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[The Boston Globe Online][Boston.com]
[Boston Globe Online / Sports]
The Celtics' dysfunctional relationships
By Michael Holley, Globe Staff, 03/26/99
Rick Pitino is from Mars. Some of
his employees are from Venus. He
sees a light rain; some of them see a
monsoon. He says he has a suggestion; they
feel it is an ultimatum. He says he has
not screamed much this season; they hear
that and say, ''Say what?''
If this reminds you of the daily tug you
may have with the one you love, perfect.
Because, hey, sometimes you have to be a
Hoops Head to understand the subtleties of
pro basketball. That's not the case now.
If you know about relationships gone bad,
you can understand the 8-17 Celtics. If
you realize that some people have
different interpretations of what respect
is, you can begin to understand why this
team has a battered spirit and scrambled
psyche.
Pitino and his staff made one of the
smartest decisions of the season
yesterday. They decided to talk, away from
the basketball court. So at about 9 a.m.,
they opted to cancel practice and instead
have a candid luncheon at an undisclosed
site. Well, kind of. My favorite
homeboy/spy reports that they trekked to
Main Street in Waltham. Once there, they
could have discussed several things that
have contributed to their lack of trust of
each other.
Let's start with the Paul Pierce story.
Some fans have mentioned that the rookie
forward from Kansas hasn't been the same
player since he missed two free throws
that could have won the game against the
Nets on March 1. That was the same night
that something happened in the locker room
afterward. What was it? Depends on whom
you ask.
According to three people, a furious
Pitino went into the locker room and told
Pierce that he was the reason the Celtics
lost the game. Apparently, being singled
out by the coach was too much for the
rookie, especially immediately after the
Celtics lost an emotional game by 2 points
at the buzzer. Pierce began to cry. A
veteran, supposedly Dana Barros, pulled
Pierce aside and told him that things
would be OK.
Pitino says that never happened.
''It's totally false,'' he said yesterday.
''There's no truth to it at all. I never
told Paul that he was the reason we lost
the game. He was more broken up over
missing the free throws than over anything
I said to him. I've treated Paul with kid
gloves most of the year.''
The next night in Cleveland, Pierce went
scoreless and the Celtics began what is
now one of the worst road losing streaks
in team history. You can give it a fancy
name if you want, but this is what
happened shortly after that night in
Cleveland: The Celtics quit listening to
Pitino. Why did they do it? Well, once
again, it depends on whom you ask.
''Everyone is asking me if the team has
quit on me,'' Pitino said. ''I think
anytime you have an interim coach or a
coach in the last year of his contract,
that is the case.''
Pitino is not in the last year of his
deal. Nor is he in the next-to-last year.
He has juice: eight years and $34 million
remaining after this season. He is
virtually unfireable. But there are
players who are tired of his methods.
They think he curses too much, screams too
much, and tries to control too many
things. They say he gave them a curfew and
bed check in Washington. No other pro team
has to deal with that. They say he
nit-picks over the most irrelevant things,
such as knowing exactly how they are
distributing the three tickets they are
alloted for each game at the FleetCenter.
Forget about basketball, they say, this
man doesn't respect them as men.
Pitino says none of this is true. He also
wants to know who these people are, but
I've always been a brother who could keep
a secret.
''If anybody has a problem with me, they
should come say it to my face,'' the coach
said. ''They shouldn't be the Cowardly
Lion. There are two things I hate: cowards
and liars.'' He also said, ''If you're
looking for a country club, I'm not the
guy you want to play for. We're going to
work here.''
The more I watch the Celtics, the more I
am convinced that this team will be broken
up at the end of the season. The Y2K Big
Three of Antoine Walker, Paul Pierce, and
Ron Mercer will not lead this team into
the 21st century. They may not even make
it to September 1999. One member of the
organization is terrified that Mercer will
not sign an extension this summer and bolt
the Celtics.
Pitino wouldn't agree that his young team
will be dismantled in the summer, but he
did say, ''I'm not going to give you any
names, but there's only one guy on this
team I don't enjoy coaching.''
He is asked to elaborate.
''I don't like people who are not
passionate about the game of basketball,''
he said. ''And I don't like cowards.''
The people who have been booing Walker the
past few weeks should translate those
words this way: The coach is not talking
about Walker. These guys aren't best
friends, but they share the same distaste
for losses; Walker can handle Pitino's
curses; and the coach and player have
never had any problem saying how they felt
face to face. In fact, many players were
stunned last summer when Walker went on
the record and said he didn't know if he
could continue to play for a nonsupportive
Pitino. Players may have thought that, but
Walker was the first one to say it
publicly.
Now, it wouldn't be fair to speculate
which player Pitino doesn't like to coach.
I do know which players don't like Pitino.
But that shouldn't be the concern of
Celtics fans.
Fans should wonder why no Celtic knocked a
Cavalier on his butt after all the layups
Tuesday night in Cleveland. Teams with
heart treat the area close to the basket
as if it were sacred ground. Fans should
wonder if Pitino can maintain his patience
and not make a bad trade (Eric Williams,
Chauncey Billups) when he becomes anxious.
As for coach-player communications? Fans
should hope for a counselor.
''A player can have his opinion about
me,'' Pitino said, ''but how I coach is
the way it's going to be. It's my way.
It's my philosophy. It's my gospel. When
teams are winning, everything is fine.
When they're not, you hear the nonsense.''
This story ran on page D01 of the Boston
Globe on 03/26/99.
© Copyright 1999 Globe Newspaper Company.
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