NY article - courtesy of Sportsguy

[kevin from singapore <bostonceltics17@yahoo.com>]

http://www.nypost.com/sports/37720.htm
<snip>
Three above low tide under Jim O'Brien's friction-free watch
after nearly drowning in the surf when Rick Pitino was
lifeguard, the Celtics are much more relaxed treading water
these days.
"You can make mistakes now without having to worry about
getting yanked or yelled at," Antoine Walker said. "You
don't hear that constant barking from the sidelines. There
always seemed to be something negative going on when Rick
was coach. Everything seemed to focus on Rick and not the
team."
Another factor in the team's turnaround from sure lottery
team to mediocre tournament contender has been the
concentration of the offense on Walker and Paul (Player Of
The Month) Pierce. Like Pitino, O'Brien calls all the plays,
but he runs them strictly through his two scoring studs.
Everyone else plays off them. The only time they're expected
to shoot is when fed by Walker and Pierce off double-teams,
or in transition.
In the final analysis, the truth for the Vitamin C's
improvement may be a sip simpler. When Rickety split, the
players had no one to blame but themselves for their lousy
play and stupid mistakes. Suddenly it was all on them. They
were tired of losing, then they got a taste of candy and
found out how sweet it is. Next thing you know, they wanted
some more.

<snip>