MINNIEFIELD QB ON COURT FOOTBALL FAN HAS BEEN SPEEDING UP THE CELTICS' OFFENSE

January 15, 1988

MINNIEFIELD QB ON COURT FOOTBALL FAN HAS BEEN SPEEDING UP THE CELTICS' OFFENSE

If Dirk Minniefield could be an NFL quarterback, whom do you suppose he would aspire to emulate?

Dan Marino? John Elway? Joe Montana?

"Bernie Kosar," said Minniefield. "I've met him before. He's a great guy."

Bernie Kosar? Why aspire to be a family station wagon when you could be a Ferrari?

"I was a quarterback once before, and I used to sling it just like he does -- sidearm," Minniefield said. "But one of the reasons I like him is because he's so smart and that's what a quarterback has to be. He knows where everybody is on that field because he's smart."

In a sense, Minniefield has become a quarterback for the Celtics, providing an up-tempo brand of offense not seen in these parts for some time.

"Dirk has been a catalyst for us," said coach K.C. Jones. "He's always running out there, pushing the ball up court. He stirs everything up. He quarterbacks."

During the offseason, Minniefield becomes a wide receiver. Using his quickness to impersonate the most dangerous of NFL wide receivers, Minniefield has run pass route after pass route to help cousin Frank Minnifield, a fourth-year cornerback for the Cleveland Browns, prepare for the grind of the NFL season.

In turn, Frank becomes the slickest NBA guard for Dirk -- playing in-your-shirt defense, forcing the outside jumper and making him work for every bit of the court.

"He would envision me as being someone like John Stallworth," Minniefield said, "and I would imagine him to be someone like Vinnie Johnson, Joe Dumars or Isiah Thomas."

Whatever roles they would assume, it was always cousin against cousin. One-on-one. Minniefield vs. Minnifield.

By now you may have noticed that Minniefield spells his last name differently than his cousin.

"Basically, his mother changed it to avoid confusion," Minniefield said. "I had a brother, Kenny, and he had a brother, too. There were four of us playing (high school) sports at the same time in Lexington, Ky. So when you picked up the paper and read about the Minniefields, you didn't know if it was the Lafayette (High) Minniefields or the Henry Clay (High) Minnifields."

It went a long way to help avoid confusion after the cousins were reunited in Cleveland in 1985, when the Cavaliers signed Minniefield as a free agent guard.

"There was never any confusion there," he said. "Everyone knew that he was the football player and I was the basketball player."

The following year, Cleveland became a one-Minnifield town when the Cavs traded Minniefield to Houston for a 1989 draft choice. He spent a trying year under Bill Fitch, who demanded the world of him, but wound up getting only 7.7 points per game in the 52 games he started. He was shipped to Golden State last season and was waived by the Warriors Nov. 25.

"It was tough," he said, "because many of the coaches I had were very demanding. They wanted me to make a great offensive play on every play. But when I came here, I knew that I would fit in well because I knew I wouldn't have to worry about doing all the scoring. I knew the other guys here would help me play better."

Since his acquisition as a free agent Dec. 17, Minniefield has helped the Celtics become a better transition team and has flourished as an integral component in the offensive scheme.

"I feel like I fit in here because of K.C.'s approach to the game," Minniefield said. "He's a player's coach. He's been in the league before and he knows what it takes to be a player in this league. He doesn't put a lot of pressure on you to go out and do what you can't do. He just says to take what they give you, take what's there."

When Dennis Johnson was unable to play against Chicago Tuesday because of an ailing shoulder, Jones thrust Minniefield into the starting lineup. The guard had played only 10 games as a Celtic, averaging 8.3 minutes and 1.2 points.

Minniefield responded by setting six personal highs as a Celtic, including minutes (37), points (10) and assists (9), in a 104-97 victory.

"When we saw him at Golden State and at Houston, he was a very busy, busy person -- running, penetrating and dishing off," Jones said. "But our guys recognize the contribution he makes. They recognize what Dirk can do for us out there."

More important is what he brings to the Celtics -- a new deep threat.