Bench Playing Well on West Coast Trip

January 5, 1980

CELTICS KEEP THEIR COOL ON LENGTHY ROAD TRIP

This trip had been much discussed. It had not been overdramatized, but after all, since it includes the season's first excursion to the West Coast and since it comes over the Christmas holidays, the inherent danger of disaster was very real. But no matter what happens tonight when the Celtics conclude this five-game road jaunt by tangling with the San Antonio Spurs (WBZ, 8:30), the trip has gone very well.

With victories over San Diego, Golden State and Houston, the Celtics have insured a winning trip. The lone loss, to Los Angeles, was certainly the most predictable, coming in what Bill Fitch termed the glamour game. What was of great concern to Fitch was that the LA setback could be handled by his players, who may have built the necessity of beating the Lakers too much in their minds.

"If there was one game where losing could have had an effect on us," Fitch points out, "it was LA." There was a chance the egos would get out of whack and they'd lose confidence, but it didn't happen. They just thought they had played a bad game, and even though we don't know if we can beat that team, we know we can play them better than we did. We came back the next night, anyway (beating Golden State easily), and didn't allow anything to bother us.

Fitch is really elated over the fact that he got some good work out of his players on the off-days as well. "We had one practice in Houston where I had to chew them out," he said, "but they just came back the next day and worked harder. Then today (Friday) we had a very good practice. We got some things started for the future."

There have been some important individual stories, especially among the bench performers. Rick Robey had an outstanding game in Oakland, for example, and he has had other moments of aggression which have pleased his coach. M.L. Carr has recovered from his wrist sprain to make the sort of contributions which were a nightly staple back in October and November. Don Chaney has become a valued member of the cast for his great defensive ability, and Gerald Henderson has stabilized. "The best thing that happened to Gerald on the trip," claimed Fitch "was to make a couple of plays which were as intelligent as they were physical. I've never made that statement before."

That the Celtics have established the NBA's best road record (14-8) is due to such factors as mental toughness, unit poise and a propensity of fairly officiated games. They have also enjoyed better basic health than any team in the league. What's really interesting is that Fitch attributes those final two factors to something other than good fortune.

"The good health," he says,"is the result of a good training camp. Guys came to camp in shape, and we've been able to avoid those little injuries. As for the officiating, I honestly believe it's because our players don't officiate, and that's really a blessing. I've had a couple of players in the past who were constant bitchers and I've had to remind them to play the game and let me do the complaining to the officials. One thing we never do is bitch while the ball is in play. Maybe somebody will say something in a dead-ball situation, but that is it.'

Fitch has one more desire. "I want to win this one before I say it's a good trip," he said.

Funny, that's not what he was saying after losing to LA. Then he would have taken 3-2. Coaches are all alike.