1988 NBA Playoffs: Walton's Return Now on Hold

4/10/1988

The Celtics say they never intended to return Bill Walton to the roster for last night's game, whether or not his foot acted up on him this week. "It was erroneously reported by a local television station (Channel 4) that he was set to be activated," general manager Jan Volk said yesterday. "There wasn't a predetermined timetable and we don't expect there'll be one."

After he practiced Tuesday and (vigorously) Wednesday, there'd been some speculation that Walton would be added to the active roster for the first time since last year's playoffs and his July surgery. Any chance of that evaporated when the soft tissue in Walton's foot kicked up and he missed Thursday's session.

"Bill pushed himself quite hard this week," said Volk, "and it's time to back off for a little while."

Team brass would prefer to see Walton put three or four solid workouts together without experiencing pain afterwards, rather than rush him back into action and risk further injury. "He'll be monitored," Volk said. "And when it's right for Bill to go back to practice, he will."

Rookie guard Reggie Lewis, the man most likely to go if Walton returns, didn't dress last night. Seems a groin injury developed after he looked especially frisky in Thursday's practice. When the injury was announced last night, the Boston Garden crowd reacted with skeptical laughter.

1988 NBA Playoffs: Walton's Return Remains Unsettled

4/8/1988

WALTON'S RETURN REMAINS UNSETTLED

The four-day respite is over, and so are the Celtics' scrimmages at Hellenic College.

If the Celtics work over the New Jersey Nets tonight (7:30, SportsChannel) at Boston Garden the way they pounded each other yesterday, they'll probably extend their winning streak to six games.

"After this," said guard Dirk Minniefield, "I'll be happy to play in a regular game. It was getting pretty tough out there. I'm sore."

Minniefield wasn't alone.

Forward Fred Roberts took an accidental poke early in the workout and needed two stitches to close the wound. He returned later in the day wearing goggles and may don them tonight.

The only absentee was Bill Walton, who played 16 consecutive minutes in Wednesday's scrimmage, but restricted himself to biking and weight work yesterday.

Don't get worried about the fact that the center missed yesterday's court session. Walton's absence may have indicated a recurrence of his nagging foot problems, but according to trainer Ed Lacerte, any flare-up was "nothing substantial."

In fact, there was speculation that the big redhead -- who underwent foot and ankle surgery last summer -- would be activated tonight for the first time since last year's playoffs.

All Walton would say yesterday was that "I'm feeling a lot better." But he left the rest open to interpretation.

He came into the gym during the scrimmage, sat in a chair for about 10 minutes, then went back upstairs to work out.

"He's just getting some rest and recuperation time," said coach K.C. Jones. "He's gone pretty hard the last couple of days."

General manager Jan Volk said yesterday he couldn't predict when Walton would return to the lineup. "He pushed himself hard this week and now he's backed off a bit," said Volk.

Kevin McHale, who knows what it's like to come back from surgery, said people shouldn't get too excited about the prospect of Walton's return to peak form at this point.

"It's unfair to Bill and it's premature," said McHale. "We have yet to find out what Bill can do. You can't play until you're physically ready, and I don't think Bill is physically ready right now.

"Everybody remembers how fantastic he was in 1986, but nobody knows what Bill can do now. I don't think Bill knows. He's been a great player and he's made some remarkable recoveries," said McHale, "but practice and games are two different things."

Jones said the Celtics are rested and ready to go against an improving Nets team that shocked Boston the last time they played at the Garden, 117-107, on March 2.

"They're playing with a lot more confidence and fluidity under Willis (Reed)," said Jones.

The Nets won four of their first five games and are now 6-13 under the former Knick great.

Reed's team is playing better defense and showing a balanced attack. The fatigue factor may come into play because the Nets, who were at Atlanta last night, will be playing their fifth game in seven days.

All's fair in the NBA, because the Celtics were playing their fourth game in six nights on March 2. Now they're the rested team.

"There's only so much you can do with such a long rest," said Jones. "It's difficult. The best thing you can do is just run and get the conditioning in."

Robert Parish, who missed two days of practice because of a knee strain, participated in yesterday's workout . . . The Celtics have won four of five games against the Nets this season, and tonight marks the series finale . . . The Celtics' next game is Sunday at Philadelphia . . . The Celtics must go 8-1 to win 60 regular-season games for the 12th time.

1988 NBA Playoffs: Celtics Inching Closer to Best Record in East

April 14, 1988

The Celtics aren't exactly hung up on it, which is understandable since they aren't planning on losing soon. But let the record show that the Magic Number to clinch the best record in the Eastern Conference is 2. Any combination of Boston wins and Detroit losses totaling 2 will make Boston the champion and guarantee the home court until the Finals -- unless, of course, the opponent there is someone other than the Lakers.

The Celtics have won eight straight games, their best streak of the season. The most games they won in succession last year was seven . . . The Celtics have won 16 of their last 18 . . . The starting frontcourt of Larry Bird (26), Kevin McHale (21) and Robert Parish (21) notched its second consecutive all-20 performance . . . Dennis Johnson was 3 for 3, which included a jump shot. He's made 16 jumpers in his last four games . . . Bird's previous triple-double was a 39-17-10 job Feb. 10 in San Antonio. He lacked only the 10th rebound by the end of the third quarter, and he notched that with a defensive grab in the first 19 seconds of the final period. His 10th assist was a real crowd-pleaser, as he threw Danny Ainge a right-to-left wraparound job for a three-pointer with 13 seconds left in the third period.

The Bucks' coaching staff was certainly taken with the Celtics. "I don't know what I can say that hasn't been said," declared Del Harris. "They're unselfish. They're just a very good basketball team." Added assistant Mack Calvin, "They're so smart defensively."

Last Friday night, Harris was ejected from a game in Richfield when he wandered onto the court with the ball in play to protest a series of non-calls. He went onto the floor in the third quarter again last night, but at least it was a dead-ball situation, and all he got was a recommendation to take a seat from referee Ronnie Nunn . . . The estimable Jack Sikma was hardly recognizable with a 1-for-11, 4-point, 4-rebound night. He lost a wee bit of ground to Bird (an 8-for-8 shooter from the line) in their battle for foul shooting supremacy. Sikma checks in at .922, while Bird is up to .916.

Who says the key to victory is eliminating turnovers? The Bucks had an exemplary total of seven, but lost by 19 . . . Calvin credited the Celtics with 32 fast break points in 18 tries, for a completion percentage of 88.9 . . . The Bucks had no fast break points in the first half . . . A good omen: By the time it was 10-4, Boston, all five starters had scored . . . Report on the Ultimate Bragging Rights: Bird is 1 for 10 on three-pointers in his last two games. His 0 for 4 dropped him to .4199, while Ainge's 2 for 4 boosted him to .4134 . . . Johnny Most dropped a lighted cigarette in his lap during the postgame show and burned a hole in his pants.

1988 NBA Playoffs: Boston's Focus is Defense

4/12/88

Another day off? Sure. Celtics coach K.C. Jones liked what a few days of rest last week produced, particularly Sunday's gem, when Boston efficiently dispatched the 76ers in Philadelphia's Spectrum, 117-108.

1988 NBA Playoffs: DJ's Still Money When it Counts

5/14/1988

The playoff script is a familiar one for Celtics guard Dennis Johnson.

Pressure? . . . Nah.

Tired? . . . No way.

When the game was on the line in the second half last night, DJ, savior of so many big games of Celtics past, was simply sensational.

DJ, who shot just 2 for 8 in the first half, canned seven of eight jump shots in the second half, five of them with elbows in his midsection and hands in his kisser.

By the time he was through, Johnson had 23 points, 9 assists, 2 defensive rebounds and a key role in the play that helped the Celts pull away with 9:03 to go.

But DJ, who spoke briefly after the 108-97 win, deflected the accolades. "I think any time any team wins, everybody has to contribute," he said. "Larry (Bird) didn't score that much tonight, but our front line is by far the best in the league. They just can't be in single coverage, any one of them, and when you double down, you leave me or Danny (Ainge) open. The shots have been there for me, and I'm open, so I take them."

According to coach K.C. Jones, "Dennis Johnson was the guy that kept us in there. He hit the big shots. He played the big defense.

"Then Artis Gilmore came in and did the job."

It was a Gilmore-Johnson-Kevin McHale combo that pulled the play of the night.

The Celtics led, 80-73, after a DJ 20-footer, and with the Boston Garden crowd finally getting warmed to the task, Hawks coach Mike Fratello was frantically waving for a timeout as his team raced upcourt.

It was about as fruitless as trying to flag a cab in New York.

Dominique Wilkins just kept coming like an express train into the lane, either ignoring or just not seeing Fratello's signal.

Down the lane went Wilkins -- up went Gilmore's paw -- and the reject was gathered in by Johnson.

As he hit midcourt, DJ found McHale (32 points) in stride for the breakaway layup. When Atlanta finally called time at 82-73, the momentum had swung irrevocably to the home team.

"That broke the game open," said Jones, "and it seemed to explode from there. We gained the momentum and Atlanta faded away a bit."

Johnson was a big part of the fade:

- There was the foul line turnaround to start the final quarter, giving the Celtics a 77-71 lead.

- There was a tough 21-footer from the top of the key with 6:38 to go that got the lead back to 10 (89-79).

- And there was the coup de grace, a turnaround fallaway from the right of the lane with 2:03 left that boosted the margin to 101-83.

When Reggie Lewis replaced DJ -- who logged more minutes (43) than any other Celtic -- 20 seconds later, the crowd gave Johnson a long and loud ovation.

It was also a great night for Robert Parish, who pulled in 14 rebounds, many of them in traffic in the second half with the Celtics holding 4- and 6-point leads.

"Chief took care of the boards," said Jones. "If he's not there, we don't win."

Added McHale, "When he plays like that, it's pretty tough to beat us. We played good, sound defense. They'd call a play and we knew exactly where everyone was going just as well as they did."

Nobody did it better than DJ, who looked like a fresh rookie the way he handled the ball, played tough defense on Doc Rivers (7 for 13, 16 points) and then had enough stamina left to hit the difficult jumpers down the stretch.

"Dennis picked us up in New York, and here he is again," said Jones. "I substituted in the fourth quarter because we had to get some rest. Larry had only about a minute in the first half, and I had to get Kevin and Robert some rest.

"But I kept Dennis in. I asked him if he needed a blow, and he said he was fine. That's all I needed to hear. I said, 'OK, you're in for the rest of the 48.' "

While DJ got his rest at the end, he in effect was the Celtics' constant on a night of sometimes sluggish, sometimes physical, sometimes ugly basketball.

"DJ really kept us in there for a while," said Jones. "He was our quarterback, just like Rivers is theirs."

Jim Paxson put the final exclamation point on his teammate's performance.

"It seemed like in the third and fourth quarters, DJ had a ton of big shots. Some were with the shot clock running down, some with a guy on him.

"I saw it in the New York series and I saw it again tonight. He always seems to do the right things to help you win."

1988 NBA Playoffs: Celtics Ready for Title Run

4/29/1988

See ya later, Sixers. No way, LA (Clippers, that is). Nets? Nyet.

The pretenders are gone. The 82-game jockeying for position is done. The playoffs are here. And what Boston fans wish to know is this: Are the Celtics an emotional stock worth buying into?

"I may be wrong," says Larry Bird, "but from what I've seen of practice this week, the guys will come to play. That's what makes it enjoyable for me, when everybody comes to play. It seems to me everybody thinks we can win the championship. I think it will be very hard to take it away from us this year."

The quest for championship No. 17 begins tonight (8, SportsChannel) at Boston Garden against the New York Knicks, a 38-44 team which finished (24-16) better than it started (14-28), and which comes into the playoffs holding a large banner which says, WE'RE GONNA PRESS, AND YOU CAN'T DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT.

The Celtics say they will be ready for New York's menu of traps. "Practicing against a press all week will help us," says Danny Ainge. "Half the effectiveness of a press during the regular season is the element of surprise. The press is going to cause some turnovers, and it's going to give us some lay-ins. We have to make sure it hurts them more than it does us."

Bird believes that's exactly what will happen if the Celtics do what they should against the New York pressure. And what, Larry, is that?

"Keep the ball moving," he stresses. "Make short, crisp passes. Don't throw long passes and don't try to dribble through it. Make short, crisp passes and we should be all right."

Both sides have avoided bulletin board quotes. The Knicks have paid proper homage to the defending Eastern Conference champions all week, while the most inflammatory thing the Celtics are saying is that because they are healthier and deeper than they were a year ago, they happen to like their chances of full playoff success.

You're not going to get any insults out of K.C. Jones, for example. "They're a dangerous playoff opponent," the coach says. "Any team you'd play during this first round would have been dangerous. There are no weak sisters out there. Washington would have been tough. Indiana. It doesn't matter."

Aside from the press, the two individual matters occupying most of Boston's thoughts are Patrick Ewing and Mark Jackson. The former was an offensive marauder in the final six weeks of the season, while the latter continued to stockpile rave reviews as the most clever rookie point guard since Magic Johnson nine years ago. The Knicks are not a good pure shooting team. They like to get it inside to Ewing and Bill Cartwright (look for a lot of Twin Towers effect), and they always want the ball to start off in Jackson's hands. Eliminating Jackson's penetration will be an integral element of Boston's defensive game plan.

Controlling Ewing will be Part 2. "They seem to be going to him all the time," points out Bird. "He can expect to see double- and triple-teaming every time he gets it low."

The Celtics have adopted the attitude that they, not the opponents, will control their destiny. "We are reasonably healthy," says K.C. "We're definitely much better off injurywise. The other thing is that we've got more bench strength with (Jim) Paxson, (Dirk) Minniefield, (Mark) Acres and (Artis) Gilmore. They can all give us meaningful minutes."

Compared to a year ago, the picture is far brighter. Bird says his sprained left ankle is fine. "I haven't played for a week, and I might be a little rusty," he says, "but if I am, that won't last long." Dennis Johnson (right shoulder), Robert Parish (right knee) and Kevin McHale (left knee) all practiced hard and reasonably well this week. Not only aren't there any major injuries, there is no sign of fatigue.

There really is no reason for the Celtics to be tired. The number of big-minute games for the veterans dropped drastically in the second half of the season. The advent of Paxson helped cut down the playing time of Johnson and Ainge. Parish's playing time was reduced to 31 minutes a game, thanks to Acres and Gilmore. McHale went 40 minutes or more just 10 times after March 1. Bird, of course, never wants to come out. "I feel great," he says. "I've been off for a week."

If yesterday's argument-filled scrimmage is any guide, they're tired of looking at each other. So bring on New York. Bring on the press. Bring on the Lakers, if you want. The Celtics are ready to play some serious basketball.

1988 NBA Playoffs: Paxson Looking Forward to Playoff Debut as Celtic

4/28/1988

No offense to the Mychal Thompsons, Kelvin Ranseys, Calvin Natts, Kenny Carrs and Kiki Vandweghes he used to play with in Portland, but Jim Paxson kinda feels this may be the first real playoff team he's ever been on.

"The Lakers were always the best team in our conference," he says. "Even if we got past the first round, we never had enough firepower to beat Los Angeles. It would be over early, and then off to the golf course. Here people go to the golf course, but we're still playing."

Paxson played in nine playoff series as a Trail Blazer. Well, make it eight. He was injured in 1981, seeing action during a miniseries loss to Kansas City in just one game for four minutes. "But it was long enough to go 0 for 3," he laughs. Anyway, his teams went 2-7 in series and 13-21 in postseason games. He has never played on a team that has advanced past the second round. As much as any player on the 1988 Celtics, he is looking forward to the playoffs.

"I am very excited," he declares. "Already, I can see a difference in the feeling here. The attitude is like, 'OK, now let's really start working.' It's not that they weren't working hard before, but there is a higher expectation level here than I'm used to. Not every team knows how to work. I've been on teams in the last three or four years that didn't work hard in practice and which lost in the playoffs because they couldn't execute. All of us who are new here -- Artis (Gilmore), Dirk (Minniefield), the rookies -- can see the difference, and we're all looking forward to these playoffs."

The Celtics have no plans to contact the Better Business Bureau in Portland, because Paxson has lived up to his billing. "I'd say there's even more to him than we expected," contends assistant coach/player personnel director Jimmy Rodgers. "He's shown more defensive ability than we had thought. He can be a defensive stopper. And he's very good at post-ups. We knew he could move without the ball and shoot. But these other parts of his game have pleased us very much."

Paxson's numbers aren't dramatic. In 28 games as a Celtic, he averaged 8.7 points while shooting 49 percent from the floor. He cracked double figures 13 times, with a high of 19 points. By the Boston substitute standards of the past two seasons, Paxson is a scoring machine.

What he happens to be is a pro. "He's a starter coming off the bench," says K.C. Jones. "We'll be counting on his experience to help us in the playoffs."

Adds Rodgers, "He's an experienced player who is top-quality. He gives us a lot more confidence. Another important thing about Jim is his size (6 feet 5 inches). Playoff basketball is usually more physical, and he can add, offensively and defensively, in that aspect."

Paxson stresses that the situation he finds himself in here is the precise one he dreamed about during his final unhappy year or two in Portland. "I wanted to be with a team that was good enough to win, which could determine its own destiny. I was afraid I'd spend 2 1/2 years sitting in Portland, which would be a bad way to go out."

That, however, is no longer a worry. When the Knicks arrive tomorrow night, Jim Paxson will be wearing a white uniform with the green lettering and he'll be thinking about winning a championship, not teeing up the white ball.

1988 NBA Playoffs: Celtics Hope to Make Short Work of Knicks

4/27/1988

It was only Tuesday, so there was no need for Artis Gilmore to pretend he was Patrick Ewing, or Reggie Lewis to make like Mark Jackson.

The Celtics don't care much for that kind of workout, anyway. While New York undoubtedly spent yesterday running wind sprints and suffering through full-court defensive slides, Boston went about the business of playing basketball. There will be no gimmicks, no special defenses when the team opens its postseason Friday against the Knicks in a best-of-five first-round series.

The Celtics will be expected to win this series handily, and the best possible way to go about that is to play their brand of team basketball and prevent New York from building momentum toward a lengthy battle.

"New York's intensity is going to be at the highest level in the world," said coach K.C. Jones. "They are coming in enthusiastic with nothing to lose. They'll be scrambling for loose balls and taking it to us. We have to match that from the start."

In other words, nip those Christmas-in-April miracles in the bud. Shut the door early and leave the welcome mat in the closet.

"The Knicks can look as good as any team in the league on a particular day, and then they can look really bad," said Danny Ainge. "That's why they finished where they did. They've played some great games against us this year where they got confidence as the game went along. That's what we've got to stop them from doing."

Last Nov. 18, New York trooped into Boston Garden figuring to have little chance of marching out with a W. Then the Celtics stumbled through a freakish second quarter without scoring a field goal, and suddenly the Knicks saw a chance to win the game. Boston prevailed in double overtime (111-109), but the visitors had proved to themselves they could play with the Celtics, and stole a 106-98 win less than two months later (Jan. 9) at Madison Square Garden. Although the guys in green captured the final meeting of the regular season March 26, the Knicks nearly pulled one out in Hartford (they lost, 95-93).

"There's nothing like confidence," said Robert Parish, "and they have gotten a taste of it by winning consistently."

Winning does not come easily for a team without many true scorers. Thus, defense has become its trademark, i.e. a bothersome trapping defense, not unlike what coach Rick Pitino implemented at Providence College.

The difference, of course, is players of NBA caliber are more adept at exposing the weaknesses.

"Their style is definitely unique," said Ainge. "They take a lot of gambles, lots of risks. We have to be patient. If they go to the trap, we should be able to destroy that trap.

"What they want to do in that situation is rush the shot, or take the first one that's available. We have to take our time and move the ball."

"I think the key is to come out and pressure them," said Larry Bird. "They turn the ball over, too."

Indeed, mistakes tend to hurt the experienced team less than the younger guys, who haven't made as many -- or recovered from as many.

"This team more than any other I've been on knows naturally how to relax," said Gilmore, whose playoff experience has been with San Antonio and Chicago. "They know what it takes to be on top of their game. Some teams say they are ready to play, but you can't just say it, you've got to do what it takes.

"New York is a young, talented team that is very capable of winning. But hopefully during the course of the game, they will make mistakes and we'll capitalize on them. That's the difference between an experienced team and a young team."

1988 NBA Playoffs: Celtics Expect to Play Through Pain

4/26/1988

Kevin McHale lounged in Ted Williams style, wrapped in a towel cut just below the hip. Larry Bird, all business, made a beeline for the exercise bike. Dennis Johnson entered bellowing out a particularly impressive version of "Ramblin' Man." The Chief, as always, slipped in quietly.

It's playoff time for the Celtics; that much could be discerned from the energy level at Hellenic College yesterday. Yet the activity did not mean the heel/ankle/shoulder/knee injuries have magically disappeared with the coming of postseason. It simply means the Celtics have a reason to play through pain again.

This pain should be easier to handle than last season, when McHale and Parish seemed certain to keel over at any moment. Trainer Ed Lacerte assured yesterday that while the injuries are nagging, "none should interfere with their quality of play."

Bird, who sprained his left ankle at Boston Garden against Chicago last Thursday and missed the final road trip of the season, was favoring his swollen foot, but ran through every drill.

"I didn't do too much damage to it, " he said, "but I'll need a couple more days before I can do the things I really want on it."

The New York Knicks come to town Friday, so Boston has until then to cure all ills. The Celtics were hoping for some extra healing time this past weekend, but the league forced Johnson (shoulder) and Parish (knee) to make the trip.

"It didn't do my knee any good," said Parish.

"It wasn't right," said Bird. "We worked so hard to get into the position to earn that rest. It's pretty sad on the league's part. It's not our fault they televised our last two games.

"In order for us to win a championship, we have to do what we feel is right. To do that, we need to be rested and get healthy. The league can do whatever it wants, but the players make up the league.

"It's time the Players Association regrouped and started stopping some of this. I can understand they want us to play, but when you have a guy like DJ saying he's hurt, a guy who plays so hard and has been around the league so long . . ."

Boston is banking on the experience of Johnson and others to KO the Knicks quickly. Rick Pitino's Traveling Salvation Show has been on a roll of late behind two youngsters, rookie point guard Mark Jackson and center Patrick Ewing.

"The Knicks are a very intense ballclub," said Parish. "The one key with them is they never give up. They are very physical, very scrappy."

"They put out a lot of effort," said Bird. "They put pressure on the ball and make you do things you don't want to do. I think the key is to come out and pressure them. They turn the ball over, too."

Danny Ainge, who racked up a healthy chunk of minutes over the weekend while his injured counterparts rested, got his day off yesterday. Ainge was in attendance, but spent most of practice on the sidelines . . . Bird on a playoff roster that does not include Bill Walton: "Bill has been gone so long it's almost like he's not part of it anymore. You see M.L. Carr at the games and he was around for so many years you feel like he's still part of the team, but Bill was just there that one year. It's not that we don't want him to be part of it. One of my greatest feelings as a player was to be alongside him in a game. But Bill has been gone too long now."