12.13.2018

Rough Days Ahead for Men in Green

May 8, 1983

Rough Days Ahead for C's

The complexions of the Boston Celtics matched their famed kelly-green uniforms after they had been swept by the Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA playoffs. "Embarrassing" and "sickening," Larry Bird said of the disastrous end to a disappointing season by lofty Celtic standards.



Amen, said Celtic fans. Consistent excellence is not a goal but a demand in Boston, because that's what the fans are used to. Although the Celtics' 56-26 regular-season record was third best in the league, there was much grousing because the team never made a serious run at the Philadelphia 76ers (65-17). In most other cities, 56-26 would merit a party.

Unable to challenge the Sixers and unchallenged by anyone below them, the Celtics spent the season on a treadmill. It didn't matter if they won or lost, which produced a malaise -- and bad habits.

Yet, there was the feeling that the Celtics would turn it on when it counted. Pride and tradition would be the difference, as it had been so often in the past. "The bottom line is that we're still the Celtics," Bird said just before the playoffs. "Ask L.A. and Philadelphia whom they fear, and I'll bet they say us."

There's no need to ask the Lakers or Sixers. The Bucks took care of that, leaving people wondering who those imposters in green were.

A Celtic trademark had always been their killer instinct when a game was on the line. The Bucks outscored them every fourth quarter, by a total of 27 points. In their last six playoff games, the Celtics failed to score 100 points after missing just 10 times in 82 regular-season games.

When it counted most, the Celts were flat, disorganized and tentative. They lacked the proper chemistry. The parts didn't fit together into a cohesive whole. Small cracks in the wall apparent all season became gaping holes.

When analyzing what went wrong, start with chemistry. In the past, the Celtics always had "role" players, spear carriers who had a specific ability and a specific responsibility and were content to carry it out. You recall the names over the years -- Loscutoff, Counts, Finkel, Naulls, Howell, Nelson, Bryant, Siegfried, Cheney, Silas, Ford, Duerod, Fernsten, etc.

Not so this year. Coach Bill Fitch shuffled bodies in and out all season and talked of "quality minutes" in an effort to keep everyone happy, but the Celtics paid a steep price. "There were so many changes in the lineup that there were times we didn't move the ball around like in the past; the flow and timing were a step behind," Bird said.

The Celtic shuffle was most marked in the backcourt, where they had quantity but not quality in Danny Ainge, Nate Archibald, Gerald Henderson and Quinn Buckner. Fitch never could decide who should play. He used six different starting combinations, and all four guards started at least five games. In the fourth quarter of the final game against the Bucks, the Celtics still were frantically shuttling guards.

The only Celtic who did little but gather splinters was forward Scott Wedman, a fine shooter obtained Jan. 14 from Cleveland for rarely used rookie Darren Tillis and the Celtics' No. 1 draft choice. It was considered a steal at the time, but Fitch let Wedman and his $600,000 salary languish on the bench.

President and General Manager Red Auerbach, who candidly discussed Celtic mistakes this year recently in The Boston Globe, vows that will not happen again. "He is not just a hamburger," Auerbach said. "He is a fine player. He should play more."

That's obviously a shot at Fitch, but, for the moment at least, Auerbach is ignoring the loud chorus in Boston for the coach's scalp. Some players may be silent members of the chorus -- Fitch's drill-sergeant ways are resented -- but the most important Celtics on and off the court, Bird and Auerbach, defend the coach.

"I feel we still have the best coach in the league," Bird said.

"He is taking too much of the rap for what happened," Auerbach said. "No one works harder coaching than Bill Fitch. He works too hard in my opinion. I would like to see him get more fun out of life. He's the coach here next year if he wants to be."

But if Fitch's head is safe, others' are not. Auerbach is determined to go back to the tried-and-true system of role players, which means there are going to be some ex-Celtics before next season.

"We are not going to have any guys earning $300,000 sitting on a bench," Auerbach said. "That's not going to happen to a Celtic team again as long as I'm around. We learned our lesson this year. There were too many guys on the bench thinking of themselves and their minutes.

"We had guys for role players who did not want to be role players. From now on, the last three guys on the bench are going to be making $50,000 a year and be happy about it."

When you're cold, you're cold. Even the Celtics' greatest strength deserted them in the clutch. The front line of Robert Parish flanked by Bird, Kevin McHale and Cedric Maxwell had carried the team in recent years. But Bird, the franchise player, was sick and hurt against the Bucks. The others played as if they were sick and hurt -- and not only against the Bucks, according to Auerbach.

"Most of the guys didn't play with the same intensity they had for all games the previous year," Auerbach said. "Some guys worked at it for 50 games, others for 60. I hope they learned their lesson. They let themselves be pushed around. They didn't play tough enough or mean enough."

But for all his vows of change, Auerbach admits that the Celtics do not have talent to equal the Lakers or Sixers. With no No. 1 draft choice and the possible loss of McHale to free agency ("Whatever it takes to sign him, we have to do it," Auerbach said), an immediate return to the top is iffy at best.

"Somehow, we've got to get better people in the next few years to match up ... The most important thing is not to panic," said Auerbach, normally fierce in his bullishness.

Patience is not a characteristic of Celtic fans, who booed their team in the first game against the Bucks. They won't fill Boston Garden, as they have for 119 games in a row, to watch guys try harder.

Rough days ahead for the men in green.

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