Celtics Stuck in Slide

March 18, 1983

FITCH HARD PUT TO EXPLAIN SLIDE

Bill Fitch, the troubled Celtics coach, took the witness stand yesterday. He displayed patience while testifying about the recent woes of his stumbling team. A transcript of his remarks revealed the following:



- He admitted he's just as mystified as anyone else in attempting to explain why his once-proud Celtics are suddenly experiencing horrendous times.

- He scoffed at the suggestion that there might be some unhappiness - and possibly dissension - among his players.

- He declined to blame any individual player for the Celtics' tailspin, maintaining that it was a team breakdown.

- He said he'll continue to use Tiny Archibald off the bench, confining the veteran guard's playing time to 26 or less minutes.

Fitch, for the first time since coming here as coach in 1979, finds himself taking some heat. He and his Celtics are now on trial every time they take the Garden floor. In a town where 14 NBA championship flags hang from the Garden rafters, Celtics fans do not take lightly the team's present plight. They share the fear that the Celtics may never recover their confidence or poise in time for the NBA playoffs.

With the revitalized New Jersey Nets providing tonight's opposition (WRKO, 7:30), the Celtics may still find themselves swimming against the tide. Only three games separate the second-place Celtics and third-place Nets in the Atlantic Division.

The Nets, paced by Darryl Dawkins, Albert King and Michael Ray Richardson, have four straight victories. The Celtics, on the other hand, have lost four in a row. The Nets haven't forgotten that it was the Celtics who blew them out here in January, 133-108, and ruined their 11-game victory string.

In four meetings this year, the Nets have topped the Celtics once. That was last Friday when they whipped Boston in New Jersey, 98-93, in a game that included the ejection of Larry Bird in the first half. Bird left that one after scoring eight points. Bird had scored 38-26-30 in three previous games against the Nets.

Fitch said he didn't know if the Celtics' improved performance in Wednesday night's 105-100 loss to the 76ers in Philadelphia was the forerunner of better things to come. He said his job would be easier if he were able to pinpoint just one isolated area where the team has gone wrong.

Fitch's coaching philosophy for the rest of the season is to "do the things you always did when you were winning. We'll have to work our way out it."

The beleaguered Celtics coach doesn't agree that his players may have become too cocky, entertaining the idea that they could turn it off and on when they choose and still win games.

If any of his players are disenchanted with him, Fitch said he's unaware of it. "If there's a problem at anytime, we sit down and dicuss it," he said. "If you're talking about brow beating, I probably should have done more of it."

Fitch said he feels that Archibald, who was sidelined for four days with a sinus condition, is at about 75 percent of maximum ability. "I'd like to keep him under 26 minutes of playing time for the rest of the season," said Fitch.

Archibald, in his return to action, scored five points in 13 minutes against the 76ers.

Fitch's goal for the remainder of the regular season? "Winning the rest of the games that count, and finishing second in our division."