Sportsline Team Report

[kevin.lok@lycosmail.com (Kevin Lok)]

http://cbs.sportsline.com/u/basketball/nba/teams/insider/celtics.htm

Boston Celtics
Team Report

SportsLine Report
Nov. 17, 1999
You can safely say Celtic Adrian Griffin has seen the last of Topeka
and Fort Wayne. Griffin, a small forward, played three seasons in the
Continental Basketball Association without so much as a sniff from an
NBA team.
During the summer, the small forward got an invitation to the Celtics'
training camp and not only did he make the team, not only did he crack
the starting line, but he has been one of the most valuable players in
Boston's quick start.
Last season, more than 30 players were called up from the CBA to play
in the NBA. Griffin, the CBA's most valuable player, was not among
them.
"As sophisticated as it is, there are guys who still slip through the
cracks,'' Celtic general manager Chris Wallace told The Boston Globe.
"We tend to be labelers. We tend to establish pecking orders. He just
never got up into that upper tier.''
Griffin's size -- 6-foot-5 -- was problematic. He was known as a
tweener, not big enough to play forward but not skilled enough
offensively to be a shooting guard. Griffin was a standout at Seton
Hall but did not get drafted in 1996.
Wallace saw him at one of the NBA draft camps and wasn't particularly
wowed.
"It was always, Yeah, he's a nice player but ... There was always that
but,'' Wallace said. "I never spoke to any scout anywhere who said
'Man, that Griffin is a good one. He's going to be great.' It was more
like. 'He's alright but what do you do with him?' ''
Play him is what you do. On Nov. 12 against the Knicks, Griffin saved
the Celtics from collapsing at the end by making two defensive stops
in the final 1:30 on Knicks star Allan Houston. With 35 seconds left,
Griffin punched the ball out of Houston's hands. The ball tipped off
Houston on the way out of bounds. Griffin finished the game with 15
rebounds.
"There aren't a lot of great stories in the NBA,'' Knicks coach Jeff
Van Gundy said. "This is one of them.''
Griffin was averaging 9.1 points, a team-high 8.3 rebounds, a
team-high 4.9 assists and a team-high 36.1 minutes through the first
two weeks.
"Adrian is an unusual basketball player,'' coach Rick Pitino said.
"He's a terrific basketball player who makes big plays all the time
for you.''
The Personnel File
WHEN FORTSON COMES BACK … Griffin got into the starting lineup when
power forward Danny Fortson was lost for two months with a foot
injury. Antoine Walker was moved from small to big forward, leaving an
opening at the 3 that Griffin has filled terrifically.
When Fortson and his rebounding comes back, perhaps on Dec. 15, the
Celtics will have a logjam at small forward, as Pitino wants to switch
Walker back to that position. That is why the Celtics likely will
explore trade possibilities with small forwards Walter McCarty and
Eric Williams since there are a number of teams in search of 3s.
Noteworthy
QUICK DRIBBLES: The Celtics have outscored opponents in the paint in
each of their first seven games, holding a 296-210 advantage. ...
Boston has a rugged stretch -- four games in six nights against four
playoff teams -- Pacers, San Antonio, Milwaukee and Atlanta that
begins Nov. 22. ... Walt McCarty, after scoring 20 points in his first
game, has just 14 in his past six. He has shot 2 of 13 in his past
five games.
QUOTEWORTHY: Rick Pitino on giving center Pervis Ellison more playing
time: "We don't have shot-blockers so we're never going to erase our
defensive mistakes. Now Pervis can be a shot-blocker and he's starting
to get in good shape and that can help us.''