Celtics Article from Sporting News

["Jaime Castillo, Jr." <jaims@info.com.ph>]

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A Celtics playoff berth will be good for the NBA
By Dave D'Alessandro - The Sporting News

For so long, the Celtics' system invoked that ancient joke, the one in which
a guy asks his dumb friend to tell him whether the directional signal on his
car is working. "It's working," the friend says. "It's not working, it's
working, it's not working ..."
That's the way we Pitino Apologists saw it, anyway. For years, we harbored
these earnestly stupid feelings that the Celtics would turn it around
someday, that ultimately they would all get a clue and that Rick Pitino
would have the last laugh because, frankly, he still is the best coach
outside of Miami. Now we all know it couldn't happen that way, that Pitino
had to fire himself for the Celtics to find some answers and reach their
true potential.
And now their destiny is (file this under Things We Thought We'd Never Say)
the postseason. Boston back in the playoffs? Ponder that for a while as we
emerge from the midseason silence, and you almost could hear the entire
basketball world creak on its axis.
Last weekend, the Celtics were in the midst of a crucial seven-game road
trip. It began with a hiccup in Vancouver, a devastating rout of Seattle in
which they were up by 29 after only 16 minutes, and an astonishing,
coming-of-age gut check last Saturday at Portland. They still might stub
their toe before the trip concludes Friday in San Antonio, but what we have
witnessed over the past five weeks is a basketball metamorphosis.
Through last Saturday, they had won 12 of their first 18 (including eight of
their last 10) under Jim O'Brien, whose influence is subtle yet profound.
Whereas his predecessor was dashing and charismatic and loud and arrogant,
this is Just Plain Jim -- a loyal lieutenant and (mostly) a career assistant
who has done nothing more dramatic than shorten the rotation and get them to
shave four percentage points off their field-goal defense.
To understand where he is coming from and what kind of guy he is, he made it
clear after coaching his first game: "I've got news for you," he said. "I
had a big part in us being 12-22 (under Pitino)."
Not surprisingly, O'Brien has deflected the credit for the astonishing
transformation that has taken place. Maybe he should. Maybe his greatest
quality is that he isn't Pitino.
We'll spare you all the quotes about how the new guy is better than the old
guy because the new guy doesn't scream as much ("Coach O'Brien is very
positive, so the players are positive," Antoine Walker says. "I think Coach
Pitino kept a lot of negativity" and blah-blah-blah ...). You always hear
that.
In Walker's case, however, the benefits of change are irrefutable. Keep in
mind this is an offensive marvel -- with more dimensions to his talent than
perhaps any forward in the league. Under Pitino, there never was anything
resembling logic to Walker's game. Now he has turned into the human
triple-double, which everyone knew he could be. More important, he looks as
though he actually can concentrate better and make more plays -- smarter
plays, especially at the end of a game -- now that the head coach isn't
stomping his foot or screaming at Walter McCarty to report to the scorer's
table.
Pitino drafted Walker, branded him a star before his time, gave him the keys
to the company car and then yanked away the steering wheel at every
opportunity. O'Brien has told Walker it's his vehicle now, it's up to him to
be responsible, and he'll be in the back seat whenever Walker needs
directions.
But Walker is not the only one to benefit from change. Paul Pierce's scoring
average has jumped 3 points. His rebounds and steals are up, too. Eric
Williams has been given the coach's blessing to speak up more, and the team
has embraced him as its locker room leader. Kenny Anderson and Randy Brown
are back after three months of misadventures at the point. By the end of
this trip, Tony Battie -- Boston's only shot-blocker -- also will return.
Things are good. A successful trip should give them clear view of sixth
place in the East by next week. This is no accident. This is a coach having
the wisdom to recognize that less is more.
"I don't buy into the idea that Rick was too intense or too much of an
identity unto himself for the job here," O'Brien says. "I don't look at
those things and think, 'Oh, yeah -- he was too big.' That's farfetched.
Here's how I feel: I thought the Celtics were very fortunate to be able to
get Rick Pitino to come here and coach them in 1997. I still feel that way."
But if O'Brien is as honest as I think he is, he also knows the Celtics are
even more fortunate to put Pitino in their rearview mirror. This 12-6 run
wouldn't have happened if he hadn't fallen on the sword.
What doth Ricky say? Nothing to the Boston press, whom he has ducked since
he left town. He did go on some cable interview show to say he felt like a
"wounded tiger" and that "Antoine needed to hear a different voice."
Curiously, the scribes in Boston resisted the cheap shots. There was hardly
any response to Pitino's largely gracious exit speech. One is no longer
necessary. Everyone has moved on. The players don't even want to hear his
name anymore.
Even if you hate the Celtics, it is a great thing for the NBA to have them
rejoin the postseason party. At this point, there only should be
gratitude -- even for Rick Pitino, who got out in time to save a season.