Heinsohn Weighs In
Tommy Heinsohn has seen the glory. And the gory.
A Celtic in one form or another since 1956, he is once again aglow as his team heads into the playoffs.
``This is a team,'' said Heinsohn, adding proper emphasis to that last word. ``The other teams in the league are a combination of players. This is a team.
``They've got three guys averaging 20 points or under leading the offense and they're happy. The three of them learned that when everyone's a threat it's easier for them to win, and that's all they want to do now. All the personal accolades aren't as fulfilling to them as what's happening right now.''
What's happening now - the best record in the NBA - is something many thought impossible before last summer. A large number of Celtics fans had come to believe that it would take many more years to build a team this good - and they doubted whether the current regime was capable.
But Heinsohn saw signs. And they all led to his beloved running game.
``First of all, you needed someone at the top who believed in fast-break basketball, and then you needed somebody to teach it,'' he said. ``The first thing this team did right was get a guy in Danny Ainge who believed that if you play quick basketball rather than big basketball, the talent pool is bigger.
``The next thing they had to do was find a coach who believes in using quickness and knows how to coach it. I think Doc Rivers has done a great job. He's the guy who developed all the players that made those trades possible. All the grunt work was done in developing those players.''
Looking ahead, Heinsohn points with pride to the expectations that now accompany the Celtics.
``All I know is somebody will have to play really, really great to beat them,'' he said. ``The Celtics are going to play hard and they're going to play unselfishly. It's not a matter of stopping KG (Kevin Garnett). It's not a matter of stopping Paul (Pierce). It's not a matter of stopping Ray Allen. You have to stop the whole team.
``They're going to be tough to beat because they play like a team. You're going to see everyone make a contribution, from the starters to the bench. That's how you win.''
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