1983-84 Boston Celtics
Record: 8-1
Date: 11/14/1983
He knows his minutes and numbers are down, but he also knows it was dissension and selfishness that ripped the heart out of the 1982-83 Celtics. So Danny Ainge sits in silence, helping when he can, and ponders his future. "One thing I'm not going to do, no matter what, is complain," said Ainge, who will be on the bench when the Celtics tap off against the Nuggets tonight.
He may not complain, but Ainge isn't the jovial prankster he was four weeks ago. As his minutes have dwindled, he has become slightly withdrawn. "It might be affecting me personally and, to be honest, I don't believe the Celtic system is the ideal situation for me," he said. "But I wouldn't trade it to go to a losing team which had an ideal situation for me."
Ainge is a 24-year-old talent dying a slow death on the end of the Celtics bench. Dennis Johnson has taken Ainge's starting spot and is averaging 30 minutes per game. Gerald Henderson (23 minutes per game) is the other backcourt starter, and Quinn Buckner (19 minutes) is also getting more time than Ainge. In the last week, M. L. Carr, Carlos Clark and even Larry Bird have been employed in the Celtics backcourt.
Thus far, Ainge is the loser in Boston's backcourt numbers game. He is averaging 16.4 minutes per game, down from last year's 25.6. His scoring average has dropped from last season's 9.9 to 5.1, and his shots-per-game, from 9.0 to 3.7. "It's an easy living," he said with a chuckle. "I haven't had to work very hard.
"Everybody on the team is going to have to sacrifice minutes this year. It's something we're going to have to live with. Hopefully, it won't be any problem. I'm trying to keep a positive attitude. I'm not discouraged yet. If things were to continue like this for the whole year, I'm not saying I'd have a bad attitude, but it would become harder to contribute. A lot of times, when you play eight or 10 minutes, you don't even feel like you're in the game."
Ainge is shooting 56 percent (19-34) from the floor and has committed only seven turnovers in nine games. He came off the bench effectively in the closing minutes of Saturday's eighth-straight victory in Chicago, and coach K. C. Jones was quick to point out Ainge's contribution. Bench work is tough duty when you're a consensus All America who gave up major league baseball to star in the NBA.
"It's difficult," Ainge conceded. "Players like M. L. (Carr) and Scott (Wedman) have established themselves as great players in this league. It's tougher for someone who's trying to establish himself. That's the only thing that frustrates me." The trade rumors don't bother him. Newspapers, talk shows and barrooms have already traded him to Chicago (for Reggie Theus), Golden State (for Russell Cross) and Utah (for a first-round pick), but Ainge says, "Red (Auerbach) and K. C. always say that's a bunch of garbage."
"Right now I feel good because I'm thinking of the team more than myself. If this were to be my role for the rest of my career, I might get tired of it, but I understand, and I'll try to make the best of it." Denver coach Doug Moe expects to be working tonight.
MISC
The league is investigating Saturday night's incident in which Moe poured water on referee Tommie Wood. It is expected that Moe will be fined and possibly suspended sometime tomorrow . . . The Celtics won here last year, scoring a 1982-83 NBA record 85 points in a half . . . The Celtics play the Jazz in Salt Lake City tomorrow night, entertain the Knicks in the Garden Friday and play the Sixers in the Spectrum Saturday night.
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