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Bulpett/May: C's in Shape
The Celtics don't have any interest in Rhoderick Rhodes....
[The Boston Globe Online][Boston.com]
[Boston Globe Online / Sports]
CELTICS NOTEBOOK
Camp no sweat this year
By Peter May, Globe Staff, 10/06/99
WALTHAM - No slouches this time. No
need for IVs - yet. After one look
at his 1999-2000 team, fitness fanatic
Rick Pitino likes what he sees.
Antoine Walker isn't 30 pounds overweight,
although he still looks a tad bulky. Paul
Pierce looks ready for a triathlon.
''The team is in great shape,'' said
Pitino, who could not make that statement
last year after the lockout (then again,
no coach could). ''Everybody is in great
shape. The guys who were here all summer,
we knew about them. But you never know
with Kenny [ Anderson], 'Toine, or Eric [
Williams]. But they came in great shape.
They took care of business on their own.''
Pitino's first camp in Newport, R.I., was
best remembered for the intravenous lines
that had to be utilized. This one may be
remembered for a layup drill. Pitino said
this is the first team he has ever had
that performed the drill (170 layups in
four minutes using four basketballs with
everyone dribbling lefthanded) the first
time.
''I've never had a team, college or pro,
do it the first time,'' he said.
''Usually, a team misses a couple and then
they get upset because they have to do it
again.''
McCarty cut - literally
Walter McCarty became the first camp
casualty of sorts. He tried to drive
through Wayne Turner and ended up with a
six-stitch cut over his right eye. It
didn't stop him from playing, however. In
the night session, Tony Battie suffered a
cut in the upper lip that required five
stitches ... Calbert Cheaney is wearing
No. 40, which Battie had last season.
Battie is wearing No. 4, which Popeye
Jones wore last year ... Pitino said he
likes the early-season schedule, which
features 15 of the first 25 games at home,
with one qualifier: There are a lot of
back-to-back games. The Celtics play five
sets in November (including two in five
nights straight out of the blocks) and
three more in December. The last one
features games in San Antonio and Houston
Dec. 17-18 ... Ex-Kentuckian Rodrick
Rhodes has been waived by Orlando, but the
Celtics need another swingman as much as
they need another assistant coach. ''We're
overloaded,'' Pitino said, referring to
the glut of 6-foot-6-inch, 6-7, and 6-8
guys. Rhodes played for Pitino at Kentucky
and later transferred to USC. He's bounced
around the NBA in his two years in the
league and ended up in Orlando in one of
the many summer mega-deals ... The final
Celtics' exhibition game, originally
scheduled to be played in Washington, will
instead be at the Civic Center in
Springfield Oct. 28. The Wizards still
will be the home team. The clubs also will
play the night before at the FleetCenter.
This story ran on page F03 of the Boston
Globe on 10/06/99.
© Copyright 1999 Globe Newspaper Company.
Boston Herald
Pitino sees shape of things to come
Celtics Notebook/by Steve Bulpett
Wednesday, October 6, 1999
The Celtics players have accomplished their first goal: keeping coach Rick
Pitino off their backs about body preparation. Unlike last season, when
the coach was moved to complain long and loud about people not showing up
ready to play, the troops impressed Pitino right away.
``The one and only thing that's noticeable is the conditioning,'' Pitino
said after the first of two workouts yesterday.
``We do a drill at the end which is very tough. We try to make 170 layups
in four minutes,'' Pitino continued, explaining the full-court test in
which four balls are in play simultaneously and players may dribble with
their left hand only. ``I've never had a team I coached make it the first
time. It's usually they don't make it and they get pissed off and they do
it again. But we made 174, and I've never had a team - college or pro - do
it the first time.''
Pitino had seen many of his players, including Paul Pierce, Vitaly
Potapenko, Tony Battie and Walter McCarty, over the summer in workouts at
the newly named Sports Authority Training Center at HealthPoint
(henceforth to be known here as The SATCH) or in the two summer leagues
the Celts entered.
``But you never know with Kenny (Anderson), 'Toine (Antoine Walker) or
Eric (Williams),'' he said. ``They weren't part of summer league. But they
came in in great shape, so they took care of business on their own.''
All made it through the first session relatively fine. Walter McCarty took
six stitches above his right eye after dipping in on Wayne Turner, who
took the charge. The stitch count grew to 11 when Battie took an
accidental shot to the mouth during evening practice.
In the throws of it
In that the Celtics made the fewest trips to the free throw line in the
NBA last season, Pitino is enjoying the sight of newcomers Williams and
Calbert Cheaney slashing to the basket frequently. He described Williams'
first step as the quickest he has seen.
The presence of the two is tied to the trading of Ron Mercer, a move that
is sure to be judged at various checkpoints this season and maybe even
beyond.
``You lose something and you gain something,'' Pitino said yesterday. ``We
gained what we needed most - depth and getting to the foul line. We did
lose a wonderful player in Ron, but the other factor is Calbert. He's part
of that trade as well, because (with Mercer still in Boston) he doesn't
pick us. He goes to Miami in a sign-and-trade. And then we also have maybe
a lottery pick out of it the following year.''
Ice man cometh
Walker is still icing the ankle he sprained badly last season, but
yesterday he had ice on both knees after the morning practice.
``It's just something I picked up from some veterans,'' Walker said.
``Scottie Pippen and those guys always ice their knees after they play. It
makes you feel a lot better. Obviously I need to ice my ankle, but the
knees is just for a precautionary measure.''
Money, it's a gas
After noting the C's made $12 million in his first season as coach and
president (there was a loss last season), Pitino acknowledged that the
business side of the club affects the on-court product.
``Yeah, I do (pay attention to such matters), because obviously you hope
that the more money you make the more you can spend (on players),'' he
said.