1988 NBA Playoffs: Pitino Dares Ainge

5/3/1988

Excuse me, Mr. Ainge. May we have your attention, please?

"Danny Ainge should break out with a big game on Wednesday night," says Rick Pitino. "We've done a very good job of taking away the three-pointers, but it isn't doing us any good. We're going back to the idea of harassing the inside people, and whatever happens on the perimeter, happens."

The Knicks coach figures that since one reason his team is staring at a 2-0 series deficit against the Celtics is that he's getting killed inside, he's got nothing much to lose in trying to make somebody other than Kevin McHale and Robert Parish beat him. Of course, he still has no answer for Larry Bird, who has scored 29 and 36 points, without necessitating much more than an 8-second shower in so doing.

What Pitino needs if his team is to somewhat limit Bird's offensive efficiency is looser officiating. Hue Hollins and Ed Rush called 'em very tight Sunday, allowing a minimum of outside contact. McHale and Bird shot a combined 27 free throws, making 25. The Knicks aren't shooting well enough from the floor to offset that kind of foul line differential, which brings Pitino to his next problem.

Without offense, the Knicks can't press on defense.

"And we not only have to score," explains Pitino, "but we must score inside. That's when you can set up your press better. When it's a long shot, people can't get into position as easily."

More than anything else, New York's impotent offense has created the current situation. The Celtics have benefited greatly from two significant spurts. The first was a run of 32-9 when they were down by 3 in Game 1. The second was a run of 25-9 that changed a 4-point one-quarter lead (29-25) into a 54-34 advantage with just under four minutes left in the first half of Game 2. When Boston started scoring, New York just couldn't keep up.

"In the first game, we took some bad shots, which helped them out," Pitino says. "On Sunday we missed some good shots. We moved the ball well. We had some excellent ball reversal out of the post, but people couldn't knock down the shots."

New York won't go any farther unless it gets more scoring, particularly from the corners, where the Bird-McHale duo has outscored Knick starters Kenny Walker and Sidney Green by an eye-opening 118-24 margin.

"We've got to pick up two or three players who can give us some offense," stresses Pitino.

Once they do, Pitino figures the basketball world will see a truly terrifying Patrick Ewing.

"He was a great player in college because he had a very good supporting cast," Pitino says. "He knows how to complement people. He runs well, he challenges people and he has that boyish enthusiasm for the game. The last part of his game left to come around is post passing, and he's really improved in that area. When we get somebody who can stick it from the corner, it will become a delight for anybody to play with Patrick Ewing."

Right now the only Knick forward who can shoot that way, even in spurts, is Johnny Newman, who had his regular-season moments. And now? "He's up against better people," says Pitino.

The coach knows he's running out of time and strategies. But he won't stop trying, and he wants Ainge to know he'd better oil up the shooting arm, because tomorrow night the shots will be there.