This roll reversal a total surprise

["Stephen Beauregard" <sb@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

This roll reversal a total surprise
By Bob Ryan, Globe Columnist, 11/13/2003

No one ever really knows why. They just know what.

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Jim O'Brien doesn't know why he was suddenly watching a different Celtics team
in the third quarter last night. "We did not stand around for the first seven
games of the season," he said. "But there were two big factors tonight: good
play by the Bulls, and our decision to stand around in the second half."

On the flip side, Chicago general manager John Paxson didn't know why the
spirit moved his team last night.

"That's the first time we've played hard all season," he shrugged.

The apparent moral of Chicago's surprising 89-82 triumph over the Celtics down
at the Fleet is simply that robots do not play this game; people do. And
people are quirky and unpredictable.

The Celtics trailed by a 47-44 score at the half, but O'Brien was not
displeased. His team was moving the ball to his satisfaction (assists on the
first 13 baskets and 15 of 17 overall), and sometimes you've just got to give
due credit to the other team. For whatever reason, a Bulls team that had
already lost by 25-plus on three separate occasions (two at home), and which
was clearly placing coach Bill Cartwright's job in jeopardy, had finally come
to play.

But the Celtics put forth a stinkbomb of a third quarter, shooting 5 for 21.
"We chose to stand instead of move without the basketball," O'Brien noted.
"And I think in the NBA that I know of over the last three years, and the way
it's going, you stand, you lose. You have to move, you have to screen."

Perhaps they expected their star to bail them out. But this was not a night
for the Paul Pierce season highlight film, at least not when it came to
shooting the ball. He did have eight assists (most of them to Mike James, who
drilled a career-high six threes), but he shot 4 for 15 with a whopping seven
turnovers. When the Celtics, still very much in the game, went to their Go-To
Guy in the fourth period, he came up empty.

It was a real downer after the events of Sunday and Tuesday. Surviving a
terrible start to defeat Sacramento Sunday and then coming from 14 back to
defeat the Pacers in Conseco Field House two nights later seemed to indicate
this was becoming a team of substance. The Celtics had been doing some real
nice things. But in this game they never really got started. There were seven
early lead changes before Chicago retook the advantage at 20-19 on a Kendall
Gill jumper and never gave it back. The Celtics never really sustained
anything. The Bulls were the clear aggressors, winning just about every hustle
battle, in addition to making the necessary cut-them-off-at-the-pass shots as
the game unfolded.

But why? Why last night? Where has this desire, this scrap, this grit been
hiding itself? If Bill Cartwright only knew . . .

"What we talked about before we came out is that if anything happens in this
game tonight, we are going to play harder than the Celtics," Cartwright
explained. "Forget the X's and O's. Let's just play harder than them. If we do
that, we'll be right there."

There were numerous examples of the Bulls putting this plan into action, but
one fourth-quarter example should suffice. With 42 seconds remaining, brawny
Eddy Curry (16 points, 14 rebounds) missed a pair of free throws. But Donyell
Marshall came flying in from absolutely nowhere, ripping the rebound of the
second clank away from a couple of startled Celtics to earn a pair of free
throws. He was hugged by Jalen Rose, and when he walked to the free throw line
there was a big grin on his face. You know what? He deserved that moment. He
had been busting his butt from the opening tap, salvaging a 1-for-10 shooting
night with 11 rebounds and 3 assists.

Nothing in the Bulls' immediate past hinted that they would play a
semi-inspired game last night. They arrived here without Tyson Chandler (back)
and Corrie Blount (ankle), which means the only available backup for the
foul-plagued Curry was the game, but undersized Lonny Baxter. It didn't
matter. Nothing mattered. The Celtics had programmed themselves to lose this
game, and the Bulls had certainly programmed themselves to win it.

Did playing Tuesday night have anything to do with the grim Boston second-half
performance? Stand back while Coach O'Brien takes his Sammy Sosa cut at that
one.

"I sure as hell hope not," he snarled. "If we can't play back-to-back games,
that's 19 games we're going to lose. I attribute it to the Bulls outplaying
us."

Oh, and as for that pleasing attempt at implementing some transition that
Danny Ainge was hoping to see this season? Not that the Celtics are the second
coming of the 1987 Lakers but their performance in the running game was
astonishing, even by modern NBA standards. The number of transition points for
your Boston Celtics last night? None. Zip. Zero. Zilch. Nada. Squat. Let's
hope they hide this information from one Arnold J. Auerbach. He may opt for a
seance to contact the spirit of Sonny Werblin and decide to take that Knicks
job, after all.

The game was a disappointment, and a reminder that the 2003-04 Boston Celtics,
while possessing some good qualities, have got to follow the nightly blueprint
if they hope to succeed. "I'm sure everybody in our franchise is frustrated
right now because we let an opportunity get away," O'Brien said. "But there is
potential growth. You learn from your mistakes, and we made a lot of mistakes
tonight that were very, very correctable."

LeBron's on his way. You would think the players on this team would have a
strong desire to make sure they don't get upstaged by The Kid tomorrow night.

But you would be wise to make no assumptions. And when teams like this get
together I'll never understand what would possess anyone to place a bet. If
the coaches have no clue, why should any of us?

Thanks,

Steve
sb@xxxxxxxxxxxx