OB See Room for Improvement

 2/17/01

 SEATTLE - Upon further review, Jim O'Brien sees plenty of room for improvement.

That observation may be one of the most encouraging aspects of Boston's 108-88 dismissal of Seattle Thursday night. It also may be one the strongest indications the resurgent Celtics are here to stay.

It was not enough to hand Seattle its worst home loss of the season. It was not enough to dominate the Sonics in almost every facet of the game. It was not enough to succeed with Paul Pierce forced to sit 25 minutes with foul trouble. It was not enough to build a 29-point lead in the first half. It was not enough to bounce back from a loss at Vancouver in such convincing fashion.

The Celtics want more. No, correction. The Celtics expect more now. The experience of winning consistently has whet the players' appetite. The Celtics expect to hold onto the eighth and final place in the Eastern Conference playoff race. They expect to be one of the NBA's better defensive teams. (No, that's not a misprint.) They expect to win whenever they step on to the court, including tonight against Portland, the Western Conference leader.

But for Boston to meet its expectations, the players must continually perfect their approach.

"The thing that I noticed more than anything when I watched the tape was that we have a lot of room for improvement in a lot of areas," said O'Brien. "I thought our field goal defense over the last five games has not been what it was in the previous 12 games. Despite it being a really important victory for us, I thought our defensive effort in many areas was very much lacking.

"But it is encouraging that the opinion of many people would be that we're playing much better basketball. It's encouraging to know we can improve a lot and we're not asking people to do things that they're incapable of doing. But we have to become sharper on our defensive assignments."

O'Brien attributed some of Boston's defensive difficulties to the lack of practice on the trip and players moving on and off the injured list. O'Brien would like to give his players more rest, but realizes he must put their limited time to use on the court and in the film room.

After all, Boston won't always shoot 52.2 percent (12 for 23) from 3-point land as it did in Seattle.

Although the Celtics' somewhat-deficient defense allowed the Sonics to shoot 49.3 percent from the floor, there were far more positive points. Boston started the contest determined to secure the first win of its seven-game trip. And it showed. The Green held Seattle to 27.3 percent from the floor in the first quarter and had all available bodies crashing the boards. By halftime, the Celtics had quieted the crowd by taking a 67-45 lead.

Neither the fans nor the Sonics made much noise until the fourth quarter. Seattle opened the period with a 13-3 run that cut Boston's lead to 93-80. But Gary Payton (20 points, 14 assists) and friends would come no closer.

The Celtics stretched their advantage to more than 20 points down the stretch.

The strong showing kept Boston from losing back-to-back games, which it still has not done since O'Brien took over Jan. 8.

"We definitely can't afford to lose back-to-back games right now because it sets you back," said Antoine Walker, who led the Celtics with 30 points. "We've got to take it one game at a time, but we're searching for another winning streak. We're searching for a three- or four-game winning streak and hope Indiana and Cleveland can sustain some losses."

Boston had five players score in double figures against Seattle, with Walker and Pierce (18 points) leading the way.

The contributions of Chris Carr, who guarded Payton when Bryant Stith landed in foul trouble, and Eric Williams (13 points, 7 rebounds), who hit all 10 of his free throw attempts, were invaluable off the bench.

"You've got to give credit to the coaching staff and the players because we're responding and not giving up," said Williams. "We were in a rut during the time of all the chaos (before Rick Pitino resigned) and we came out of it.

"It's a good feeling now and there's a bond that we've got amongst each other. We're sticking together now and that's something you have to have for the rest of the season. And it feels good."