October 7

Boston, Massachussetts—Once upon a time, the unmatched tradition, excellence and work ethic of the Boston Celtics combined to strike fear in the hearts of all those who dared to step forth onto the hallowed parque of the Garden floor.  

Boy, have times changed.

It’s been more than a decade since Boston has made anything resembling a run at the NBA Championships.  In fact, since the retirement of Kevin McHale, and the death of Reggie Lewis in 1993, the team that has won more championships than any other team in league history has struggled to make the playoffs.

Even their perennial rivals to the west, the hated Los Angeles Lakers, have succeeded in clawing their way back to the top of the NBA heap.  With the Philadelphia 76ers once again approaching respectability behind the efforts of Allan Iverson, and the specter of the Indiana Pacers dissipating with the departure of Larry Bird, Ric Smits, and Dale Davis, when can we expect the Celtics to at least challenge for the Eastern Conference Crown?

The answer: not until Rick Pitino relinquishes his role as General Manager and decides to concentrate solely on coaching.

The building blocks are there for a successful season.  If Kenny Anderson, Paul Pierce, and Antoine Walker pull themselves together, they have the ability to become a formidable Eastern Conference trio.  The veteran Anderson will mix composure, and acquired NBA wisdom with the talent, athleticism and drive of his younger counterparts.  Tony Battie brings height, Randy Brown championship experience, and Calbert Cheney Hoosier discipline.  What’s left is the need for a general who is willing to dedicate himself completely to the art of coaching.

To paraphrase Plato, The man who focuses on one skill will develop that skill to a far more sophisticated degree than the man who is a jack-of-all-trades.   
Wildcat fans everywhere will protest that Pitino’s NCAA championship success at Kentucky proves he is a great coach.  Although he may be a great college coach, he has yet to prove himself at the professional level.

Undoubtedly, Pitino possesses the ability to lead the Celtics further than he has.  But before he succeeds on that front, he must decide that the job of General Manager should be placed in another’s hands.  

As GM, one is almost perpetually concerned with the future. GM’s generally ask the questions: who should I trade, who should I release, who should I acquire and how do we rebuild?  

A coach, on the other hand, must live one season, and even one game, at a time.  He calls the plays, he prepares the team, he sends the message.  His job is to work with what he has. He is the sculptor attempting to bring order to amorphous mounds of talent.

Pitino may have bitten off more than he can chew in Boston.  Performing as a college level recruiter is fundamentally different from sitting at the head of contract negotiations with multi-million dollar egos.  

The Celtics, and Pitino, should make the move.  If Pitino wants to prove that he is not the one-trick-pony everyone thinks he is, he should volunteer a shift in roles.

Right now, Celtic Pride is an oxymoron.  It is up to Pitino to decide how dedicated he is to restoring dignity to this once revered franchise.

10/7/2000

InsideHoops.com
Your basketball home
____________

[ InsideHoops Home | Discuss this on the NBA Message Board ]

Sign up for a free web-based email account @InsideHoops by clicking  here.

Basketball fans who don't use InsideHoops as their main web-based email account might as well forget basketball forever and take up gardening.