For a Game that Doesn't Count, C's Look Pretty Good

January 27, 1999

For a Game that Doesn't Count, C's Look Pretty Good

   TORONTO - SkyDome's gates opened at 5:30 last evening, and soon after, the destruction began. First, two doors and a turnstile were shattered. After that, the Celtics went to work on the Raptors, 106-88, in their belated exhibition opener. By the end of the night, the memory of the NBA lockout had taken a beating, too.

Eric Riley: 7 minutes, 6 fouls, no points, no rebounds

Boston No Match for Portland

February 20, 1999

 PORTLAND, Ore. - After two down-to-the-wire, strategy-matching, insomniac-rewarding performances out here on the Left Coast, the Celtics submitted a certifiable bow-wow last night. They were obliterated by the Trail Blazers, 106-86, as the Portland players spent the night taking turns going over the Celtics for rebounds and around them for baskets. The Blazers got 21 points and 18 rebounds from Brian Grant, who brutalized Antoine Walker before retiring to a standing ovation with 7:25 remaining and Portland comfortably ahead by 22. "Brian Grant was huge," said coach Mike Dunleavy. He sure was. So were his mates.

Stewart Didn't Say No to Green for More Green

January 27, 1999

Stewart Didn't Say No to Green for More Green

   TORONTO - The Celtics would not promise Michael Stewart the type of contract that the Raptors did. But that's not why the 6-foot-10-inch center told Boston, "No thanks." The real reason, he said, is that the Celtics are too young.

His 15-Game, 91-Minute Career is Over

January 26, 1999

His 15-Game, 91-Minute Career is Over

   WALTHAM - The X Factor is now an ex-Celtic. Officially.

Dontae Jones, whose Celtic career lasted 15 games and 91 minutes, finally was released yesterday. The 6-foot-8-inch swingman was labeled by Pitino as the "X factor" in last season's multiplayer trade with the Knicks. But two things worked against Jones: The Celtics had plenty of players at his position and the team was not wild about his approach to practice.

Travis Didn't Care for Ricky Pitts

January 24, 1999

There is no doubt among those who had even a casual contact with the Celtics last year that Travis Knight was miserable. But Knight took the high road last week when asked about it. "It was hard," he said. "The whole experience was hard. But I knew what I was getting into. I asked about [ Pitino] . I don't think I got into something I wasn't prepared for." Knight also said he thought Pitino improved his work habits and he wasn't bothered by the coach's intensity or yelling. "I learned to adjust and live with it," he said. "I learned a lot. I really did. And we made some great strides."

 However, in an interview with the Hartford Courant at the end of last season, Knight said, "I sold myself to the Devil. For money." He also added, "With coach [ Jim] Calhoun, I knew he cared about me as a person, not just a basketball player. Even though he would yell, I always knew where I stood with him. Maybe I knew coach Calhoun better. Maybe that's why [ Pitino's yelling] doesn't bother the Kentucky guys. He yells at them and they're fine the next day. It's a fine line between motivation and insult. A very fine line."

Asked about those comments, Knight said he'd prefer not to discuss them . . . Michael Stewart's decision to sign with Toronto also was about the money. (Cliff Robinson basically did the same thing last year with the Suns and apparently has a long-term deal waiting for him.) The Raptors will have plenty of cap room this summer and can re-sign Stewart for more than the capped-out Celtics could offer. What's more interesting is the way Stewart was cast aside by the Kings for Vlade Divac. That means either the Kings are just being the Kings or they feel Stewart is limited and the soon-to-be 31-year-old Divac is a better fit. As it stands, the Kings have a front line of Divac, Chris Webber (who skipped the first day of camp but then showed up), Corliss Williamson (re-signed for one year at $500,000), and promising newcomer Predrag Stojakovic, who can float between small forward and big guard . . .

The Knight-Battie deal was historic in that the Celtics and Lakers, the two most successful franchises in league history, almost never do business with one another. Using both teams' media guides as sources, it looks as if the Knight-Battie trade is only the second between the clubs since 1960, when the Lakers moved to LA. The other came on Dec. 27, 1977, when Boston sent Charlie Scott to the Lakers for Don Chaney, Kermit Washington, and a first-round pick in 1978. That first-round pick turned out to be No. 8 overall and was huge in that it gave Red Auerbach a cushion to "risk" the No. 6 pick on a junior-eligible then playing at Indiana State. Need we say more? Oh, yes, and the eighth pick was expended on Freeman Williams, who never played for the Celtics. He was sent to San Diego in the infamous franchise swap of 1978 between Irv Levin and John Y. Brown.

Give Geoff Petrie an Assist

June 25, 1998

Give Geoff Petrie an Assist

Send your thank you notes to Geoff Petrie in Sacramento. If you're as excited about Paul Pierce as Rick Pitino is, then you've got Petrie, the Kings' basketball boss, to thank. He made it all happen.

Celtics Ready to Play 50 Games in 90

February 7, 1999

Celtics Ready to Play 50 Games in 90

Days By all accounts, the Celtics are not among the elite NBA teams, but their pressing, up-tempo style could prove troublesome for opponents during the truncated season, according to NBC analyst Doug Collins. By playing an unprecedented 50 games in 90 days because of the shortened season, NBA teams will have minimal time to practice. Collins said that could spell trouble for Celtics opponents, especially in Boston. TNT's Hubie Brown agreed. "Teams playing Boston must have a walk-through before the game to practice breaking the Celtics' press," said Brown. "And the team just can't go through the motions an hour before the game.

All of a Sudden Pierce Struggling

March 10, 1999
   CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Paul Pierce has found a curious way of celebrating his selection as Rookie of the Month for February. March has come in like a lion and become a lion-eater.

In the last eight days, Pierce has (a) gone 0 for 11 against the Cavaliers, (b) been outplayed in a media-hyped mano-a-mano with Toronto's Vince Carter, and (c) submitted a 10-minute goose egg against the Hornets. The last deed has a qualifier: He sprained his right ankle and didn't play in the second half last night. 

Silas Replaces Cowens in Charlotte

March 9, 1999    CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Dave Cowens wasn't answering the telephone yesterday. His wife, Deby, said her husband was going to "let it ride out a bit" before talking about his sudden resignation as coach of the Charlotte Hornets.

Pitino: Pierce has a Tendency to Lose Edge and Float

March 9, 1999    CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Rick Pitino has a simple request for Paul Pierce: Don't lose the fire.

The Celtics coach saw a decidedly ember-less Pierce Sunday in Toronto and does not want to see one tonight against the Hornets.

Teams Adjusting to this Paul Pierce Guy

March 8, 1999
   TORONTO - Two of the league's top rookies were on display yesterday at Air Canada Centre. The result? Well, there are now fans in two cities - here and Cleveland - who must be wondering what the Paul Pierce fuss is all about.

Pierce wasn't nearly as brutal as he was a week ago in Cleveland, when he went 0 for 11 from the field and scored 2 points. But he was 3 for 11 and scored just 7 points yesterday, his second single-digit game of the season. 

Celtics Rapped by Raptors

March 8, 1999

   TORONTO - With 6:59 remaining in yesterday's game, the Boston broadcast crew filled out its request sheet for postgame interviews. Under the column headlined 'If Raptors Win,' there were three names. Under the column 'If Opponent Wins,' there were none.

It was that kind of day. 

Eric Williams Returns to Boston as Nugget

March 6, 1999  Return to sender

   It's almost like he was hardly ever here. He might as well be Brett Szabo or Nate Driggers or anyone else from that appalling cast of 1996-97.

Eric Williams got mild, polite applause last night when he was introduced as the starting small forward for the Denver Nuggets. It was his first game in the FleetCenter wearing anything other than green and white. 

Billups Returns to Boston as Nugget

March 6, 1999  Billups never got his shot

   Chauncey Billups returned to the FleetCenter last night. He did not play for the Nuggets because of a sprained left ankle. But had he played, he would have started at shooting guard. If someone could have whispered that to the entire Celtics drafting contingent in the summer of 1997, Billups never would have been taken with the third overall pick. 

Mercer Returns with a Vengeance

March 6, 1999  Mercer turns in gem;
   Ron Mercer looked at the man assigned to guard him last night. But he couldn't look him directly in the eyes. If Mercer had wanted to do that, he would have had to look down. Way down. Six inches down.

Hornets Crush C's, Despite Dressing only 9

March 10, 1999
   CHARLOTTE, N.C. - He's been around for a while. He has a Rookie of the Year trophy and he's matched threes with Larry Bird in the heat of the playoffs. Chuck Person may not be headed to Springfield soon, but he thinks he knows the game of basketball a little.

What he saw last night wasn't right. He said so himself. 

And he was on the winning side.

Chris Ford, Clippers Start Season with Goose Egg after 14 Games

March 7, 1999
   Quality of play is down. Shooting percentages are down. Scoring is down. The Clippers are down.

If nothing else, the NBA is a league of trends, and its bete noir is again holding its own at the bottom of an ever-deepening barrel. The Clippers have involuntarily embarked on a possibly historic campaign, one that is again raising questions about the way Los Angeles's "other team" (read: not for NBC) functions.

Boston has a minor investment in this year's team: its coach. Chris Ford is now patrolling the sidelines for a team that is finding it difficult to get even a single win. Ford has yet to reach for the hemlock or the sharp objects in his rented Redondo Beach house, but even he wasn't prepared for an 0-14 start. 

Pitino will Rotate Schintzius, Battie, DeClercq, and Riley at the 5

January 31, 1999

Pitino will Rotate Schintzius, Battie, DeClercq, and Riley at the 5

   WALTHAM - The Celtics have players with sore toes, sore ankles, and sore wrists. Yesterday they got a player with a very sore nose. So sore, in fact, that it may be broken.

Dwayne Schintzius took an accidental elbow during an afternoon practice at Brandeis. Before leaving for X-rays, Schintzius saw Rick Pitino. The coach was holding out hope that Schintzius's nose was just severely bruised.

Pitino, Celts Remain in Playoff Picture

March 7, 1999

   TORONTO - You won't see the Celtics in the flesh for a while. Rick Pitino and his .500 team open a five-game road trip here this afternoon in the new Air Canada Centre. The trip ends a week from today in Indiana.

In between, there's a Southern swing to Charlotte and Atlanta and a meeting with the Pistons at the Palace. It's a schedule only a pilot could love, but, aside from the quirky travel, the games represent a chance for the Celtics to not only stay alive, but maybe even exhale. 

In Rick We Trust

March 5, 1999  Believe it: Celtics are back;
   There will be bumps in the parquet - like the narrow loss to the Nets on Monday and the hideous beating in Cleveland Tuesday - but the Celtics are New England's feel-good team of this spring season.

Truly.