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Shira Springer: Pitino Keeps The Spin Going
[The Boston Globe Online][Boston.com]
[Boston Globe Online / Sports]
Pitino believes that it's al for the best
He hopes Celtics, fans come back
By Shira Springer, Globe Correspondent, 01/09/99
When Celtics coach Rick Pitino used the New York Yankees as a point
of reference at the start of yesterday's FleetCenter press
conference, you knew he had a lot of explaining to do.
The coach's first official comments of the shortened NBA season harkened
back to Whitey Ford and Johnny Blanchard and Hector Lopez.
Then the spin cycle began.
Pinstripes turned to green. Fans became top priority. The lockout became a
''strike'' in Pitinospeak. A nucleus of young, athletic players was a good
thing. Antoine Walker was really ''very loyal.'' Kenny Anderson's recent
comments about having to sell one of his eight cars to make ends meet were
taken out of context. Two weeks of two-a-day workouts would be enough to get
the team in shape. The NBA was headed for a more competitive season. Teams
were destined for a more equal balance of power.
Round and round the question-and-answer session went. And in the end, Pitino
tried to convince a crowd of reporters the lockout was a blessing in
disguise.
''I can remember back growing up [knowing] every position, every statistic
of the New York Yankees,'' said Pitino, recalling teams' players from the
'50s and '60s. ''But the reason I could name all those people is they stuck
together as a team, sort of like the legendary Celtics teams. What was
turning everybody off to professional sports was that teams could not stick
together.
''Now I was very worried in the last five or six months that we could not
compete. Here it is the greatest tradition in all of professional
basketball. We could not compete on the same level playing field with
everyone else because it was becoming a money game. Well, now with this
strike behind us, all of us in the NBA to a relative degree can now compete
on the same level playing field and the Boston Celtics can once again build
that great tradition back up.''
The new agreement changed the rules of the money game. It features salary
limits and a three-year rookie scale, with teams holding an option for the
fourth year and right of first refusal for the fifth. Now the Celtics can
continue to build with draft picks and youth. But a lower salary cap than
expected - $30 million - will hamper efforts to land a decent big man.
''We're certainly going to look at all the options that we have in this
condensed period of time and then proceed accordingly,'' said general
manager Chris Wallace.
In the short term, Boston owns an advantage over other teams, having 12
players, including rookie Paul Pierce in a few weeks, under contract. Popeye
Jones is the team's lone free agent. Greater certainty about the roster
means Boston can focus on practice plans and a renewed commitment to the
region's fans.
The Celtics' practice facilities open to players Monday, and Pitino hopes
all his players will work out. Training camp is expected to start around
Jan. 18. The coach talked to his players Thursday and does not expect a
Shawn Kemp-type situation. The Cleveland Cavaliers forward gained a
significant amount of weight during the lockout and appears far from playing
shape.
''Basically, a couple of the [players] said, `We're in good shape. We're not
in Coach P shape,''' said Pitino. ''I wouldn't expect them to be.''
Coach P shape will come after a rigorous training camp. Right now only Ron
Mercer has told Pitino he's in playing shape and ''ready to go'' after
working out in New Orleans.
''I could run right now on a treadmill for an hour,'' said Pitino. ''I could
not go out there and play a 10-minute basketball game because basketball
conditioning is the most difficult conditioning of any sport, I believe. Our
guys have got to get out there and play.
''I know Antoine plays every day. He's a basketball junkie. So he'll be in
basketball shape. He might not be in good condition. If they're diligent
this week, [strength and conditioning coach] Shaun Brown feels he can get
them 80 percent of the way there. Then they've got to be ready for our
two-a-day practices.''
Pitino and his coaching staff can expedite the team's return to playing
shape. But neither the coaches nor the players can produce a timetable for
the fans' return.
It's likely that the revised schedule will force the organization to wait
well into March to gauge the effect of the lockout on its fan base. The
FleetCenter's open dates are few and far between in February. But that
didn't stop Pitino from highlighting the Celtics' past commitment to fans.
He talked about the availability of $10 tickets and a free scrimmage in the
future.
At every opportunity possible during the press conference, the coach
emphasized the importance of the fans. He mentioned that commissioner David
Stern said, ''Let's put the fans on a pedestal,'' adding that the
organization had a time-honored tradition of putting fans first. He claimed
the shortened season would excite fans with its college-like
competitiveness. He expressed sympathy for vendors, restaurants, hotels, and
fans that ''suffered the most.'' He trumpeted the more level playing field.
''I think it's good news for everyone in the league,'' said Pitino. ''When
you cover a sport and you can put down at the end of the year the six teams
that are going to be there, I don't think it's fun for the fans, fun for TV,
fun to cover when you know who's going to be there based on payroll.
''So I think it's fun for all of us, all of us who cover it, all of us who
are involved in it that true competition is back somewhat. Certain people
will have the edge somewhat, but as the years go by, it will start to equal
out. And for us and what we have to build and the direction that we set
forth a few years ago even before we got here, yes, it is a blessing.''
Despite the cancellation of 43 Celtics games, Pitino returned in midseason
form. He kept the spin going and never tired.
This story ran on page F05 of the Boston Globe on 01/09/99.
© Copyright 1999 Globe Newspaper Company.