Ray Williams has been a Trick or Treat Acquisition

April 30, 1985

On the morning of Feb. 12, 1985, a column appeared in these pages on the subject of Ray Williams. My name and my picture appeared at the top. How that happened is a mystery to me, because I have no recollection of writing the terrible things that were said in that piece about Ray Williams.



I must tell you that on the afternoon of Feb. 11, four heavily armed men broke into my South Shore dwelling and overpowered me as I sat in my office. I awoke the next morning to see an ignorant, practically slanderous, column about poor Ray Williams attributed to me. It's quite clear that my attackers drugged me, and that while I was in some altered state of consciousness I wrote horribly misguided things about a man who has become one of Boston's most popular athletes. Surely I would never have said those things about Ray Williams in my normal condition.

I ask you. Wouldn't I know better than to write this?

Ray (I Never Saw A Shot I Didn't Like) Williams. Ray (There Isn't A Turnover I Haven't Conceived Of) Williams . . . If there were such a thing as "Basketball Adventure Theater," Ray Williams would be the host . . . In terms of reliability, Charlie Scott was Mr. Conservative, compared to Ray Williams . . . Sidney Wicks was like an English butler."

Goodness, gracious, could that person possibly be talking about Ray Williams, without whom the Celtics could not have beaten Cleveland? The Ray Williams who has become the first true penetrating guard the Celtics have had since Tiny Archibald? The Ray Williams who has become an instant Boston Garden folk hero?

Now, you all know me well enough to realize I could never have written this:

He is the Godfather of all trick-or-treat players, the original man who can simultaneously keep both sides in the game.

What a terrible thing to say about a man who has brought such life, such versatility, to the Celtics' offense. Whoever wrote that column in my name must have been thinking about Frank Johnson or World B. Free. Perhaps he was haunted by the memory of Fred Hilton. This mystery author could not have been thinking about the Ray Williams Garden fans have come to know and love.

It appalls me that I could possibly have been responsible for these words:

Ray Williams has no remote sense of shot selection.

Oh, yeah? His jumpers look like pretty legitimate jumpers to me. His drives are always under control. Well, he may look a little wild in the open court, but he has made good things happen in transition situations far more often than not. You'd all have to agree with that.

So what did Ray ever do to deserve this?

And remember, it's not so much what Ray does from game to game that makes him fascinating; it's what he concocts from minute to minute. With Ray, every possession is an opportunity to make history.

All I see when I look at Ray Williams is a poised, determined veteran guard whose excitement level is very high because for the first time in his career he is playing on a team whose creative level matches his own. Isn't it shameful the way some people propagate old myths?

Of all sick ironies, try this:

It's not likely he will acquire any (shot selection) at this stage of his career solely because he will be dressing in the same locker room as Larry Bird.

If there is one thing Ray Williams has established during his two-month tenure as a Celtic, it is communication with Larry Bird. I am tempted to say that no other individual in Bird's six-year career has so quickly and so fully plugged himself into Bird's unique energy field as has Ray Williams. It's rather obvious Ray Williams loves playing with Larry Bird, if for no other reason than Larry can catch Ray's passes. The two have complete on-court rapport. Playing with Larry Bird has brought out the best in Ray Williams.

I am sick when I think about how those fiends could have made me write this:

. . . The idea of Ray Williams being a Celtic is titillating. It shows that, if nothing else, Red hasn't lost his sense of humor.

Very funny. All I know is that Celtic management is now sitting around with that cat-who-swallowed-the-canary look. "It wasn't something we felt we had to do at the time," says general manager Jan Volk. "It was just a good opportunity to pick ourselves up a notch. If it didn't work out, it was a no- lose situation for us. And it has worked out. Ray has been a very, very positive influence on the ballclub."

Now that's just what I was going to predict when those four guys burst into my office. I tell you, it's terrible what those drugs can do. Can you imagine anyone being as wrong as I was in that column I can't seem to remember writing?