Dee Brown and Brian Shaw Leading Defensive Turnaround

Remembering the 29-5 Start
1990-91 Boston Celtics

Chris Ford has said all along that scoring wouldn't be a problem. At 113.5 points a game, he's right. The Celtics can and should be able to light it up.

But Ford's Celtics are 2-0 heading into tonight's game with the Bulls in part because of a heretofore missing but essential side of the game: aggressive, pressure defense and the capability to implement and sustain such a scheme.

They couldn't do it in the recent past because of the team's makeup. They can, and do it now because the players are there --and the coach demands it.

Two pivotal stretches from Saturday's 106-103 comebacker over the Knicks illustrate Boston's renewed and successful defensive mindset. An 18-2 third-quarter run was keyed by pressure from the perimeter applied by Dee Brown and Brian Shaw.

Then, equally telling, the Celtics produced a game-breaking defensive stand in the fourth quarter. After the Knicks took a 93-89 lead, Ford took a judicious timeout. The Celtics then proceeded to rip apart New York for 10 unanswered points and take

firm control of the game. There still were four minutes left, but the Knicks never got closer than 3 points. All good NBA teams can put together such a defensive stretch; Detroit makes a living out of it. It is something the Celtics failed to do time and again last season, and only time will tell if this is a beginning or an aberration.

"I am really pleased with our defense," Ford said yesterday after a practice at Hellenic College. "Guys are getting back, tightening up, and challenging everyone. Now, we'll see how we handle Michael Jordan. The guys really dug down defensively and made a stand. That's what's going to determine whether we can be a really good team."

In two games, the Celtics have been a pretty good team. They have allowed 102 points a game. Opponents are shooting a meager 40.8 percent. Even more revealing, especially in the Knicks game, are the fourth-quarter heroics. In the two games, the Celtics have allowed a total of 41 points in the fourth quarter, including 19 by the Knicks.

In New York, the Knicks shot 26 percent (5 for 19) and would have gone the final 2 minutes without a basket had not Mark Jackson thrown in a no-consequence 3-pointer at the buzzer. In Boston's 10-0 run, three of the baskets were layups off the break and another was a short jumper by Reggie Lewis. Shaw even blocked a shot by Patrick Ewing and outpositioned Charles Oakley for one of his four rebounds in the quarter. The Knicks were held scoreless for 3 minutes 16 seconds.

What Ford also likes about his new defensive look is the lack of unfettered drives to the basket by the opposition. In the past, fleet guards had simply blown by Boston's perimeter defense and gone in for unmolested dnks or layups. The message now is clear: deny. If that can't happen, then the big guys must challenge.

Ford still is uncertain about his small forward position, which is being offered to Ed Pinckney and Michael Smith. Neither has shown anything. Smith was a disaster against the Knicks, lasting the first four minutes. Pinckney didn't even play against New York after going 12 inconsequential minutes against the Cavaliers.

The coach is reluctant to put Lewis into that spot on a permanent basis, saying, "I'm happy with the four-guard rotation we have now." That is not to say that Lewis won't see time there when Ford goes for a smaller lineup, but he wants someone else to take the position.

"I need someone to come forward," said Ford, who is leaning toward Pinckney tonight. "I had to play Larry and Reggie more than I wanted to because no one has won that position. I'd prefer to spread things around."