Pitino from CBS Sportsline

[damekmo@teleport.com]

From CBS Sportsline
(www.cbs.sportsline.com/u/page/covers/basketball/apr98/luriem4198.htm).
More scoring from the frontcourt,.....yes?


>Under Pitino, Celtics slowly heading in right direction
>
> By Mike Lurie
> CBS SportsLine Staff Writer
> April 1, 1998
>
> MIAMI -- They are two sideline images that scream success: Rick Pitino in
>a suit,
> Boston basketball players in Celtic green. No wonder the sight of Pitino
>and the
> Celtics in their present form is so rattling.
>
> In time, it will improve. In time, Pitino can help the Celtics find their
>former
> greatness just like he helped the University of Kentucky return to its
>old glory.
> But the pivotal word here is time.
>
> Since leaving Kentucky last year after a
> second straight trip to the NCAA
> championship game, Pitino has
> disciplined himself to be as patient as a
> person of his drive possibly can. A
> year ago, the Celtics were an
> embarrassment, moving backward
> with relentless speed. Now,
> embarrassments just come along
> occasionally.
>
> Unfortunately, so do the victories.
> After losing to the Heat Tuesday night,
> the Celtics fell to 10 games below .500
> for the first time this season. Some
> wonder if all the team's energy is spent
> from playing Pitino's frenetic pressing
> style.
>
> "There are two sides of the coin here.
> Whatever number we come up with in
> terms of wins, we've worked very
> hard to get that number," Pitino said
> before the Celtics played Miami. "So
> it's not maybe there was some fat in
> there, or maybe we could have played
> a little harder. We've earned each win.
> So now, to take the next step, after
> working that hard, we've got to improve our talent base."
>
> As Pitino said this, his eyes widened. With the offseason looming, some
>kind of
> master plan will develop to commandeer the kind of inside presence the Celtics
> need to complement one of the changes they've already made by acquiring guard
> Kenny Anderson.
>
> "Key baskets are too tough for us to come by. We've got to make them easier.
> The only way to do that is by getting better offensive players and more inside
> help," he said.
>
> Every once in a while, the Celtics are going to throw a real dud on the
>floor. That
> was painfully true against the Heat. Miami shot 71 percent from the floor
>at one
> point in the first quarter, led by as many as 39 points in the second
>half and easily
> easily, 125-99.
>
> DRAWING ON THE WORD "pathetic" a couple of times to describe the
> Celts' performance, Pitino said, "Our players deserved to have our asses
>kicked
> out there. And we, as coaches, deserved to have to sit and watch it."
>
> Call it a temporary blip for a team moving in the right direction,
>however slowly.
> It's a time of year that can have a team with no playoff chances looking
>beyond
> the grind of the job. That hasn't really happened with the Celtics.
>
> Even this loss couldn't be saddled entirely on the Celtics' shoulders.
>The Heat
> have been winning games by an average margin of 22 points lately. Their
> offensive execution, movement and fast-break opportunities were of the highest
> quality.
>
> The Celtics aren't losing because they've quit. They're losing because
>they don't
> yet have the right talent. When Pitino is involved in rebuilding the
>team, that isn't
> such a bleak statement.
>
> "That's the thing that I'm most proud of. If you look at Philadelphia, if
>you look
> at New Jersey, we're playing as hard now as we were playing at the
>beginning of
> the year. I'm rather proud of that. I think we're very hungry," Pitino said.
>
> "You know, we want to win badly. And we get Kenny Anderson back soon."
>
> ANDERSON HAS HAD TO SIT OUT with a bruised knee. But he is on
> course to be close to full strength as soon as this weekend. The issue for the
> Celtics isn't really at guard, not since Anderson came over in February
>from the
> Nets. The inside game is the question.
>
> Guard Dana Barros said it has been aggravating to watch the Celtics squander a
> three-point lead in the final 20 seconds of games, all because no one
>could pull
> down a key rebound.
>
> "We're small," Pitino said. "Andrew DeClercq is probably having one of
>the best
> years in terms of where he was, and what he's doing for the Celtics. But he's
> really a power forward, or a backup center, size-wise.
>
> "Travis Knight has had some really good games. But we signed Travis with the
> understanding he was two or three years away, that we'd need a good summer of
> weight training to bulk him up. Then he's a seven-footer with some
>potential. But
> we got what we wanted out of him this season."
>
> PITINO DOESN'T SALIVATE at the thought of these names. It's no fault
> of DeClercq or Knight that they are not the answer.
>
> "We need an inside scoring force. But we're very weak at the small
>forward spot
> in terms of having a big-time scorer, We've got guys that can do it...
>but we need
> a consistent scorer, whether it's Antoine Walker moving there and getting a
> power forward, or vice-versa," Pitino said.
>
> Barros doesn't like to point toward excuses, like the fact opponents
>regularly go
> to the foul line more often than the Celtics (Walker's adversarial
>relationship with
> officials doesn't help).
>
> "This is my third year. I think we lost all respect the last two years,
>in terms of
> the league and the league's perception for us," Barros said. "I think
>we've done
> some things to start getting back that respect."
>
> That didn't happen against the Heat. But the Celtics aren't the only ones
>Miami is
> belittling.
>
> "Every team faces a blowout from time to time," Celts guard Ron Mercer said
> after the game. "You never want to get blown out. You never expect to get
>blown
> out. But, it happens, so you have to bounce back."
>
> Pitino isn't one to stand pat. Acquiring Anderson was one step. Maintaining an
> edge all year has been another. It is bizarre, looking at Celtics green
>and listening
> to a discussion about being taken seriously. After decades of excellence, the
> Celtics are tasting the bitter side of the NBA experience.
>
> If they can land that big-time small forward and an inside man with real
>presence,
> the experience will be far more sweet. It's a long wish list, true. But Pitino
> routinely asks for a lot and usually finds a way to get it.
>
> Mike Lurie is a CBS SportsLine staff writer.

>Copyright © 1998 SportsLine USA, Inc. All rights reserved.
>CBS "eye device" is a registered trademark of CBS Inc.

Paul M.