
 Four with Minnesota.

 Centers: The Celtics paid a lot of money for Travis Knight, one of the
players Pitino wants to
 build his team around. Knight had a strong rookie year with the Lakers,
but he won't have
 Shaquille O'Neal around to make life easier for him. At 23, he may not be
ready for the role
 he's been given. He'll be under a lot of pressure in Boston, where the
media will scrutinize his
 play. Backing up Knight is veteran Pervis Ellison. Ellison, the oldest
player on the team, will
 celebrate his 31st birthday on April 3 when the Celtics play in Detroit.
The injury-prone Ellison
 will be lucky if he's in uniform that night.

 Prediction: Fifth in the division.