Michael Holley Offers Solutions

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

Surprisingly, trading Antoine isn't listed as one of the
solutions...
      Boston Globe 
      Pitino rants but no raves 
      Solutions exist for coach, but is he willing to listen?
      By Michael Holley, Globe Staff, 3/3/2000 
      ALTHAM - On Day 2 of Pitino v. Boston, the plaintiff (or is he now the 
      defendant?) got off to a horrible start. I kept expecting someone to call 
      for a recess, pull the coach of the Celtics aside and say, ''Dude, what 
      are you doing?''
      Rick Pitino was not arrogant when he spoke yesterday, but he did not 
      retract a word of his absurd Boston sports rant from Wednesday night. He 
      would not relent on even the simplest issues.
      Example: Pitino was asked if he could understand fan ''negativity,'' 
      considering the 23-34 Celtics lost to Toronto because they couldn't make 
      free throws. That has nothing to do with youth and greatness, it was 
      suggested to the tough witness. He responded by saying that Shaquille 
      O'Neal, Bill Russell, and the late Wilt Chamberlain weren't great free 
      throw shooters, either.
      I think that's a silly argument because if you were to trade any Celtic 
      for Shaq, the team's record would be reversed. In fact, give me the 
      66-year-old Russell, the Big Three, and the best available point guard - 
      probably Tyus Edney - and I'll take my chances, as long as my aged boys 
      don't have to play on back-to-back nights.
      I rarely agree with Pitino, but there are times when we meet in a 
      blissful, Rodney King-inspired, ''Can't We All Get Along?'' wonderland. 
      Surprisingly, one of those moments arose yesterday. Pitino said that many 
      have critiques of Celtics problems but few offer solutions. He 
      acknowledged that ''there may not be a solution in certain scenarios.''
      He's right.
      So this is not the time to resurrect all the familiar Pitino ghosts 
      (Mills, Knight, Mercer, Billups). It is not the time to bring out the 
      itemized reports so we can pinpoint his poor budgeting. No, the question 
      of the day is this: How can all of this, including the anatagonistic 
      Pitino rant, be fixed?
      You can start by either empowering current general manager Chris Wallace, 
      or luring/hiring another GM such as Geoff Petrie or Wayne Embry. If you 
      strip away Pitino's constant spin of his work and the performance of the 
      imbalanced team he built, you will see that this is his most significant 
      weakness.
      What's the biggest difference between Pitino now and the coach who was so 
      successful with the Knicks? Pitino didn't have final-say power in New 
      York. It was the best thing for him. He didn't share GM Al Bianchi's 
      views, but he had to adjust to the team Bianchi gave him. That may have 
      annoyed Pitino during his two seasons in Manhattan, but it forced him to 
      concentrate solely on his coaching. Remember, pro coaching is where Pitino 
      has never failed.
      In Boston, Pitino has developed a Draconian personnel style. His love 
      affairs with players have a Dennis Rodman-Carmen Electra longevity. Not 
      only does it affect how his rent-a-players relate to each other, it 
      affects how he relates to them. If he were put in a position where he had 
      to embrace the flaws of everyone, from Pervis Ellison to Antoine Walker, I 
      think he would be a better coach for it.
      Problem is, Pitino would probably find it hard to relinquish his veto 
      power to Wallace, the man he hired. That's too bad. Wallace is a smart 
      basketball man. A power swap would be good for both men and, hey, Pitino 
      would still have his $7 million salary.
      But I would not be surprised if Wallace became the innocent chip in a 
      political tug between owner Paul Gaston and Pitino. The owner has almost 
      no leverage against the big-time coach with the small-time (41 percent) 
      winning percentage. Gaston does have a trump: Pitino's hire, Wallace, is 
      in the last year of his contract, and the owner doesn't have to offer a 
      new deal.
      The subject of politics leads us to another correctable problem: Pitino's 
      exaggerated words.
      Really, I still can't believe the coach complained about the negative 
      treatment of a team that is a half-game behind the New Jersey Nets in the 
      Atlantic Division. He complained about negativity on a night when more 
      than 17,000 people were in the arena to see, frankly, a sorry team. His 
      players, all professional adults, were booed during the same week for 
      blowing a 20-point third-quarter lead and missing six of eight 
      fourth-quarter free throws.
      And?
      A person who doesn't pay attention to sports will see Pitino's comments 
      about Boston negativity and how ''it sucks'' and think, ''Maybe he's right 
      about Boston.'' He is not right. Pitino grew up in New York. I wonder how 
      New Yorkers would respond to a 23-34 team. How about folks in 
      Philadelphia? Would Pitino prefer to have audiences such as the ones in 
      Cleveland, Oakland, Calif., and Atlanta, places where basketball is now 
      met with indifference?
      True negativity is when fans shrug on draft night; when they lose hope; 
      when they stop suggesting trades and stop caring about the games. Pitino 
      knows this. He also should know that bickering with fans during and after 
      games is nonproductive.
      I can't keep a straight face when it comes to Pitino's comments on Larry 
      Bird, Kevin McHale, and Robert Parish. I don't know about you, but I hear 
      more people speaking wistfully of Tim Duncan rather than the Big Three.
      What Pitino has to understand is that most fans can see that he is 
      engaging in politics. This must stop. There would be less rage directed at 
      the coach and his team if there was more honesty coming from him.
      This could have been avoided last year if Pitino had said, ''You know, I 
      misjudged this situation. My original projections were inaccurate. Right 
      now, my team will be fortunate to make the playoffs next year.'' Instead, 
      he made excuses about the lockout and his team's inexperience. It was 
      unnecessary.
      Yesterday, Pitino had another chance to offer some refreshing words. If he 
      said he was frustrated from a bad day, a lot of people would understand. 
      If he said that he generalized about Boston - which he did - people would 
      understand.
      But he remained inflexible. Pitino mentioned solutions to the problems. 
      Solutions are out there. I'm not sure Pitino is willing to listen to them.
      This story ran on page E01 of the Boston Globe on 3/3/2000. 
      © Copyright 2000 Globe Newspaper Company.