Re: Reggie Lewis/Cedric Maxwell

[opi@unesco.org]

Hi:

Back when Maxwell played, there seemed to be an unwritten policy that
you had to be a career Celtics "lifer" to get your uniform number
retired, unless you were a Hall of Famer like Ed McCauley. Since that
time, DJ and Parish have seen their numbers retired despite ending their
careers elsewhere. I think Maxwell (along with Ainge to a lesser degree)
just kind of got lost in the shuffle.

Also, as far as I know, Maxwell never played in any All Star game (I'm
not sure Reggie Lewis did either, though).

I'm very much in favor of Maxwell receiving this honor. I actually felt
that he deserved to be the NBA Finals MVP in 1984 (along with 1981). He
was much more consistent shooting the ball than Bird in that series and
also came up big in the end. Additionally, he played a critical role in
getting the Celts past the Sixers in 1981 (the pre-Finals).

Lately the Celts reshuffled front office is into all kinds of basically
contrived Fleet Center gimmicks (Russell night, Red Auerbach night,
Parquet night, Vitaly barber night). A Maxwell retirement is an event
that would be appreciated by a lot of fans who go to games. I'm sure at
least Kevin McHale and KC Jones would be happy to attend.

****

Amy Beauregard wrote:

> Hey everyone,
>
> I wasn't trying to start a controversy. I received a
> bunch of emails about this. Reggie's number was
> retired for the wrong reason. My personal belief was
> that it was a total PR move by the C's. At the time of
> his death, there was a lot of finger pointing: at the
> C's (how could they push him like that?), the Doctors
> (how could they clear him?), Reggie (Did he or didn't
> he?) and his widow. It was a lousy time and the C's
> announced they'd retire his number. Well intentioned,
> but how many championships did he contribute to? Ok,
> since the answer his none, what were his career
> totals? Unfortunately, we'll never know, since he was
> cut down entering his prime. He was really coming into
> his own. Derrick Coleman was too at that time and he
> turned out to be a stiff. Reggie might have been
> traded, retired or whatever. He might have improved
> significantly. We will never know, although I am
> fairly certain he would not have led the C's to a
> title.
>
> What I do know is that Max played a big part in
> leading the C's to two titles. He was the 81 Finals
> MVP and dominated the Lakers in game 7 of the 84
> Finals. He was hurt the next year and was in Red's
> doghouse for not coming back hard/fast enough. He was
> dumped to the Clips for Walton, who was the key to the
> 16th title. What we do know is Max was a huge factor
> in the early 80s success and the scary thing was he
> sacrificed his offense so Larry/Kevin could get
> theirs. I don't know how Red feels about him, but I
> think that the time has come to retire #31.
> __________________________________________________
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