Per Boston Globe, Baker will play Tue night

[snoopy1@xxxxxxx]

This article was from the Boston Globe, and from what it says, the C's are
satisfied that Baker is not at risk to play, and evidently bear him no ill
will.  Read on...

Celtics' Baker cleared to play against Sonics

                By Jim Cour, Associated Press, 2/10/2003 23:38

                SEATTLE (AP) Boston Celtics forward Vin Baker was cleared
to play in
                Tuesday night's game against the Seattle SuperSonics after
consulting with
                team doctors to discuss the heart palpitations that forced
him to miss the first
                meeting against his former team.

                Baker, who grew up in Old Saybrook, Conn., and played for
the University of
                Hartford, received medical clearance Monday after
discussing the condition
                that sent him to the hospital and kept him out of Boston's
home game against
                Seattle last Wednesday night.

                He skipped the team's flight to Seattle on Monday so he
could meet with the
                doctors. Baker and his agent, Aaron Goodwin, also met with
Celtics officials.

                ''He will be at the shootaround tomorrow and will play in
the game tomorrow
                night,'' coach Jim O'Brien said before the Celtics'
practice Monday night at
                the Key Arena. ''My plans are to give him a good workout
and then utilize him
                as needed, the way I have the entire year.''

                O'Brien said he had no concerns about Baker's health.

                ''I think he'll be fine. Absolutely,'' O'Brien said.
''Nothing is minor whenever
                you get into a situation where a guy has heart
palpitations, but our guys looked
                at him and decided everything was fine with him, so he
could play.''

                Baker did not attend a team film session last Tuesday,
complaining of
                lightheadedness. He spent the next two nights in the
hospital and was attached
                to a portable heart monitor until Saturday.

                In Sunday's Boston Globe, Baker said he was ''terrified''
by the illness. He
                also dismissed the notion that his condition was more
psychological because he
                didn't want to face his old team, which traded him to the
Celtics last July. His
                friend and Sonics point guard Gary Payton said Baker had
similar ''anxiety''
                episodes last season.

                ''It's unfair,'' Baker told The Globe. ''I have a
palpitating heart, a heart
                that's going in different beats, and I'm getting written
about saying that it's
                psychological.''

                In 10 seasons with Milwaukee, Seattle and Boston, Baker has
averaged 16.1
                points and 7.9 rebounds. But this season his numbers have
plummeted to 5.2 and
                4.0, and he's been ridiculed by Boston fans.

                O'Brien said he still was hopeful that Baker, a former
All-Star who has three
                more years and $52 million left on his contract, will be
able to help the Celtics
                this season.

                ''I think he has been frustrated somewhat with trying to
learn our system,''
                O'Brien said. ''Everything goes through Antoine Walker and
Paul Pierce. Our
                defensive system is a lot different than Seattle's, and it
takes a lot of roaming
                around the court for a center.''

                ''But his contract is for 3= more years and we have Vin for
that period of
                time,'' O'Brien added. ''We think he will be of great value
to us down the
                stretch, because he's a veteran and he's been involved in a
lot of playoff
                races.''

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