Paxson Making an Impact (87-88)

March 1988

For at least the second time -- perhaps a conservative estimate -- since Jim Paxson joined the Celtics three weeks ago, the team won a game Tuesday night it would not have won without him.
This, of course, is what both parties had in mind when Paxson was obtained from Portland Feb. 24. This union was viewed as the perfect marriage of team and player need in the entire NBA when it happened.

"It's definitely what I hoped would happen," Paxson says. "I didn't expect to come in and play 30 minutes and score 20 points a game, but I did want to come in here and contribute. I was hoping to get in ballgames at crunch time and be productive. I feel I've helped the team in that kind of a role and I hope it continues."

Paxson was on the floor during the early part of the fourth quarter against the Pacers, and he was a big-time player. He scored three baskets and made a big steal, with

each hoop entirely different. He cut from the left corner across the lane for a pass from Dennis Johnson, he posted up on the right box for a short turnaround ("No one's posted me up in about four years") and he stole an outlet pass and nailed a corner jumper. These were vital plays in a tense ballgame that wound up in a 119-113 Celtics triumph.

Paxson is still assessing the events which brought him to Boston. The two-time All-Star and leading scorer in Trail Blazer history fell from grace rather quickly, because of a combination of an injury to his right big toe and the ascendancy of Clyde Drexler, a certified All-Star.

"It seems that when a guy is a starter here (Boston), unless he falls off the face of the earth, the job is his if he suffers a short-term injury," says Paxson. "I had given six good years to the Trail Blazers, but when I hurt my toe, I became bench-ridden and had a hard time getting back in the flow. It also complicated matters that they had just signed me to a six-year contract."

Much has been said and written about that contract. All league executives are interested in the whys and wherefores of just how Celtics general manager Jan Volk and Paxson's agent, Larry Fleisher, "restructured" the contract in order to fit him into the Boston salary cap. Some GMs are full of praise for Paxson, who is widely viewed to have lost money in the deal.

Paxson confirms that while he lost "a little" guaranteed money in the maneuverings, it was an easy call. "Obviously," he says, "something had to be worked out (Paxson was drawing $875,000 this year, and the Celtics had no more than 60 percent of that available). And, sure, everybody enjoys playing for its own sake. At the same time, it is a business and you've got to think about security for your family. But getting to come here was an opportunity I was probably not going to have again in my career, and I had to take it."

Paxson explains that while his injured toe will never be 100 percent, he's much better following surgery last October. The injury originally occurred during a playoff game in his second year when he was landed on by Denver's Bill Hanzlik. "It was back when they used to throw me alley-oops," laughs the 30-year-old guard. "Hanzlik came down on me, and I felt something rip."

The toe became more of an issue over the years as the process of NBA basketball caused a protective capsule to wear down, leaving Paxson with a bone-on-bone situation by last summer. After consulting three doctors, he finally had the operation in October, not returning to action until January, at which point he was a Blazer afterthought.

"It feels much better now," he says, "although I'm still getting used to the feel. I have a heavier shoe now."

Paxson has been everything he was advertised to be, and K.C. Jones has discovered his value in more and more second-half pressure situations. The pattern is for Paxson to make a somewhat abbreviated first-half appearance, usually with a number of fellow bench people. He often runs around aimlessly in the first half. In both the San Antonio and Tuesday night Pacer games, he touched the ball one time on offense during the first half.

The second-half pattern is different. He gets in as a replacement for a starting guard and is usually out there with the Larry Birds and Kevin McHales. There is usually a dramatic increase in production during these second halves (see accompanying chart).

He didn't come with a money-back guarantee, but it would have been safe for the Celtics if he had. The Celtics and Jim Paxson will have a very long honeymoon.