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[Hironaka <j.hironaka@unesco.org>]

    Great to celebrate an opening win and (for those of us living
abroad) great RealVideo highlights are now available at NBA.COM (the
video is a little fuzzy, though). The ceremony last night for Chuck
Cooper highlights the catalytic role the Boston Celtics have played in
the history of the NBA and modern sports.

    A 14-11 start over the first 25 games (17 at home) would put the
Celtics on a great trajectory toward the playoffs. There are only four
road games against playoff calibre teams (Toronto, at Philly on a
back-to-back, Milwaukee and Orlando) and maybe we can win one or two.
The toughest home games include Toronto (on Friday night), New York,
Philly, Orlando, Minnesota, Sacramento and Indiana. Our four
back-to-backs each end on the road at Cleveland, at Philly, at
Washington and at Charlotte. It would be great to win at least two of
those back-to-backs to break the jinx from last year.

   If the Celts develop confidence, the fact is that they have a lineup
that matches up on paper in terms of franchise player talent and overall
team depth with most of the best teams. If Bat-brain keeps averaging a
double-double or close to it, this is a very good, very athletic and
balanced team.

    The Celtics often start the season strong and for obvious reasons
they REALLY need to do that this year. That's why this opening schedule
requires their full concentration and no let downs. As you may have
noticed, the Celts close out this season with a horrific 18 game stretch
that includes 12 road games against the most dangerous teams out there
(including Lakers, Phoenix, Miami, Orlando, Philly, Indiana), only 6
home games and all against tough opponents (Lakers, Spurs, Miami,
Indiana, Charlotte, Nets) and five dangerous back-to-backs in games we
might normally win in better circumstances (at Washington, at Denver
etc.). We need a big enough cushion going in (or a miracle) to avoid a
heartbreak collapse in those 18 games.

    The Celtics are now 3-1 in openers under Rick Pitino, with the
Chicago opening win the most memorable. But last year against a cocky
Toronto team, Antoine and Pierce combined to shoot  21-32 (52 points)
with 16 boards, 8 assists and 4 steals in the 13 point win on their way
to a 3-0 start. I thought both were headed toward the All Star game, but
things collapsed and
the team didn't win another road game until December 30th.

    Like I said, the Celtics NEED to keep it going, stay confident and
play like a team. They need to block out the naysayers and doubters like
me, absolutely. Despite the "easy" early schedule, there is nothing
particularly easy at all about the next five games and this will be a
good early barometer of where things stand in terms of the team's
maturity. If we lose some of those games, there is still a good chance
to get off to a strong start so the team shouldn't get discouraged or
lose their focus on unselfish play. But in general, I'm going to stay as
negative as possible about the team because it seems to be working. No
offense intended to other diehard fans. I think we have a good team, our
best players are our youngest players, and the future is brighter than
we think. Last night Bat-turd cancelled out Fortson's strong performance
as far as I'm concerned. Forget about Danny Fortson. Fortson might have
had those 18 rebound nights in a Celtics uniform last year if Heinsohn
was the coach, but as far as I'm concerned Chris Herren, Bryant Stith
and a first round pick is all he means to me now (and that's a return I
can live with). This sounds like a good deal for all teams concerned.

***