Iverson got an eyeful of Pierce

["Stephen Beauregard" <sb@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Iverson got an eyeful of Pierce
By Shira Springer, Globe Staff, 11/22/2003

PHILADELPHIA -- Allen Iverson knows a little something about taking over a
game on offense. But last night, he was a biased spectator watching Paul
Pierce work in the fourth quarter. Pierce almost single-handedly delivered a
victory by scoring 13 of the Celtics' final 17 points. But since the Sixers
prevailed, 87-85, Iverson was in a charitable mood when commenting on Pierce's
play.

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"When something like that is happening, I would hope that I was at home
watching him do it to somebody else instead of doing it to us," said Iverson.
"You like it when you see it on TV, you just don't like it when a guy is doing
it to your team. I wish him all the success all the time unless he's playing
us."

Meanwhile, Iverson (24 points on 8-for-25 shooting) was largely contained by
the defensive efforts of Kedrick Brown, who drew praise from coach Jim
O'Brien.

"I thought Kedrick did a really fantastic job on Iverson," said O'Brien.
"Marcus [Banks] did an OK job, but I thought Kedrick had a really strong
defensive game. He forced Allen into under 33 percent shooting.

"We had a good effort on [Iverson] and other players for them stepped up."

Baker gets bulky

If you think you're seeing more of Vin Baker these days, you're right. And
it's not because he's averaging 33 minutes a game.

Since arriving for training camp "too thin" in the estimation of O'Brien,
Baker has added about 5 pounds of muscle. While he has yet to feel the
benefits of the extra weight, Baker believes it's only a matter of time, and a
couple more pounds.

"I've been doing more lifting, eating a little bit more, putting some more
carbs in me," said Baker, who had 22 points last night. "But really, I think
I've made a more concentrated effort to get in the weight room a little bit
more and get stronger.

"I don't want to put back the nasty weight. I want to put back some strength,
some muscle."

On the offensive

Eric Williams prefers to be viewed as a defensive player. But his offensive
statistics deserve a closer look. He is averaging double figures (11.3 points
per game), giving O'Brien hope that the Celtics have found a third scoring
option behind Pierce and Baker.

There is, however, another eye-catching number next to Williams's name. He has
just five assists all season. Total. Williams did miss three games with a
bruised right knee, but even Raef LaFrentz, who's averaging comparable minutes
and missed his fourth game last night because of right knee tendinitis, has
11.

O'Brien sees it merely as a byproduct of what he asks Williams to do.

"He knows that I want him to get to the foul line and I want him to score,"
said O'Brien. "I think he is so focused on that element that he doesn't always
see a guy that might be open. That's not a bad thing because he is so good at
getting to the foul line, so good at posting up. I would think as the year
goes along, as teams focus their energies on stopping him more and more, he
will find the open man."

New Ford in town

There was a very familiar face on the Sixers bench. Former Celtics player and
coach Chris Ford joined the Philadelphia staff as an assistant in the
offseason. He returned to the NBA after coaching two seasons at Brandeis.
"It's going well," said Ford. "It's very nice to be back home. This is where I
started. I went to Villanova. I'm living out on the Jersey shore, at my summer
home year-round. It's a great organization, working with [coach] Randy
[Ayers]. Billy King is a great young general manager. We have a great staff.
It's fun to be back in the NBA and see all my friends and family on a regular
basis now." . . . The Celtics' struggles on the boards continued. The Sixers,
one of the worst rebounding teams in the league, outrebounded Boston, 40-35.
The Sixers got a strong contribution on the glass from Kenny Thomas, who had
12 rebounds.

Thanks,

Steve
sb@xxxxxxxxxxxx