Re: Celtics Past: 1994

[j.hironaka@unesco.org]

Wonderful post, IMO, Dan and a pleasure to read....really.  Everytime I
reevaluate my Celts-junkie lifestyle (it can come at the expense of family,
career and other more respectable pursuits), I discover there are other people
out there who seemingly share my conclusion that our Celtics stand for some
things worth rooting for (tradition, history, teamwork, color blindness,
innovation etc.) and that fellow Boston fans are the best company to keep. But
ONLY on this list will you find people who readily admit to reading entire
archives from (of all things) the 1994 Celtics season. That's something I
thought only warped people like me were capable of. :-)

Actually, I have to admit I've also reread a few dozen posts from the 15-win
season. That's how I discovered I was hardly the first and certainly not the
most effective Antoine Walker supporter to join this list (people like Patrick
Goggin and others were doing it since Walker's rookie year). There are some
quality posts from back then, coming from people who for whatever reason have
since gone almost entirely into lurk mode (probably for the sake of family,
career and respectable pursuits). But maybe that's also partly the fault of
relative newbies like me who try to bully people (for example, by employing my
patented "race card") to control the agenda.

Of course, people are welcome to continue debating whether our expectations of
how acceptable black athletes are superficially supposed to behave in Boston
(ideally "modest" and "humble" like Ron Mercer) don't ultimately affect fan
impressions about their actual value to a team (Ron Mercer naturally "didn't
need to be in the spotlight" even while leading the team in shot attempts and
missed shots after the winning February without him). How many times have we
held up Mercer as an "Anti-Toine" figure for coming into camp in GREAT shape
and even calling on his teammates to practice for two straight days during the
lockout? If Antoine (not coincidentally called the "best-conditioned athlete"
in training camp the year before) had done a similar thing prior to his own
contract extension season, many would have described it as a cheap,
self-serving and meaningless publicity stunt (which may explain why basically
no-one showed up for Mercer's last second entreaties). And if Antoine were
accused of participating in any kind of gang rape incident, he would not get
off as easily as Ron Mercer has in the eyes of his fans. You'd hear some "I
told you so's" and "I knew there was something (criminal) about him" and "They
need to set an example by following through and prosecuting him to the full
extent of the law".

I know why I keep making a big deal out of this. I find it deeply disengenous
for people to suggest that "ethnic" mannerisms Walker just happened to grow up
with hasn't caused certain fans and writers to read bad things into his
overall game and character. This is unfair.  Listen to the kid talk. Listen to
what he actually says and the sound of his voice (soft, serious, answers
questions with specifics, rarely throws out sports clichés). Then maybe ask
yourself how patently "selfish" it is to cut your shot selection to 15.6 per
game after February, rebuild your freethrow technique from scratch even if it
leads to disastrous results at first (for Potapenko and half the roster as
well), make turnovers off the dribble a rare occurance, stop getting technical
fouls even if you feel the white refs continue to let you get clobbered, rush
back from injury just to play in a few more meaningless games, or lead your
team by far in rebounding every season. I don't know how to verify it, but I
wouldn't be surprised if "selfish" Antoine still holds the highest assist
total (13) in a single game of any Celtic in the past three seasons, not to
mention his triple-doubles and so far amazing success rate on last-second,
game-winning shots.

Next season, if Rick Pitino persistently "reminds" Antoine before every single
game that he'll need to produce at least 6 assists or 10 rebounds to avoid
getting benched, not only will Antoine make the All Star team (even averaging
say 16ppg) but the Celtics will win 55+ games and blow away Miami, Indiana,
and the Knicks in the playoffs through sheer talent and our certifiable mean
streak (Fort and Battleship). My point is that Antoine is a freak. He can
actually eventually average 6 assists and 10+ rebounds over 82 games,
something only one NBA forward, guard or center per every decade or so (a
championship player, in other words) has the innate talent to do. We need to
quit pretending AW's just another designated scorer...just another member of
our "big three" or "big two" or whatever we call it. Although he may never be
as controlled a player as Paul Pierce (the "ice" alongside Antoine's "fire"),
there is no comparing the two in terms of talent either potential and actual.
So just quit it.  The kid more or less fell by the grace of God into our laps,
and we're dumb enough and hateful enough to drive him out of town before he
reach's Larry Bird's rookie age. Basically, it's hard not to conclude that
Boston fans tend to feel uncomfortable around (or rooting for) "those kinds of
black people". We should get whatever we deserve.

Go Celts!

Joe

-----------
D Parker wrote:

> Hi Everyone,
>
> The original plan was to go back into the archives and determine if Greg
> was truly insane or whether Josh had mumbled something so grossly
> offensive the entire list should be chasing him with torches and
> pitchforks and I just somehow missed it.  It was the first time I visited
> the list archives and I quickly got completely side-tracked from my goal.
>
> The list starts in early 1994.  The Celtics were finishing up a pretty
> rotten year where they would miss the playoffs for the first time since
> the 78-79 season.  It was the season after Reggie died.  Robert Parish's
> last season.  No Larry Bird.  No Kevin McHale.
>
> Fascinated, I downloaded the digests for the entire year and read every
> one.
>
> I think the Celtics were at a crossroads that year, and unfortunately they
> took a wrong turn.  Dee Brown and Rick Fox were at the end of their
> contracts, it was generally accepted the Chief would not be resigned and
> as a result they would be able to sign a decent free agent with Parish's
> salary slot.  Dino was looking like a bona fide All-Star and he was
> relatively young (26 or 27).  Oh yes, they also had their lowest
> (highest?) draft pick since 1986 -- number 9.
>
> The Lakers were also in a rebuilding mode, and oddly enough would draft at
> number 10 -- one spot behind the Celtics.
>
> Well, you all know what happened, little of it good:
>
> * Dee Brown was resigned to a huge contract.  His play continued to be
> streaky, making him virtually untradeable.
>
> * Rick Fox was resigned to much more reasonable money.  Play was
> inconsistent.
>
> * Dominique Wilkins was signed with Parish's slot.  To the savy fan, this
> was clearly a sign the Celtics didn't intend to rebuild, but instead limp
> along with a .500 record or so, make the playoffs (if lucky) and get
> mediocre draft picks until the end of time.
>
> * Ed Pinckney and some Russian dude was traded to Milwaukee for Blue
> Edwards and Derek Strong.  Not a bad trade, really, but it didn't make
> much difference for the C's.
>
> * Greg Minor was signed.  A good move, until he showed the C's next to
> nothing but was resigned to a large contract anyway.
>
> * Eric Montross was drafted at number 9.  Ugh.  A classic case of drafting
> by need rather than talent.  Eddie Jones went at 10, making it even
> more painful.  Eric actually had a decent rookie season, but went nowhere
> after that.  Nothing makes me believe in miracles more than M.L. unloading
> this guy to Dallas in exchange for swapping draft order *and* a number one
> pick.  Amazing.
>
> * Dave Gavett was bumped up, M.L. took over as GM.
>
> That summer really set the Celtics back about two years.  It wasn't until
> 95-96 that the C's basically took the hit and accepted that the only way
> to get better was to dive into the lottery, and they came away with
> Walker.  Then the 15-67 debacle, while painful to watch, helped put the
> pieces in place (i.e. the #3 and #6 picks).
>
> On a personal note, I tuned out from the Celtics around Reggie's final
> year.  It was pretty clear the C's weren't going anywhere, I wasn't able
> to watch many games while in college, and the Celtics were coming up with
> awful draft picks like Jon Barry and Acie Earl.  It's pretty sad to think
> about how little a sports fan can do to help their team and I just
> couldn't bear to watch the Celtics plod through mediocrity like the
> Sixers and Bullets year after year.
>
> To help deflect criticism of being a "fair weather" fan, I tuned back in
> during the 15-67 season.  I discovered this list and wound up watching
> more games that season than I ever had before.  Sure, the Celtics sucked,
> but they were on the right track again -- no more fooling around with a
> .500 record and a first round dismissal in the playoffs.
>
> --
>
> Okay, back to the present.  Looking over the current Celtics roster, it's
> all about chemistry now.  The talent is there -- they should be able to
> compete with anyone in the league.  Will one ball be enough?  I look at
> the team and just ache, hoping they'll come close to their potential.
> When they're young it's easy for them to think they'll have forever to
> compete for the title, win lots of games, play on a good team.  I wish
> there was some way to explain how short a career in the NBA was, and how
> they should cherish each moment.  In fifteen years, no one is going to
> care how many millions of dollars Antoine Walker made, probably not even
> Antoine Walker himself.  They will know how many championships he won.  I
> sure hope he realizes that soon.
>
> I've got my fingers crossed the team will come together and start to
> display the swagger of the old Celtics.  Not "wiggling" after flashy
> plays, but that air of confidence when you go out on the floor, knowing
> you're going to beat the other team and there's nothing they can do about
> it.  This team could be so much fun to watch (I agree completely with Joe
> -- one 20 rebound night for Fortson and he owns the FleetCenter) but I
> thought that about last year's team too, and look what happened.
>
> Hang in there everyone -- pre-season's only about six weeks away!
>
> Dan