Fitch Uses Triple-Tower Lineup to Defeat Nets

1981-82 Boston Celtics

It was like uprooting the Sears Tower in Chicago and planting it firmly between the World Trade Center buildings in New York. Bill Fitch had to do something. The Celtics were trailing the lowly Nets, 20-10, so Fitch played his three top centers. Simultaneously.

Folks were still buzzing about the sequoia lineup when the Celtics practiced at Hellenic College yesterday. It was the first time Fitch had gone with a 249-inch, 695-pound frontcourt of Robert Parish, Rick Robey and Kevin McHale. Average height: 6-11. Fitch admitted, "it was a football team out there."

The move worked. New Jersey's Buck Williams was finally contained and Boston was on its way to a 109-100 victory. But Fitch isn't sure if we'll see more of the treetop trio when the Celtics open a back-to-back, neutral-and- home court series with Atlanta in Hartford tonight.

"We did it to get them out of their flow," Fitch said. "It got results last night, but I'd hate to have a steady diet of it."

Robey enjoyed the experiment. "I really didn't feel out of position," he said. "It was an awful big lineup and that made it nice underneath. One time Kevin and I kind of played taps under the boards (McHale finally scored on the fourth offensive tap). It might be something we could use against certain teams when you want to control the boards. Our tempo really didn't slow down."

With Tiny Archibald (flu) doubtful for the weekend, Fitch must continue to be resourceful. It helps to remember that the coach got 43 sparkling minutes from Gerald Henderson (27 points) Wednesday while Larry Bird chipped in with a nifty 10-minute stint in the backcourt.

"Larry's always played back there for us," said Fitch, "but now he might play five more minutes at guard than he's been doing."

Archibald hasn't touched a ball since Monday and probably won't make the trip. "He's having trouble keeping fluids," said trainer Ray Melchiorre. "When I talked to him on the phone today he sounded terrible."

Rookie Danny Ainge, now an NBA veteran of ten minutes and two points, looks more comfortable every day and will probably get more playing time against the Hawks.

This marks the only back-to-back series of the year. The Celtics were 4-2 vs. the Hawks in each of the last two seasons and beat Atlanta last month, 98-90. Parish had 22 points in that game and Bird added 16 points and 15 rebounds . . . Don't look for M.L. Carr to be activated until Dec. 22. That's the salary cutoff date. Anybody on the roster then must be paid for the rest of the season . . . New Jersey coach Larry Brown fired this shot before leaving town Wednesday: "It's in the best interest of the league to have Danny (Ainge) playing in the NBA, but it's not in the best interest of the league to have him play in Boston. It's like giving the World Champs the No. 1 choice in the draft. Dallas surely would have chosen him No. 1 if they thought he would be available. I don't think it was fair to allow him to play here. I'm not begrudging the Celtics anything, but I think he should have been in a separate category in the draft. We seriously considered taking him with our third No. 1 pick, the 18th choice in the draft, but I coached Danny in two All-Star games and he assured me he was going to play baseball. It's fortunate for him that he can come in and learn and be disciplined without the pressure of having to turn a situation around." . . . The Celtics will spend the night in Hartford, roll out of bed at 5:30 a.m., and leave their hotel for the airport at 6:30.