 |
| |
|
 |
 |
||
 |
 |
||
 |
|||
EVENTS
CENTERS
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE
|
 |
Boston Celtics Celtics hope to build on last season's late success
Updated: Thursday October 04, 2001 6:00 PM
By Marty Burns, CNNSI.com Last year the Celtics finished out of the playoffs for the sixth consecutive year, but there was reason for optimism in Beantown. Under head coach Jim O'Brien, who took over for Rick Pitino at midseason, the team played with a renewed fire and made a run for the postseason that lasted to the final week. Duly impressed, management hired O'Brien full time. Boston didn't go after any expensive free agents because of fears of the luxury tax. Instead the Celtics signed Paul Pierce to a long-term extension, ensuring he and Antoine Walker would be the building blocks for the future. They lost Adrian Griffin and Bryant Stith to free agency, but drafted three promising athletes in Joe Johnson, Joseph Forte and Kedrick Brown.
The Celtics' main question at training camp will be to see how well Walker can play at point guard. Boston has grown frustrated with Kenny Anderson's shoot-first mentality and his lack of durability, and considers backup Randy Brown to be strictly a defensive specialist. If the 6-foot-8 Walker can play point, it could free up room for Johnson, whose size, athleticism, and shooting touch are all sorely needed on the perimeter. Boston also will put heavy focus on improving its porous defense. New assistant coach Dick Harter, former architect of the Bad Boys Pistons and Riley-era Knicks, should help. His first goal will be to find which of the team's trio of centers -- Vitaly Potapenko, Tony Battie or 7-foot Mark Blount -- can best hold down the middle. Standout Stat: 8 Number of 40-plus games Pierce tallied last season.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
