Starters Getting No Rest Under KC Jones

March 8, 1985

Celtics starters Larry Bird, Robert Parish, Kevin McHale, Dennis Johnson and Danny Ainge won't use fatigue as an excuse for Boston's recent Garden losses and aren't worried about burning out before the playoffs.



Boston's fierce first-place chase with the Sixers makes every game important, and coach K.C. Jones is relying on his starters more than ever. Every member of Boston's current starting unit is on a career-high minutes pace, and the numbers for each man have increased since Cedric Maxwell injured his knee nine games ago (see chart). The big five are combining for a whopping 83 percent of the playing time (199 of 240 minutes per game) since Feb. 18.

Jones has been criticized for relying too much on his starters, but they aren't complaining.

Bird: "That's all bull. I can go 48 minutes and still go out and run five miles the same night. Plus, when you get to the playoffs, it's a whole different thing. There's always a lot of time to rest during the playoffs because there are so many TV timeouts."

Ainge: "The more minutes the better. I'm just a young pup, man. There are certain games when you have a tendency to get a little tired, but in a lot of games I could go 48 and not get tired."

Parish: "It's not bothering me yet. All I can do is go by last year. I played a lot of minutes all last year and didn't get tired until the last two games of the playoffs. And I think that was because of the heat."

DJ: "It's not a problem. Sure, there's times when you might get a little winded, but overall, playing a lot of minutes is no problem."

McHale: "I don't mind. I like getting the big minutes. It's like Magic Johnson says, if you can play 82 like this, the playoffs are no problem because you have so many more days off during the playoffs. I think that if you take care of yourself and eat right, you should be able to work 48 minutes a day. That's not much compared to what my father did working in the mines for 42 years."

The Celtics have lost home games to Atlanta and Chicago since last Friday. Boston is 26-4 at home and plays host to the Dallas Mavericks tonight (7:30, SportsChannel). The Celtics have three days to rest (until Atlanta in New Orleans Tuesday) after tonight's game.