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Globe/Herald: Walker Not Yet Ready For Small Forward; C's Still Like Cheaney; Battie Injured
The upcoming games against Charlotte and Utah won't reveal a whole
lot, since Malone and Coleman are injured. Malone's definitely out;
Battie and Turner are hurting for the C's...
Boston Herald
Cheaney quietly grows on Green
by Steve Bulpett
Tuesday, October 19, 1999
He has been perhaps the most invisible Celtic in the first two preseason
games, but he's the one player coach Rick Pitino probably worries about
least.
Calbert Cheaney has played 27 largely nondescript minutes thus far, but
there is no cause for concern in regard to the free agent signee.
``He's looked much better in practice than he's looked in the games,''
Pitino said as the Celts head off to Charlotte for an exhibition game
against the Hornets tonight. ``He's the kind of player who lets the game
come to him, and that can be tough in the first few games in preseason.
``Calbert Cheaney is the type of guy that everyone's always going to
appreciate. He's very unselfish. We know he's going to be there for this
team. Everyone will see.''
In the first two games, as the Celts have struggled to find their offense
(much of it in Friday's win over Atlanta came from their defense), Cheaney
has looked a bit out of place in the madness. If others are running wild
around him, Cheaney is the type who tries to stick with the play.
So, in essence, he's not trying to catch up with the rest of the Celtics -
they're trying to catch down to Cheaney.
He went 21 minutes in the opener, missing all five of his shots, picking
up two rebounds, a turnover, three blocks and six fouls. He was one of the
wild cards in the second game, getting just six minutes as Pitino used
others for pretty much a two-platoon system (he's going back to more
traditional substitution tonight). Against the Hawks, Cheaney didn't
register a single number on the stat sheet besides minutes played.
``I'm still in the process of getting my legs back so I can get out and
try to play this style of basketball,'' said the 6-foot-7 swingman, who
will play mainly at guard. ``I knew it was going to be tough coming in, so
I just have to continue to work hard and it's going to come soon.''
More than most, Cheaney needs a role to use as a base. From there, he has
the basketball intellect to make it work for the Celts.
``That's what I'm trying to figure out, and that will come,'' he said.
``In the meantime, I'm just trying to play hard and do what the coaches
ask.''
Right now, the coaches are asking Cheaney to relax and wait for the
rotation to unfold. They also want him assimilating the offense better.
``Like I said, he's having good practices, but he's been one of those
guilty of not knowing where to go and what to do,'' Pitino said. ``But
that will come for all of the new guys.
``Calbert's a very cerebral young man. He's very patient.''
Patient, sure. But he admits things can be a tad frustrating during this
part of the long process.
``Oh, it is a little bit,'' Cheaney said. ``But coach Pitino's practices
make you work hard and they get you ready. ``We have to know the plays so
we can capitalize on things. That's the way this system is set up.''
Celtics notes
With Antoine Walker not yet ready in the coaches' eyes to open at the
small forward slot, things appear to be fairly crowded at the other two
frontcourt positions. Danny Fortson has done well, but Walker will start
there and grab a large handful of minutes. Meanwhile, Tony Battie, Vitaly
Potapenko and the hard-to-count-on Pervis Ellison will be fighting for
time on the inside as well. Are there enough minutes to go around?
``I think the big guys are always going to be in foul trouble,'' Pitino
said. ``And the big guys all know that nobody's going to play a dominance
of minutes. These guys are all really close in ability.
``I coached Bernard King and he played 32-34 minutes a game, so if you're
playing really hard and you want a career, you shouldn't be playing much
more than that. If you're playing really hard.
``So I think having two units - not substituting five at a time, but
having two units - makes us able to play a little differently with both.''
The coach also isn't concerned about his team's overall lack of height in
the post.
``I think if you have a body like Danny Fortson and Vitaly, height is not
a big factor,'' Pitino said.
While horror stories have emerged from other preseason games of drawn-out
foul-a-thons - the result of greater rules enforcement - the Celts have
played two relatively quick affairs. There have been some cheapie fouls
called, but nothing too much worse than the every-season crackdown in the
exhibition outings.
The Celtics suffered a couple of minor nicks before departing last night.
Battie sustained a mild left knee sprain, and Wayne Turner bruised a bone
in his right foot during the late-afternoon workout. Both are day-to-day
and are with the club on the trip.
[The Boston Globe Online][Boston.com]
[Boston Globe Online / Sports]
Celtics are on the run
Unhappy Pitino closes practice
By Paul Harber, Globe Staff, 10/19/99
WALTHAM - It was Blue Monday for
the Green Machine.
Blame it on the Red Sox' Sunday Night
Massacre or the Patriots' stupefying loss
to the Dolphins in the afternoon. Heck, it
might have been the dismal, rainy remnants
of Hurricane Irene.
Whatever it was, coach Rick Pitino was not
pleased with his troops at the Celtics
training center. The workout began at 2
p.m. and lasted until the team had to
leave to catch a 6:30 private charter to
Charlotte, N.C., for tonight's exhibition
game with the Hornets.
The standard practice is that the final 15
minutes of practice is open to the media,
and the coach and players are available
for interviews later. Not yesterday.
Practice was closed for its entirety and,
according to the team's director of media
relations, Bob Prior, ''Coach isn't in the
mood to talk. He's not a happy camper.''
While the media sits in a room adjacent to
the court and cannot see the proceedings,
the sounds of practice are evident, and
there was plenty of hollering during the
marathon workout.
Prior said that injuries to Dana Barros
(knee) and Danny Fortson (twisted ankle)
are healed, and both should see action
tonight.
However, Tony Battie sustained a mild
sprain to his left knee during yesterday's
practice and is questionable for tonight.
Also hobbling is Wayne Turner, who sat out
practice with a bruised bone in his right
foot.
After tonight's game with the Hornets, the
Celtics (1-1 in the preseason) face Utah
in Nashville tomorrow night. Then they
wrap up the preseason with games against
Utah in Lexington, Ky., Saturday; Atlanta
in Biloxi, Miss., next Monday; Washington
at the FleetCenter Oct. 27, and Washington
Oct. 28 in Springfield.
This story ran on page E04 of the Boston
Globe on 10/19/99.
© Copyright 1999 Globe Newspaper Company.