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More Pitino On Rebounding, Trades....
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MG In Exile
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[The Boston Globe Online][Boston.com]
[Boston Globe Online / Sports]
For Celtics, rebounds are a pivotal
problem
By Peter May, Globe Staff, 02/21/99
WASHINGTON - Rick Pitino hasn't
called the Psychic Friends Hotline
yet or taken out an ad with the toll-free
number: 1-800-I-NEED-A-REBOUNDER.
But it may come to that, soon, if we are
to believe the coach was speaking out of
something other than utter exasperation
after Friday night's wipeout in Portland.
Pitino had just seen his club get
demolished inside by Brian Grant & Co.,
106-86, and bludgeoned on the boards,
52-37. He emerged from the locker room
wondering how he might be able to get
blood from a stone.
''I have to do one of two things,'' he
said. ''I can move Antoine [Walker] to
small forward, which gives us a bigger
lineup. Or I can make a trade and bring in
someone who rebounds the basketball. We're
getting dominated on the glass.''
This, of course, is not a news bulletin.
''Rick has been preaching that for a long
time,'' Dana Barros said. ''It was our
biggest problem last year and it's still
here. It's not like it's a new problem or
something.''
Asked if he thought Pitino was exasperated
by the situation, Barros said, ''I think
he's probably beyond that.''
The Celtics' sacrificial centers have been
a source of concern all season. They have
not had a real post presence at either end
since Pitino has been here - and before he
got here. They're a finesse team,
basically, which gets by making outside
shots and creating havoc on defense.
Pitino indicated he'd likely start
addressing the problem by moving Walker to
small forward. Walker probably should be
at small forward, except that position is
currently manned by an individual with
seven games of NBA experience who also
happens to be their best player: Paul
Pierce. And if Pierce moves to the
backcourt, that takes away minutes from
Ron Mercer.
The other option - a trade - is something
Pitino has said he'd be extremely
reluctant to do if it meant dealing what
he frequently calls ''an asset.''
Translated, that does not mean Eric Riley
or Greg Minor. It means Pierce, Mercer, or
Walker or perhaps Kenny Anderson.
He has to find a team that needs what he
has - shooters - and has what he needs -
bruisers. The Celtics' rebounding numbers
are not all that bad; they're one of the
best offensive rebounding teams in the
league. But Pitino wants rebounds at the
other end. It's not a good sign when an
opponent's offensive-rebound total matches
your defensive total. That happened Friday
night.
''Outside of Paul Pierce, we are not
physically imposing at a lot of
positions,'' the coach said. ''Our [big
men] aren't killers on the glass. From a
physical, rebounding position, all you see
is Paul Pierce. We're going to have to do
something about it.''
The Celtics arrived here yesterday morning
and worked out in late afternoon at the
MCI Center. The Wizards edged the Bulls,
93-91, on Friday night at home and don't
present an immediate brutality problem.
They don't even have a center. They
started Ben Wallace there on Friday
against the similarly pivot-pathetic Bulls
... Pitino said he was not overly
concerned about the team's slow starts.
The Celtics frequently find themselves in
double-digit deficits in the first half -
that was the case in all three games out
West - and have yet to lead at the half
this season. ''When I was with the Knicks,
we trailed a lot at the half,'' he said.
''But then we pressed the entire second
half.'' The Celtics don't have that luxury
right now ... Roxbury's Randell Jackson
has been getting some time for the Wizards
and actually was put in the starting
lineup for a couple of games last week.
The former Madison Park and Winchendon
star went undrafted out of Florida State
but has found a home in Washington. ''He's
got a chance,'' said Wizards coach Bernie
Bickerstaff. ''Nothing seems to faze him.
He probably had the best camp of any of
our guys. I've got to find a way to get
him minutes.'' Jackson played five minutes
Friday.
This story ran on page D09 of the Boston
Globe on 02/21/99.
© Copyright 1999 Globe Newspaper Company.