Ramon Rivas Using His Size

October 28, 1988

CELTICS SURGE IN 3D, BELT BUCKS, 128-84

Forget the score. Sure, a basketball crowd estimated to be the largest in Maine history had to sit through the Celtics' 128-84 exhibition thrashing of the Milwaukee Bucks in Cumberland County Civic Center last night. But weep not for the customers.



The grand performance presented by the quintet of Larry Bird, Robert Parish, Kevin McHale, Brian Shaw and Reggie Lewis in the third quarter was worth the price of admission -- plus a hot dog, a few brews, a Celtics souvenir program and indoor parking.

The five, who proved to be a frightening combination of size and speed, engaged in such flawless and entertaining basketball that coach Jimmy Rodgers left them out there for the entire 12 minutes.

In that time, the Celtics played like a championship team, swinging the ball when they needed to, rebounding nearly every miss on the defensive end and showing flashes of the transition excellence that is so important to their new coach.

The assault began innocently enough, with Parish (13 points) swishing two free throws at 10:30 to give the Celtics a 61-52 lead. From there, New England's team proceeded to torpedo Milwaukee with a razor-sharp 33-11 run.

How devastating was it? At one point, the Celtics scored on 12 straight possessions, and overall, the success rate was 16 of 17. By the time the unconscious offensive surge ended with a Bird (24 points) lefty shot that scraped the front of the rim, the score was 92-65 and the Bucks were convinced they'd seen enough of the boys from Boston for one week.

"They did everything right," said Milwaukee rookie Jeff Grayer. "I watched those guys on TV when I was in college, and I knew they are good, but you figure if we execute a few things . . . we got so wrapped up in what they were doing it totally took us out of our game."

The offensive damage was done in equal doses by Parish (8 points, 4 rebounds in the third), McHale (9 points) and Bird (9 very creative points). As for the masters of momentum, Messrs. Lewis and Shaw, they are hoping this is one combination that sticks.

"You don't get tired when you play like that," said Lewis, a grin solidly in place. "When the buzzer went off, Brian and I said, 'Let's play some more.' "

Sorry, guys. One benefit of this delightful outburst was that it enabled Rodgers to stick with the game plan of allowing the lower end of his bench to log some minutes and make their case.

First in line with his resume was Ronnie Grandison, the 6-foot-8-inch tweener out of New Orleans who appeared to be hanging from the cliff of NBA extinction. If so, he smartly shifted himself three steps in from the edge with a spirited willingness to lead the team in floor burns and elbows to the head. In the process, Grandison hustled his way to 13 points and 6 rebounds in 16 minutes, with 3 of those rebounds on the offensive end and 2 of them resulting in baskets.

No. 31 looked comfortable filling the lanes and held his own defensively. In fact, one couldn't help but wonder that if Gerald Paddio remains tangled in a rookie funk, Grandison might make the coaching staff think twice about taking an agile forward with some speed over an agile guard with some speed who can't seem to kick into the system.

"I've learned in professional basketball that guys don't look to block out," said Grandison. "I try to gain position underneath, and if the ball comes lightly off the rim, it's mine.

"I wanted to show coach I can hit the boards and finish off the play."

Mission accomplished. In fact, all sorts of tidbits were plucked out of this exhibition contest, and let's stress the "exhibition."

How else do you explain the fact that the Bucks' leading scorers of seasons past (Sidney Moncrief) and present (Terry Cummings) were given the night off by coach Del Harris? Or that Grandison and Ennis Whatley were inserted into the game by the 3:12 mark of the first quarter?

The other rookie who again raised eyebrows was widebody Ramon Rivas (6 points, 4 rebounds, 3 turnovers), whose ability to take up the entire left side of the key in the first half obviously irritated Randy Breuer, the slender Milwaukee veteran who didn't like some new kid leaning on his back.

To express his displeasure, Breuer viciously threw Rivas to the floor not once but twice and escaped detection both times. The third time Breuer went for the rookie, he collided with Fred Roberts and left Rivas alone under the hoop for an easy two.

With the crowd cheering his every move, Rivas did not retaliate but waited for the next hit. It came with no time left on the clock, this time from Paul Mokeski. The foul was called, and Rivas hit one of the free throws. Thus, the Celtics trotted into the locker room with a 57-50 halftime lead, while an enraged Harris screamed at the officials, "You're giving that guy Rivas veteran calls, and he's not even going to be in the league."

Not necessarily. With one exhibition game left, the new kids on the block are making the decision on who stays and who goes an increasingly difficult one.