Re: Reggie Lewis/Cedric Maxwell

["Rob Tisdale" <rtisdale@wws.net>]

Elgin,

    Sorry I didn't reply on this earlier, I've been out of town.  Based on
your age, I'm not surprised that Reggie is your all-time favorite Celtic, as
he was probably a rookie when you started following the Celtics.  I am 32,
and was a fan during both the 1984 and 1986 championship years.  I always
thought we'd win another one until both Bird and McHale had retired.
    Reggie was a special player, and might have come into his own earlier if
he'd played more as a first year player.  That was not KC Jones' coaching
style, though (I often wonder what might have been if KC had quit one year
earlier, after the 1986 championship).  He (Reggie) did make Ainge
expendable, no small feat.  Maybe there are people out there who remember
this and are unhappy about it, as Danny was a popular player in Boston.
    I do recall his duels with Jordan, and when you mention that you had
high hopes of Pierce measuring up to him, I remember hoping that someday
Reggie might measure up to Jordan.  This probably would not have happened,
of course, but he certainly was an athletic player, and as you say he was
not afraid to take the big shots by the end of his career.  He really was
'the man' on the team at the time of his death, and though he probably never
would have led them to a title given the other circumstances present, he
most likely would have been their best player for a long time, possibly even
still.  He could have provided the current team with the veteran presence it
needs, and a link to the Celtic past which was kept intact for so long.  I
also think most people think of his tragic death and forget how generous he
was to the city of Boston.  Yes, the more I think about it, the more sad I
am too.

Rob

----- Original Message -----
From: Elgin W Booth <ewbooth@cisunix.unh.edu>
To: Rob Tisdale <rtisdale@wws.net>
Cc: <celtics@igtc.com>
Sent: Wednesday, March 01, 2000 9:54 PM
Subject: Re: Reggie Lewis/Cedric Maxwell


> Reggie was my all-time favorite Celtic, granted I'm only 22 but I enjoyed
> watching him play just as much as Bird or McHale. His game was graceful
> and smooth. I had high hopes of Pierce becoming the player Reggie was, but
> he's still not there and it may take awhile. Just look at those stats. 20
> ppg while shooting close to 50% at the off-guard position. I loved the way
> he didn't take the 3 pointers, he knew his range, he rarely  missed from
> 18 feet and in, and he was a true go-to guy in the fourth quarter. He was
> tall and could get a shot off against any defender. He gave Jordan some of
> his toughest games. We just have no one on this team who is like
> that. Reggie was a special, special player. All this talk is really making
> me sad now.