Celtics' bench is the star

["Stephen Beauregard" <sb@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Celtics' bench is the star
By Mark Murphy
Tuesday, November 11, 2003

After he was able to review Sunday's blue-chip win over Sacramento, Celtics
coach Jim O'Brien found himself making a comparison that no one would have
deemed possible a year ago.

     As the game wound down, and the Celtics and Kings tapped into their
reserve tanks, the team with the least fuel remaining was a bit of a surprise.

     ``My sense is that (Sacramento) missed some shots down the stretch, and
they have had more tired legs than we did,'' O'Brien said. ``We want to make
that always work on our behalf.''

     Granted, the Kings were playing the last game of a four-city road trip,
but the Celtics didn't play down to their weary guests.

     This energy has little to do with star power and everything to do with
supporting the star. The job description can cover everyone from Vin Baker to
Jiri Welsch, from the No. 2 guy in the rotation to the ninth or 10th.

     If your name isn't Paul Pierce [news] on the 2003-04 Celtics, then you
are part of the supporting cast. You are very likely to be on the floor during
those small but necessary stretches when the Celtics captain is on the bench
catching his breath.

     O'Brien singled out this supporting cast for holding the floor together
during Sunday night's 91-82 win over the Kings.

     Yesterday, he remained uniformly pleased with this team's progress in the
depth department.

     ``For the 10 or 12 minutes Paul is not in there each night, I think we've
done pretty well,'' O'Brien said after yesterday's practice at The Sports
Authority Center in Waltham. ``I think we've done well all year. Whoever has
been in there at the 3, the 4 or the 5 has produced, and that's important.''

     Eric Williams returned from a knee injury and made his presence felt
right away. The C's lost three straight without the forward, but his 12 points
helped put an end to that. He wasn't alone.

     Holding true to the opening-night standard, when six Celtics finished the
win over Miami in double figures, four Celtics scored in double figures
against the Kings.

     ``I have Raef (LaFrentz) coming off the bench, and then you've got Marcus
(Banks), the human speedball, giving us a boost out there,'' Williams said.
``We have a lot of guys on this team making contributions right now.''

     The contributions were so plentiful, Walter McCarty [news] and Jumaine
Jones never made it onto the floor. McCarty's case marked his first ``did not
play - coach's decision'' in more than a year.

     But such is the fallout from a rotation that may not be particularly
spectacular on the high end save for Pierce but can tap the contributions of
as many as 10 players by the end of a game.

     ``We have players, and that's why we try to go 10 deep,'' point guard
Mike James [news] said. ``We could really go 12 deep, actually. Paul is our
best option, but he's not our only option.

     ``This isn't about taking the pressure off him. We just have guys who can
play.''

     Statistics reflect as much. The Celtics head into tonight's game against
the Pacers in Indianapolis with three players (Pierce, Baker, Williams)
averaging in double figures, and two others (James, LaFrentz) with just over
nine points per game.

     In the absence of more than one pre-ordained All-Star in the lineup, the
diversity of production is mandatory.

     ``We've been getting a lot of energy from a lot of people,'' Williams
said. ``That's what has turned the game around.''
Thanks,

Steve
sb@xxxxxxxxxxxx