Maravich Debut Postponed

February 7, 1980

In the most crowded pregame scene in the memory of Celtic vice president Jeff Cohen, coach Bill Fitch held the first pregame locker-room press briefing he has ever needed. Fitch was explaining that Pete Maravich, while officially activated, would not dress for last night's game against the Philadelphia 76ers.

"I'm hoping he'll be ready to dress by Friday or Sunday," Fitch said. "He's not going to help anyone right now because he's not in shape."

Fitch also said that Dave Cowens, who was officially placed on the injured list following yesterday morning's workout, would be making the full West Coast trip with the team, even though he won't be eligible to play until a week from Sunday, when the Celtics play Seattle in the CBS Game of the Week.

"I want to take Dave with us," Fitch said, "because it's the only way he has to work out. Now we have a target date. And if Pete doesn't work out, we can put him back on the injured list (Maravich still has a groin pull) when we bring back Dave."

Fitch stressed that the decision to deactivate Cowens was a joint one, utilizing the opinions of general manager Red Auerbach, team physician Thomas Silva, trainer Ray Melchiorre, assistant coach K.C Jones and, most important, Cowens.

"There was no guesstimate on the state of his health," Fitch said. "We've had three days of conversation with Dave to see how he feels."

Cowens hyperextended his left big toe Jan. 22 while playing against the Houston Rockets. He has not played since, but the team went out and won five of its next six games with Rick Robey and Eric Fernsten playing center.

Last night's sellout crowd was the 19th capacity gathering of the season and the 10th in the last 13 games . . . Julius Erving had led or tied for the 76er scoring lead in 24 of the last 27 games. He was over 30 points 10 times in that stretch . . . Tomorrow night will be New Bedford Night as the Celtics welcome the Indiana Pacers and George McGinnis. Olympic boxing hopeful Andre McCoy, a New Bedford product, will be honored . . . Gerald Henderson, the most improved player on the Celtics, had scored in double figures in seven straight games . . . Chris Ford's latest consecutive-game streak on three-pointers is nine, including one last night, and he has connected on at least one bomberoo in 33 of his previous 36 games . . . Cedric Maxwell, who again leads the league in field-goal percentage, was going up against his toughest defensive opponent last night in 7-foot Caldwell Jones. Maxwell had been a hot man from the foul line, sinking 42 of his last 49 for an .857 percentage. Jones blocked Maxwell's first four attempts from the floor when they last met back on Dec. 22 . . . Larry Bird, who had carried the Celtics to four straight victories, continued to lead the team in scoring (19.3), rebounding (10.4) and steals (103) while ranking second in assists (4.3).