May: Clipper Like Doormat Celtics; Pierce Responds To Criticism

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

http://www.charlotte.com/observer/sports/docs/writing0415.htm

Once-proud Celtics now a Clippers-like doormat
By PETER MAY
The Boston Globe
ESPN Classic will soon be contacting members of the last Celtics playoff
team for a "Where Are They Now?" segment. The drought has reached a
near-Biblical six years, which makes this team the longest-running lottery
qualifier in the league.

When the dust settles Wednesday, here is what we still have:


A team that has not made the playoffs since 1995. No other team can make
that claim.
Even the Clippers (1997), Nets (1998) and Wizards (1997) have qualified
since Boston's last trip.


A team that has not won 40 games since the 1992-93 season. Another dubious
achievement that the Celtics alone can claim.

A team that has only two players with any value. One is overpaid (Antoine
Walker) and the other is underpaid (Paul Pierce).

A team that is a distressing and revealing 7-24 against the Eastern
Conference playoff teams. Of those eight, they broke even with only one
(Miami). Of course, they are a gaudy 11-3 against the Nets, Wizards, Hawks,
and Bulls.
The Celtics need two things immediately if they are to make a move: a decent
point guard and a dirty-work rebounder. They have two (possibly three)
first-round picks in the draft to offer for trade, which they should
unhesitatingly seek to do. This year's draft, which experts think is deep,
is incredibly limited in terms of getting a quality player who can help
right away.

Who will be making these decisions is still the great unknown. Coach Jim
O'Brien has been told that he is wanted back, but the Celtics have yet to
show him the money. There's no basketball presence out there who sticks out
as a must-hire for director of operations. Unless you think Larry Bird is
that fellow.

The next few weeks will be interesting: Will the Celtics sign O'Brien? What
becomes of their front office?

As usual, what happens in the off-season will be more interesting than what
happens during the season.




Pierce takes a pass on criticism
by Steve Bulpett - Boston Herald
Sunday, April 15, 2001

Faced with criticism from an unnamed Celtics teammate that he doesn't pass
enough anymore, Paul Pierce passed off the criticism.

New York Post columnist Peter Vecsey wrote late this week that the Celts
have been ``plagued'' by Pierce's success. He quoted one Shamrock as saying,
``Paul has gotten swept away by his scoring binges and the adulation. He
stopped passing, as often as he should when double-teamed - stopped making
the extra pass. That throws everyone else off and guys are (expletive
deleted).''

Pierce didn't seem exactly pleased by the characterization, but he chose to
let it slide.

``I'm not going to really think about it,'' he said. ``I don't really care
who thinks that way.

``There's nothing I can really say about it. I mean, people have their own
opinions. I play the game the way I know how to play it. I play to win. I
don't get caught up in the scoring and all that stuff. I know I can score
the ball. When you do well, people are going to have their opinions, and
that's just how it is.''

The fact is, Pierce has acknowledged he needs to get better in dealing with
the double-teams that are coming his way now that he's proven himself to be
one of the league's most explosive scorers. He has talked openly about
needing to learn to handle the attention and know when the time is right to
look for a teammate who may be open.

Now in his third season, Pierce thinks it's fair to be cut a bit of slack as
he makes his way.

``Look at Michael Jordan,'' Pierce said. ``He wasn't a perfect player in his
first years, and people were always criticizing him for shooting so much.
Now he's the best ever. So, I mean, that's going to happen along the way.
You're going to get criticized.''

It might also be important to note that Pierce's high shot total for a game
is 30, and he's done that just once. Allen Iverson and Jerry Stackhouse, on
the other hand, have 30 for breakfast.