The Holley Lama Takes The Celtic Players To Task

[Way Of The Ray <wayray@ix.netcom.com>]

Getting rid of some baggage


By Michael Holley, Globe Staff, Globe Columnist, 12/22/2000


A few thoughts I found while unpacking the duffel bag I borrowed from Ty
Law's multitalented cousin:


Rick Pitino has certainly made his personnel mistakes, but I don't
understand how anyone could call for his job after watching the Celtics
absorb back-to-back blowout losses to Chicago and Sacramento. In the
NBA, teams don't defend as much as they follow scripts. You know Reggie
Miller is going to run you into several picks, that Rasheed Wallace is
going to become a squatter on the baseline, and that Ron Mercer is going
to operate on the wings, waving his arms so he can get the ball and
shoot a 17-footer.


All you have to do is anticipate. Because that is the case, a team
should never be blown out by the Bulls. Especially at home. Ego and
pride are enough to keep even the sorriest teams close. When
professional teams quit on their coaches, the popular spin is that the
leader is somehow inferior for letting it happen. I think it's just the
opposite. If the Celtics have quit on Pitino and chose to display their
indifference on the court, they are younger and more naive than most of
us thought.


Why? Because Pitino is definitely leaving, no matter what they do. The
players seem to be under the Old West illusion that there is only room
for one of them in this town and, come sundown, one man will go (Pitino)
and all problems will be solved. Uh-uh. They are linked now. When Pitino
leaves, a new management team will come in and torch what he has built.
So Celtics players can privately join the brassy ''Pitino Must Go''
symphony if they want, but all they are doing is calling for their own
dismissals as well.


If Pitino leaves and Larry Bird takes over, the leading candidates for
the head job will be Quinn Buckner, Rick Carlisle, Danny Ainge, and Ty
Law's cousin.

(I agree with what Holley said, and it points out another reason,
why drafting Jerome Moiso was a mistake. He's Pitino's
project....)