They aren't the only ones!

["Stephen Beauregard" <sb@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Celtics growing tired -- of losing


By Shira Springer, Globe Staff, 3/24/2003

ENVER -- Following the loss to the Lakers Friday night, Antoine Walker and
Eric Williams sat in a corner of the visitors' locker room discussing the
Celtics' remaining games. Despite a string of recent losses, the conversation
was filled with optimism. They figured the team would turn around its fortunes
in Denver. They had confidence that the Celtics still could make a strong
final push for the playoffs.



But after the Celtics lost to the Nuggets, 90-80, Saturday night at the Pepsi
Center, the Boston locker room was somber, almost silent. Walker sat in a
corner without any answers for what ailed the team or what it needed to do.

The Celtics will try to end their four-game losing streak tonight against
Utah. They will try to avoid losing any more ground in the Eastern Conference.
And they will try to eliminate the mental lapses that cost them in Denver.

''It's all mental, pretty much,'' said Paul Pierce. ''We just have to decide
as a group to [win]. It can't just be one person. Everybody in the league is
tired. We all play the same amount of games. If we don't get the job done
mentally, then we're not going to get it done.''

Reviewing the game tape from Saturday night was a painful process. Before a
workout yesterday at Metro State College that focused on defensive drillwork,
the Celtics watched the loss to the Nuggets. After Boston built a 9-point lead
with 8:53 remaining in the second quarter, there were hardly any highlights.
The Celtics missed 31 of 46 shots within 17 feet of the basket. As if that
weren't tough enough, the players also saw missed opportunities to attack the
rim. And they watched an out-of-synch halfcourt defense appear to be in slow
motion as it allowed the Nuggets to shoot 47.3 percent from the floor.

The third quarter again proved the Celtics' downfall, on both ends of the
court. Boston shot just 15.8 percent (3 for 19), while Denver shot 66.7
percent. As a result, the Nuggets stretched their 41-38 halftime lead into a
double-digit advantage. Both teams shot poorly in the fourth, though Denver
extended its lead to 20 points before Boston closed within 7 with 1:17 to go.
But the Celtics did not have a fourth-quarter rally in them.

After the game, coach Jim O'Brien said his team looked tired. In recent games,
the Celtics clearly have lacked energy late. A team that once prided itself on
the ability to stage fourth-quarter comebacks has been falling flat in the
final period. Still, the Celtics were not about to use fatigue as an excuse.
According to O'Brien, it's a matter of more practice, not more rest.

When asked if mistakes in key games over the last week were fixable, O'Brien
said: ''Absolutely. They are things that this team has done at a very, very
high level over the course of two years. Giving into fatigue is not an excuse.
You just overcome it. Play tougher. Overcome tiredness. That's not to say four
games in five nights all over the country is not a task. That is the task you
have to overcome.

''When we are without regular practice, the principles and the scheme of our
defense suffers. You would think that the same guys playing the same defenses
over a two-year period of time, that it would not suffer as much as it does,
but it suffers. Again, there's no excuse for that. And the way you make sure
it doesn't suffer is to work on it.''

. . .

Tony Delk received the devastating news yesterday that his father died of a
massive heart attack. Delk went home to Tennessee to be with his family and is
on an indefinite leave of absence.

Thanks,

Steve
sb@maine.rr.com

[demime 1.01b removed an attachment of type image/gif which had a name of D.gif]

[demime 1.01b removed an attachment of type image/gif which had a name of lawless_big_ad_030703.gif]