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Popeye May Need Surgery; Pierce Out For Couple Of Games
Hopefully Greg Minor will shine in Pierce's place, but it is
quite evident this season that when Paul Pierce plays poorly
or misses the game for some reason, the C's usually lose.
Popeye has been playing on one leg all year, so either he
needs more time to recover or there is still something wrong
with his knee. Any ways, he's been placed on IR, surgery
is being considered and Marlon Garnett has been activated...
[The Boston Globe Online][Boston.com]
[Boston Globe Online / Sports]
Celtics in a poor state
It likely will be difficult to come out
ahead in New York
By Michael Holley, Globe Staff, 03/20/99
NEW YORK - The Celtics practiced in
Manhattan yesterday, at a place
called Basketball City. It was a perfect
match. No city produces more outrageous
tales per minute than this one. And,
really, no basketball team is in flux as
much as the Celtics.
You thought you had your Celtics checklist
memorized by now, right? You know:
painfully young team ... not much size ...
awful on defense ... shaky on free throws
(they missed 10 Thursday against the
Bucks). But there are five new ones to
add.
Popeye Jones may need additional surgery
on a knee that has already been surgically
repaired. ''He never got the knee back to
100 percent,'' Rick Pitino said of Jones,
who didn't play for the Celtics last
season because of a torn anterior cruciate
ligament. Jones talked about not being
psychologically prepared to play and
Pitino agreed. Now it is more than
psychology. Pitino said he isn't sure yet
if there is something structurally wrong
with Jones's knee. He does know that Jones
was able to play only six minutes against
the Bucks and has continued to limp on the
court.
The team placed Jones on the injured list
yesterday. He will miss a minimum of five
games. Rookie guard Marlon Garnett was
activated.
Paul Pierce will definitely not play today
against the Knicks and may miss tomorrow's
game against the Bulls. The reason is a
left ankle sprain that the rookie
originally suffered 10 days ago. Pierce
aggravated the injury in the Milwaukee
game. Even before the injury, Pierce had
caught some criticism from Pitino.
''He's got to learn to be a triple
threat,'' Pitino said yesterday. He wants
Pierce to be aware of the right time to
shoot, pass, and drive to the basket.
Longtime Celtics fans may remember the
good old days of February 1999, when
Pierce was drawing raves for his balanced
game. But a couple of times this season,
Pierce has received such forceful
talking-tos from Pitino that the rookie
has been nearly brought to tears.
With Pierce out today, Pitino will most
likely put Greg Minor - who has been
playing very well lately - into the
starting lineup. Minor practiced with the
first unit yesterday. He could play either
small forward or shooting guard, depending
on whom he guards, Latrell Sprewell or
Allan Houston.
Pitino says he has a team of poor
listeners.
When you first look at that sentence, the
temptation is to go into your local
bookstore and hand the Celtics some
self-help literature. Something such as
''How To Listen Well for 48 Minutes''
might be appropriate. But Pitino says the
problem is not a sociological one.
''If you have a team of freshmen and
sophomores, they don't listen as well as a
team of juniors and seniors,'' he said.
The Celtics are definitely the freshmen
and sophomores of the NBA. They rarely see
teams with comparable youth. So imagine
how stunned they must have been toward the
end of their practice yesterday at a place
called Basketball City. That's when a
group of squealing middle-schoolers
invaded the courts accompanying that of
the Celtics.
The NBA standings don't have a category to
measure the Celtics' listening skills. But
the standings do indicate the team is
afflicted with a phobia. Fear of the road.
They've lost seven consecutive games away
from home.
What's the problem?
''I wish I could tell you,'' Ron Mercer
said. ''I guess we need to take care of
the ball better and play better down the
stretch. We really don't have any
excuses.''
The Celtics play at Madison Square Garden
today. They haven't won there since the
first 100 days of Bill Clinton's
presidency. Their road record this year is
3-11. The only glimmer in that record is
that after today, only 10 road games
remain. That means there are 18 games at
home, where the Celtics are 5-2.
The Celtics have not truly practiced all
year.
''We don't practice,'' Pitino said, ''we
prepare for games.''
So instead of spending two hours focusing
on defending the pick-and-roll, the
Celtics essentially have extended scouting
sessions of their upcoming opponents. They
play today, they play tomorrow, they take
a break Monday, and then play Tuesday and
Wednesday. There is no time for practice.
Just games. And this month, the games
haven't been much fun for anyone wearing
green and white.
This story ran on page G05 of the Boston
Globe on 03/20/99.
© Copyright 1999 Globe Newspaper Company.