Carr and Maxwell Make Their Presence Felt From Bench

One is 34 years old and on the downside of an undistinguished career. The other is a former playoff hero relegated to the sidelines because of injury. Together, M.L. Carr and Cedric Maxwell are the Boston’s bench warriors, helping the Celtics by cheerleading, back-slapping and opponent-baiting.

Carr, who has an on-court reputation as a hatchet man, says he resents being called a cheerleader because it downplays what he considers an important role on the team.

“Being called a cheerleader means having pompons and a dress,” Carr said. “I’m close to that with the towel waving -- but it’s not pompons.

“If I was a guy on the bench sulking because I’m not playing, then everyone could say negative things. But I try to help by complimenting my teammates, showing younger guys little things about the game, giving encouragement. If that makes me a cheerleader, then call me a cheerleader. If it helps the Celtics win games, I want to be a part of it.”

“Psychologically, it’s always tough to sit on the bench,” said Maxwell, the Most Valuable Player in the 1981 finals who also had 24 points, eight rebounds and eight assists in the seventh game of Boston’s final-round victory over Los Angeles last year.

“I would like to be playing more, especially in a situation where I’ve done well in the past, but if you have to come off the bench you have to support your teammates. Because I’m not playing, I’m not going to sit down and brood.”

“That’s the difference between being on the Celtics and other teams,” Carr said. “Sitting on the bench for the Celtics is like sitting on a throne.”

Physically sitting on a bench, however, is something that Carr rarely does. During the current championship series against the Lakers, he can be seen raising the crowd to an emotional pitch with towel-waving, punching the air with his fist when his teammates make a big play and, on the road, deflecting criticism away from his teammates and on himself by answering fan abuse.

“I’m an emotional person. When I’m upset, everyone will know. If I’m happy, everybody knows that. If a guy does something great, I’m going to be complimentary. That’s my personality and I can’t suppress my feelings.

“On so many teams, guys not in the game just sit there. It doesn’t have to be that way. The guys on the bench can be very instrumental in helping the guys on the floor. I can see things on the sidelines and point them out. It’s a way to let out your energies until you get called to go on the floor.”

Carr was called to play in only five of Boston’s first 16 playoff games this season, a far cry from the 1978-79 season when he was second in the NBA in minutes played and averaged 18.7 points a game for Detroit.

Maxwell, the field-goal percentage leader in Celtics playoff history at .546, is not as demonstrative as Carr, but neither is he glued to the bench.

“Max is joining in because it’s the first time he’s been on the sidelines,” Carr said. “He’s always been a starter, just like I was once a starter. Now he’s on the sidelines and he’s got to find something to keep his mind into the ballgame. It’s to his credit.”

“It’s not the situation I want to be in, but I have to do what I can,” said Maxwell, who underwent arthroscopic knee surgery Feb. 20 and is averaging less than 14 minutes per game in the playoffs.

While Maxwell, at 29, probably has productive years ahead of him, the 34-year-old Carr realizes that his bench role on the Celtics could be his last in the NBA.

“It helps that I don’t have an ego problem about playing anymore,” Carr said. “I’ve had my day and I understand that. My career is on the way down.”

One of Carr’s pleasures is to get under the skin of an opposing player.

“Occasionally, I get on an opponent,” Carr said, grinning devilishly. “But a lot of it trying to get them to direct their madness at me and not the guys on the floor. If they do that to me, they’re wasting their breath.

“Talking to an opponent is all part of trying to get a psychological advantage. Some guys it affects, some it doesn’t. It’s a part of the game I enjoy.

“I even read all the newspapers every day, trying to find things to motivate the team,” Carr said.

That habit has benefits to the team that Carr may not have realized. Teammate Larry Bird said Carr saves him valuable time every morning.

“I never have to read the paper,” Bird said, “because 10 minutes after I get to the arena, M.L. has told me everything that’s in it.”