NO GREEN ROOKIE : Shaw Is Making an Impact on Celtics

Recent Boston Celtics rookies, with few exceptions, rarely have been seen or heard. Tradition dictated that they sit quietly at the end of the bench, absorb the so-called Celtic mystique and maybe count the cracks in the parquet floor until the apprenticeship was over.

But in this period of change for one of the National Basketball Assn.’s most successful and traditional franchises, Brian Shaw could be called a post-modern Celtic rookie, eager and able to play immediately and unfazed by pressure.

By preference and necessity, the team’s new coach, Jimmy Rodgers, has turned to Shaw, the Celtics’ first-round draft pick from UC Santa Barbara, for frequent help off the bench for an old team.

Shaw may wear Celtic green, but he is not a green Celtic. The lithe, 6-foot 6-inch point guard has served capably as a backup for Dennis Johnson. And he played so well in place of the injured Danny Ainge earlier this season that Ainge hurried back and then groused about playing time.

Going into tonight’s regular-season meeting between the Lakers (16-5) and Celtics (10-11), Shaw has averaged the most playing time by a Celtic rookie, 25.8 minutes a game, since Kevin McHale in 1980-81 and has drawn the most attention from Boston fans since Larry Bird’s rookie season.

A streaky shooter, Shaw is averaging 12.1 points and is shooting 39.3%. But he is a talented defensive player with a build and tenacity comparable to those of Michael Cooper. Averaging 5.5 assists a game, Shaw has shifted the Celtics’ sometimes stagnant set-up offense into an up-tempo style more suited to Rodgers’ philosophy.

What has astounded some Celtic traditionalists is the aplomb with which Shaw has handled his situation.

“I don’t necessarily consider myself a rookie,” Shaw said. “I consider myself just a basketball player. I think I’ve earned (his teammates’) respect.

“If Kevin or Chief (Robert Parish) want the ball and it’s not the play that’s going to work, I’m not going to give it to them just because they’ve been there. The ball is in my hand, as point guard. I have to run the team when I’m in there.”

Shaw made that point in the season’s first game, an overtime victory against the New York Knicks. Shaw replaced Ainge with 5 minutes to play and the Celtics losing.

By the time Shaw left, with only 12 seconds left in overtime, the Celtics were headed to victory; Shaw had proven his value. During that final stretch, Shaw pushed the ball up the court, barked out plays to teammates, fired passes inside to Bird and McHale and even got a few rebounds. He had 5 assists on 7 Celtic baskets in overtime.

The line in Shaw’s professional debut: 7 points, 8 assists, 6 rebounds, 1 blocked shot, 2 turnovers, 0 fouls.

And--surprise, surprise--27 minutes played.

After 21 games, Shaw has shown the inconsistency of most rookies, but still has been productive. And he still points to that first game as a foundation for his success. “That game’s behind me, but I think I showed something,” said Shaw, the last player cut from the 1988 U.S. Olympic basketball team. “When you come out under all those banners and retired numbers, you get the sensation that all those guys are looking over you.

“The thing I got most out of it was that Jimmy had the confidence to play me back in, because I had made 2 turnovers earlier in the game. He’s a rookie, too. For him to have confidence in me means a lot.”

Rodgers, whose team is struggling without Bird, has had his faith in Shaw rewarded. In games against the New Jersey Nets on consecutive nights at the end of November, Shaw started in place of the injured Dennis Johnson and showed his capabilities. In 27 minutes on Nov. 29 at the Meadowlands, Shaw had 10 points, 11 assists and 5 rebounds. The next night, at the Boston Garden, Shaw played 40 minutes and had 17 points, 10 assists, 8 rebounds and 4 steals.

But because he has played so much so soon, Shaw’s weaknesses also have been exposed. He has yet to prove he can score consistently from outside--in the Celtics’ first 16 games, he shot only 37.9%--and he occasionally plays out of control. In a typical game for him, Nov. 23 against Charlotte, Shaw made only 2 of 7 shots, but had 5 rebounds and 4 assists in 26 minutes. Rodgers used him at point guard during the stretch run, when the Celtics held on to defeat the expansion Hornets.

“I really didn’t know what to expect when I was drafted here,” said Shaw, who grew up in Northern California and was a fan of the Golden State Warriors. “There was a new coach and everyone was talking about using more players.

“I feel fortunate and lucky to come here when I have, rather than the way it was before. I’m trying to learn as much as possible. I look at other (rookies) in the league drafted ahead of me, and they aren’t playing as much as I am.

“What’s made it easier is that I’m playing with good players. They have come to respect me. When they get the rebound, they don’t hesitate to look to get the ball to me. They do that, because I first look for the other guys to score, then me.”

Opponents, who have seen the statistical sheets, look for the same thing. They don’t expect Shaw to score much. Coach Doug Collins of the Chicago Bulls even revealed his plan before playing the Celtics--leave Shaw open for jump shots.

Shaw said he welcomes that strategy. Eventually, he said, his outside shooting will improve. “I definitely have a lot of confidence in my shot,” he said. “It’s not falling right now. Looking back at game films, I’m not necessarily missing my outside shots but my drives (through the lane). I get caught in the air with nowhere to go and I make off-balance shots. Sometimes, I force a shot on a drive, rather than just pull up and shoot the jumper.”

Besides, Shaw rates defense as the most important part of his game. But in that area, too, Shaw has been inconsistent.

“My job is to pester guards and generally cause problems,” he said. “But at the beginning of the season, I didn’t have respect for the abilities of most of the players in this league and I thought I could get up and wrap myself around them like a wet blanket. I got beat sometimes, but I’m working on it.”

Shaw has been working closely with Rodgers. “We even talk on the phone sometimes at night,” Shaw said. “With him being a rookie and me being a rookie, we’re going through the same sort of thing.”

Not exactly. Rodgers was K.C. Jones’ long-time assistant, and Bill Fitch’s before that. He is trying to transform the old Celtics from a slow, banging team to a young one that runs. He has found that transition difficult.

Shaw, on the other hand, says he has adjusted well.

He said he likes living in Boston but hasn’t really seen much of the city. And he’s not nuts for the climate.

“Too cold,” he said. “It’s 5 degrees with a bad wind chill. I haven’t left the apartment all day.”

Another adjustment has been life on the road.

“The hardest thing for me has been the schedule and all that travel,” Shaw said. “Sleeping in foreign beds and learning how to eat right and take care of myself. I look at the veterans, like Kevin and D.J., and they say if you burn the candle at both ends on the road, you’ll never make it.”

Some around the league have compared Shaw to Dennis Johnson, because both are from West Coast schools--Johnson went to Pepperdine--and both started with reputations as strong ball handlers and defensive players who could not shoot well from the outside.

“I’ve watched him since he played at Pepperdine,” Shaw said of Johnson. “I can relate to his game. People said he couldn’t shoot. They say the same thing about me.

“But there has to be someone on the court to do the dirty work, bring the ball up the court and set up the offense. Someone who’s not flashy, but you pick up the box score after the game and see he’s had a solid game. (Johnson) is like that. I’d like to be that way.”

Johnson has overcome his shortcomings, and many believe Shaw will, too. “People talk about his shooting, but that will improve,” New Jersey Net Coach Willis Reed said. “He can do things off the dribble, and he can penetrate. He’s got the most important part of the point guard game whipped.

“I’d rather have a guy with his skills who doesn’t shoot all that well than have a guy who can shoot but can’t do all the other things Brian Shaw can do. I think the Celtics got a jewel there.”

The difference is, this Celtic jewel is being polished much sooner than others before him.