Bulpett: Kenny disses Ron Mercer

[opi@unesco.org]

Kenny Anderson claims Ron Mercer complained about not getting the ball
every time. I'm tempted to say "I told you so!"

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                Anderson points way: C's better off minus Mercer
                  by Steve Bulpett

                  Thursday, October 7, 1999

                  Kenny Anderson expects a quieter season with the
Celtics. With one
                  outside voice now gone, the point guard is hoping the
negative voices
                  in his head will be history, as well.

                  The external voice, he said, belonged to Ron Mercer,
and Anderson
                  believes his subtraction (in a trade to Denver) will
yield a positive
                  result for the Celtics. At that point in the
conversation, Anderson
                  realized how what he was saying might sound. His words
were critical,
                  and he really didn't want to be taking down a former
teammate.

                  Honesty has been a double-edged sword for him in the
past, but he
                  remained incapable of holding back.

                  ``I believe we're going to be better from the trade,''
Anderson said.
                  ``I'm happy with it. I'm not knocking him, but it's
going to make my
                  job a lot easier. He was one of the guys that always
complained.

                  ``I know you're going to write this, and I don't want
to belittle Ron or
                  anything, but he's one of the guys that made my job a
lot harder
                  than it had to be. I've played with some great
2-guards in my time,
                  but he just complained about getting the ball every
time.

                  ``I just think now there will be more responsibility
on me in the
                  backcourt, and I like that. I had that in Portland
before I came over.
                  I've already got Antoine Walker and Paul Pierce. Those
are go-to guys
                  and I have them. You have to know your go-to guys. On
this team,
                  that has to be Antoine and Paul Pierce. That's the
thing here, and
                  everybody has to define their roles after that. If
there's another guy
                  in my ear, it's tough. It was hard. And I think I let
that get to me a
                  lot last year.''

                  For that, Anderson accepts the blame. When a team is
taking bad
                  shots, the finger must be pointed at the point guard -
the man
                  entrusted with getting the club into its offense.

                  ``That's on me,'' said Anderson, who turns 29
Saturday. ``I didn't do
                  the things I was supposed to do last year, and I can't
let that happen
                  again.

                  ``I'm not trying to be arrogant or cocky, but I have
to take control
                  of the offense more as far as distributing and getting
everybody in
                  the flow of things. I didn't do that last year. I let
one thing bother
                  me, and I just said, `Aw, the hell with it.' But I'm
not getting into
                  that this year. We're going to look in the mirror and
then go out and
                  play.
                  ``There were some things that happened right away and
we got
                  frustrated. Then the boat was rocking and everybody
just fell off.''

                  Anderson admitted he stopped working out once the
lockout infringed
                  on the season, and this summer he got with a track
coach to prepare
                  in a cardiovascular manner for Rick Pitino's game. He
knows that with
                  four years and $32.5 million left on his contract, he
can either do
                  what is required or accept his paycheck sheepishly.

                  ``This is definitely a big year for me,'' Anderson
said. ``It's big for
                  the team, and I have to be a big part of us playing
the kind of ball we
                  have to play.

                  ``When I came over in the trade (in February 1998), I
really played
                  well, and I remember that. The first 10 or 15 games
were great for
                  me. I've got to stay healthy and stay focused now.
Last year was like
                  turmoil. I didn't fill the expectations on me. People
want me to lead
                  this team. I think everybody here knows how I can play
and is waiting
                  for me to do that.''