[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
Peter May: Rick Pitino Not A Happy Man
_________________________________________________________
DO YOU YAHOO!?
Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com
[The Boston Globe Online][Boston.com]
[Boston Globe Online / Sports]
Celtics throw out game plan
Second-half deviation proves costly
By Peter May, Globe Staff, 03/19/99
MILWAUKEE - Rick Pitino is not a
happy man today. His team lost
last night, but that's the least of his
problems. He's getting tired of telling
his players to do one thing and watching
them do something quite different.
The Celtics unraveled in the second half
last night, coming unglued, undone, and
unwrapped in every way, shape, and form.
The result was a 99-83 setback to the
Bucks, a score and outcome you'd have a
hard time believing if you watched the
first half and then took the dog on a very
long walk.
In the second half, the Celtics borrowed a
page from the Clipper playbook. They
scored 25 points, 9 in the fourth quarter.
They made only eight baskets and missed
all eight of their 3-pointers. They had 14
turnovers and - are you ready? - two
assists, neatly parceled out in one per
quarter.
''You saw what happened,'' said Kenny
Anderson. ''We just broke down.''
All four tires and the engine.
But what bothered Pitino was the reason
for the breakdown. The players, he said,
did not follow the game plan, which called
for them to reverse the ball and dump it
inside. Instead, in the second half, they
tried to dribble into double- and
triple-teams, most often with unfortunate
results.
''Our listening capabilities,'' Pitino
said, ''are pathetic. They really are and
it's so disappointing.''
He didn't identify the tuners-out, but
didn't single any one out as a good
listener, either.
''We're not a good listening team,'' he
said. ''That's probably my greatest
disappointment. I know with young guys,
that's part of their repertoire. They
don't listen at all.''
Asked about Pitino's remarks, Dana Barros
said, ''I'm sure that's true. But it's a
lot more than that. This is something we
do on the road, all the time.''
The Celtics have now lost seven straight
on the road and the last few have been
because of unsightly efforts down the
stretch. This one was no exception. It was
very winnable.
Boston played an excellent first half,
building a 16-point lead and taking a
58-51 lead into the locker room. Already
there had been signs of slippage, however.
The Bucks had run off 12 straight just
before the half to make a game of it. They
then outscored Boston, 26-16, in the third
and led by 3 entering the fourth.
Neither team had it going in the fourth.
The Bucks, who snapped a four-game skid,
shot 39 percent. The Celtics were 4 for
17, or 23.5 percent. But, with 6:58 left,
Walter McCarty drove the baseline for a
layup that brought Boston within 80-79.
The Celtics then went four minutes without
scoring, by which time the game had
slipped away as Milwaukee went on a 12-0
run to send the underflow crowd of 13,724
happy into the Wisconsin night.
''They got frustrated at that point,''
said the Bucks' Glenn Robinson, who led
all scorers with 23. ''That was our job,
to get them frustrated. If they were at
home, it might have been a different
story.''
But, of course, they weren't. Which these
days is the story.
''It's the road,'' said Anderson, who had
12 of his 14 points in the first half and
all of his 4 assists. ''It's a
psychological thing. We've got to get one
and stop the bleeding.''
At the aforementioned 80-79 juncture, Ray
Allen, who had a quiet first half (5
points on only three shots) started the
pivotal run with a short jumper. A blocked
shot by Robert Traylor (14 points, 7
rebounds in 24 minutes) led to an Allen
dunk and the Bucks were off.
By the time Ron Mercer (13) ended the
drought, the Bucks led, 92-79, with 2:45
to play. And no sooner had Mercer
connected, then the Bucks ripped off 5
more, making the total run 17-2 and 19-4
over the final 6:20.
Antoine Walker led Boston with 16, but it
was a tough 16. He clanged 5 of 8 free
throws and he missed 9 of 15 shots. He saw
things exactly as they were: the Celtics
played two quarters of basketball and,
unless you're playing the Clippers, that's
not going to be enough to win in the NBA.
This story ran on page E05 of the Boston
Globe on 03/19/99.
© Copyright 1999 Globe Newspaper Company.