Welsch earns starting slot

["Stephen Beauregard" <sb@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Welsch earns starting slot
By Shira Springer, Globe Staff, 11/30/2003

MILWAUKEE -- Jiri Welsch is the Celtics' starting small forward. This may seem
like an obvious point since the young Czech acquired from Dallas has started
the last three games.

      ADVERTISEMENT

But there have been others who have come and gone at that spot, and now Welsch
is the choice of coach Jim O'Brien for the foreseeable future.

"I'm not trying things out with Jiri at small forward," said O'Brien. "Let's
put it this way, I'm very comfortable with Jiri at small forward because he
defends well against really good players and our offense works better with
Jiri on the court, works with more of a rhythm, a flow to it, than when any
other small forward is on the court."

In last night's 100-94 loss to the Bucks, Welsch had 7 points, 7 rebounds, 5
assists, and 3 steals in 37 minutes.

"He's starting and it's not for the time being. I'll let you know if that
changes. But right now, consider him our starter."

With Welsch in the starting lineup, Kedrick Brown and Jumaine Jones have
become the odd men out. Friday night against the Bucks, O'Brien did not play
Brown or Jones at all.

In Friday's game, O'Brien thought the Celtics had "better options" with
Welsch, Walter McCarty, and Eric Williams dividing time at small forward.
Welsch tied a career high with 8 points -- including a clutch 3-pointer that
essentially sealed the victory -- and had six rebounds in 29 minutes Friday.

"I'm feeling better every day," said Welsch. "It's easier for me to play on
offense if you've got three great scorers like Paul [Pierce], Vin [Baker] and
[Williams]. All the attention of the defense is drawn to them, so I was just
left wide open a couple times, so I made those shots."

Welsch is averaging 3.4 points and 1.9 rebounds in 15.1 minutes. O'Brien
remains confident those numbers will improve.


Unlikely hero The Celtics' impressive second-quarter comeback was led by an
unlikely suspect, Mark Blount, who earns playing time and praise for his
defense. As Pierce found him under the basket for easy layups and Mike James
and Marcus Banks hit him for short jumpers, Blount scored 9 points during the
Celtics' 26-4 run. Blount scored 11 of his season-high 13 points in the second
and played 23 minutes last night. "Mark Blount was really outstanding for us
tonight," said O'Brien. "Guys did a good job of finding him down low early and
he was finishing plays. Defensively, he is very good for us right now." . . .
Banks had another solid passing night with four assists and just one
turnover.

Starts with `D' Porter, the eighth head coach in Bucks history, has placed a
heavy emphasis on defense, hoping to build a reputation and an identity as a
tough-minded defensive team. "I'm trying to set a tone for what we need to be
successful," said Porter, who took the job Aug. 6, returning him to his
hometown. "For us, it starts at the defensive end." . . . One of the players
certain to add toughness to the Bucks lineup is Erick Strickland, who spent
the 2001-02 season with Boston. "I'm not playing much right now, but it's
cool," said Strickland. "It's just a matter of whenever you're given the
opportunity, you've got to make the best of it." Strickland scored 11 points
in 25 minutes last night.

Thanks,

Steve
sb@xxxxxxxxxxxx

[demime 1.01b removed an attachment of type image/gif which had a name of longs_bigad_100203_1.gif]