Re: Palacio (We got Milt!)

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

Me thinks good signing by the C's. Milt deserves it.
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C's bank on Miracle Man
by Mark Cofman
Sunday, January 28, 2001
There are those who believe the Celtics will need a miracle to achieve their
season-long goal of making the playoffs. What better player, then, to re-sign than
the Miracle Man himself, Milt Palacio.
Palacio, with his second and final 10-day contract set to expire today, was
informed by Celtics coach Jim O'Brien yesterday he had earned a contract with the
team for the remainder of the season. It was an early birthday present for the
backup point guard, who turns 23 next week.
``It's a big relief, the biggest of them all,'' Palacio said after Celtics
practice yesterday at the FleetCenter. ``To know I'm going to be here for the
season, it just relaxes you so you can just go out there and play. You can focus
more on helping the team win games.''
Palacio helped the Celtics to a most unlikely win in New Jersey on Dec. 28, just
three weeks after he was signed as an emergency replacement for a depleted
point-guard corps. He stole an inbounds pass at midcourt and hit a buzzer-beating,
35-footer while falling to the court to give the Celtics a 112-111 victory over
the Nets. And, though he would be hard-pressed to match the drama of that moment
again, Palacio has managed to hit a number of big, and often peculiar, shots
since. His nickname has stuck.
``He's hit some crazy ones,'' said O'Brien, who witnessed Palacio leap into the
lane sideways to hit a banker with the shot clock winding down against Phoenix on
Friday night. ``But that aside, he's become an important part of this team's
rotation and he deserves to be here.
``Milt's playing good basketball. He's defending well, he has improved and he's
playing with confidence. And, to the man, everybody on our team and on the
coaching staff respects and really likes him.''
The Celtics' decision to sign Palacio to a contract that will cost them $198,000
is also the byproduct of their season-long difficulties keeping point guards
healthy. During the first two months, former coach Rick Pitino was forced to use
six starters at the position, sometimes just hours after bringing a point guard in
off the scrap heap.
O'Brien, aware he's one injury away from similar circumstances, knows what he has
in Palacio. He'd rather have the 6-foot-3 Colorado State product to call on than
have to roll the dice with another free agent pickup.
``Coach O'Brien has shown a lot of faith in me and I just want to repay that by
producing for the team,'' said Palacio, originally signed on the recommendation of
Celtics assistant coach Lester Conner. ``I understand why I was brought in at the
start, with all of the injuries, but my goal was to make the most of the
opportunity.
``These last few days have been nerve-racking (with the 10-day contract
dwindling), but I just tried to concentrate on playing my game and playing with
confidence. I told myself that if I play aggressive and play with confidence,
we'll just see what happens. Good things did.''
Palacio scored a season-high 10 points on 5-for-5 shooting in 11 minutes against
Atlanta last Tuesday, and followed that up with nine points and six assists in 25
minutes against the Suns. Those performances seemed to secure his standing with
the team.
``Right now I feel like I can only get better because of how hungry I am to
improve,'' Palacio said. ``I wanted to prove, not only to myself, but to
everybody, I belonged in this league. Now that I'm here, I want to stay.''
Celtics notes
The rare Celtics open practice at the FleetCenter attracted a lot of children with
their parents. Players posed for pictures and signed autographs afterward. . . .
Kenny Anderson, sidelined for five games with a sprained right ankle, survived the
workout without reinjury and is expected to play tonight against Detroit. O'Brien
said he would use Anderson off the bench. . . .
O'Brien on the Pistons: ``They cause you problems because they're extremely
physical. They bang you inside, not only with the big people, but Jerry Stackhouse
and Michael Curry are very physical guys. Stackhouse can almost beat a team
himself if you don't get on him and defend him properly.''


>>But, I think its either today or tomorrow or SOon, that we have to decide
>>on Milt. And, we will not have Herren back to appraise it, before THen.
>>Thats the catch there. I think they project  Herren back after the AS game.
>>
>>/J