Cornbread Helps C's to 4-1 Start

1983-84 Boston Celtics
Record: 4-1
11/7/1983

It seems that the natural order of things has returned. The NBA season is only five games old, but the Celtics and 76ers are tied for the top spot in the Atlantic Division with 4-1 records. Is this the way it's going to be all year? Have the temporarily wayward Celtics returned to their 1979-82 plateau? Are the Celtics and Sixers going to be eyeball to eyeball for these next six months?

"I think so," says Cedric Maxwell, who has been through more Boston-Philly wars than any active Celtic. "I think we're going to be a good team. As long as we're healthy and have the kind of attitude we have now, I don't see why we can't win it all. Our talent is as good as Philadelphia, and we're one of the few teams that's been able to play them head to head. "But," he cautions, "it's still too early. You can't divide five into 82 and get any kind of measure of what kind of a year we're going to have. I think cautious optimism' is a good expression for what we have right now.

"We have a lot of room for improvement. We've had big leads and let teams come back. But we are more relaxed under K.C. (Jones) and it shows on the court. When we make mistakes we don't get down on ourselves, and K.C. doesn't get down on us." The Celtics played solid basketball for three quarters in Saturday night's 120-117 victory over the Bullets. In the final period, Washington rookie Jeff Malone exploded for 15 points and the Celtics watched a 22-point lead dwindle to three by the time the buzzer sounded.

The victory was Boston's fourth straight. Only once in those four games have the Celtics trailed - when Washington held a 2-0 lead Saturday. "In the last three games, we've played the way we want to play," says Jones, who was happy about his triumphant return to the scene of his 1976 firing. "We've been getting out fast with the break and all of our defensive work has paid off. We've missed some shots and had some turnovers, but overall, the guys are sharing and picking up the load."

Quietly, Maxwell has been doing a lot of the sharing and picking up. He hit five of six shots from the floor, nine of 10 from the line and had 19 points Saturday. In five games he has averaged 33 minutes, 13 points and 6.4 rebounds while hitting 63 percent (17-27) from the floor and 76 percent (31-41) from the line. He's done all this while shutting down Cleveland's Cliff Robinson, Milwaukee's Marques Johnson (only 7 points vs. the Celtics) and most other rival small forwards.

"I probably had those same numbers at this time last year," says Maxwell. "People feel I'm happier this year, and that is reflected in my play. Basically, I always have the same role. Some nights I'm going to score a lot of points and some nights I'm not. Defensively, every game I'm picking up the other team's toughest forward. There hasn't been an easy one yet."