1983-84 Boston Celtics
Record 30-9
January 18, 1984
The Celtics and the first snowflakes touched down simultaneously early yesterday afternoon. Back from a six-day, 2-1 road trip through Philadelphia, Milwaukee and Kansas City, the Celtics will take on the Indiana Pacers at the Hartford Civic Center tomorrow night. This will be the Celtics' first Hartford visit since their "Slip Slidin' Away" adventure in the nation's insurance capital on Dec. 9.
It was on the floor of the Civic Center that the franchise, Larry Bird, slipped and strained ligaments in his right knee. Bird sat out the next two games and placed blame for his injury on those who had prepared the surface of the Hartford hardwood. "I'm pretty disgusted about it," Bird said three days after playing in Hartford. "You go down there to play a game and the floor is in that kind of condition. I'm disappointed in the people who said they would take care of it and didn't."
And Celtics trainer Ray Melchiorre added, "It happened because of the oil or wax they put on the floor." All parties now seem confident that there will be no problem at the Civic Center tomorrow night. "It should be all right," said Bird, who scored 38 against the Kings Tuesday. "I'm sure it won't be like that again. I don't think we'd start the game if it was."
Melchiorre said he will make sure of that. "I will take a good look at it when we get there," he said yesterday. "I feel it's my responsibility to know about any problems before the game starts. I made remarks about the last incident mainly because I was mad at myself. "This time, I'm going to bring a gallon of alcohol and go over the floor with a towel and alcohol if it needs it. I was remiss in not doing something about it last time."
Celtics assistant general manager Jan Volk had discussions with Civic Center authorities after the Dec. 9 game and feels certain that the floor will be playable. "I didn't hear anything that disturbed me about the way it was serviced last time," said Volk. "I don't think the procedure they were doing was wrong, but maybe it wasn't allowed to dry sufficiently." Kevin Hood, operations manager of the Hartford Civic Center, said after the Bird injury that " . . . on the morning of the game, we spot clean it with a multipurpose Butcher's Wax compound. We wipe it off afterward, and it's not greasy. I'm not saying this wasn't the cause, but, as far as I can tell, it wasn't."
Yesterday, Hood said, "We've used the floor twice since and certainly didn't have any complaints. If anything was on there then, it is not now . . . Maybe one of my guys screwed up that night. I don't think I'll ever have an answer, but we'll polish it up good for Larry Bird this time. We will clean it with a degreaser and then clean it again with vinegar." The University of Connecticut played on the Hartford court last night, but the floor was taken up for a Whalers' game tonight. The floor willl be laid down and treated again tomorrow morning.
"We have never had problems in the past," said Volk, "and I don't expect we will again." Bird's high-scoring games this year: 41 against Portland, 39 versus Detroit, 38 against San Antonio and Kansas City, and 36 vs. Dallas . . . Cedric Maxwell has taken only five shots in his last two games . . . Quinn Buckner (1-of-9 shooting) had a rough road trip and played only eight minutes Tuesday night . . . The Celtics are 3-0 vs. Indiana this season . . . In honor of a series of early wakeup calls and flights, trainer/ traveling secretary Melchiorre's new nickname is "Red-eye Ray."
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