Boston Herald Article

["Josh Farber" <joshfarber@home.com>]

Here is an article in the Boston Herald about the Celtics and the Fila
Summer league

Celts Fila good about themselves
by Mark Cofman
Wednesday, July 21, 1999



It wasn't exactly running roughshod through the NBA playoffs, but the
Celtics' weeklong performance in the Fila Summer League proved a highly
successful venture. The Celtics returned home from the Long Beach, Calif.,
circuit yesterday with a perfect 8-0 record.

League play continues this week, but the Celtics bowed out of the West Coast
event prematurely to prepare for their own summer league that starts Monday
and runs through Aug. 1 at UMass-Boston. Joining the Celtics in the field
are the New York Knicks, New Jersey Nets, Indiana Pacers, Seattle
SuperSonics, Washington Wizards, Philadelphia 76ers and the German select
team.


Like the Long Beach affair, rosters for the seven-day Boston league will
consist mainly of rookies, free agents, journeymen and NBA wannabes with the
occasional star-quality players mixed in. The Celtics, however, in keeping
with coach Rick Pitino's plan for a rigid offseason regimen following last
year's disappointing season, sent Paul Pierce, Vitaly Potapenko, Tony Battie
and Walter McCarty to Long Beach.


``I thought as a team we had the best summer league I've been involved
with,'' Celtics general manager Chris Wallace said yesterday. ``Everybody we
had out there showed talent and potential. That's exactly what you're
looking for when you field a team for a summer league.''


A maximum of three contract players per game are eligible to represent a
team under NBA rules governing summer-league play. Like Long Beach, the
Celtics are expected to exercise that limit throughout the Boston schedule,
perhaps shuffling various contract players onto the roster during the week.
Antoine Walker was expected to play here, but no final word has been given
on the Celtics' roster plans.


Potapenko, victimized by the NBA's experimental crackdown on rules this
summer, committed 38 fouls and struggled in eight Long Beach appearances.
But the rest of the Celtics' contract players performed well, particularly
Pierce, who averaged 23.6 points in five games before he was replaced by
McCarty for the final three games. Pierce had a 46-point game against
Seattle.


Battie, in the final year of his contract and eligible to be re-signed to an
extension during this offseason, averaged 18.6 and six rebounds per game.


Among the free agents who represented the Celtics were Bruce Bowen, Marlon
Garnett and Eric Riley, all members of the team last season.


Also competing for the Celtics were second-round pick Kris Clack, the team's
only draft choice last month and the 55th overall pick from Texas; ex-Seton
Hall swingman Adrian Griffin (last season's CBA Most Valuable Player); and
Boston native Wayne Turner, who went undrafted following a standout career
at Kentucky.


``I thought Wayne Turner played very well,'' said Wallace, evaluating the
point guard who helped Pitino win a national title with the Wildcats.
``We'll give him a good, long look this summer.


``Clack showed some offensive potential, especially in Sunday's game. With
him, it's a matter of putting it all together in a package. But both players
(Turner and Clack) have something positive to build on when they play in the
league here.''


The Boston league will run a pair of doubleheader sessions each day (July 29
is an off day), with tickets priced at $8 per session. The afternoon
doubleheader will begin at 1:30, the evening twinbill at 6 p.m.


The Celtics open on Monday against Washington in the last game of the day.