Reggie Lewis May Be What Celtics Need--a Havlicek Off Bench

Boston Celtics will insist they knew it all along. But one illuminating discovery for their fans in this otherwise dreary season is that Boston appears to have a legitimate player in Reggie Lewis.

Michael Jordan praised him. Isiah Thomas tossed basketball bonbons in his direction. Laker Coach Pat Riley lauded the second-year pro from Northeastern.

Lewis has settled comfortably into the Larry Bird-vacated spot at forward and has put up some nifty numbers. As a starter, Lewis is shooting 52% from the field and averaging 18.9 points a game. He had a career-high 6 assists in each of his last 2 games.

But more important to the team in the Big Picture, the one Coach Jimmy Rodgers continues to paint, is Lewis’ emergence as a force and his teammates’ recognition of that status. He gives the lead-footed Celtics something they haven’t had in a while: a swift, nimble, athletic player who is neither afraid to get the ball in sticky situations nor the least bit shy about taking the shot.

“I think they have confidence in me to take that shot down the stretch,” said Lewis. “Early on, I was looking for Kevin (McHale) or Robert Parish in the late stages. Now, they are starting to look for me, setting picks for me. I’ve shown I can score.”

Yes, he has. And he never has been bashful about taking the ball to the basket; his first shot as a Celtic came approximately 0.00002 seconds after touching the ball for the first time.

Lewis is used to being the focal point after 4 years of carrying Northeastern. That’s why he seldom worries about who’s guarding him or who the Celtics are playing. He still knifes through a defensive alignment as if it were Northeastern vs. Canisius before 250 people at Matthews Arena.

“I never really looked at myself as a scorer, but if the shot is there, I’m certainly going to take it,” he said. “For me, that’s natural. The instinct to score comes naturally and if you have it, you’ve got to go to it.”

That Lewis is starting, scoring and starring for the Celtics this early in this season is a much-needed boost for the beleaguered Rodgers. Although Rodgers and the players say none of Lewis’ exploits surprise them, there was precious little evidence of what he could do in game situations coming into this season.

He played only 405 minutes all last season--he has more than doubled that already. There were occasional flashes--a brief relief stint in Milwaukee in February and some impressive moments against Atlanta in the playoffs. But for the most part, he was nailed to K.C. Jones’ bench while the Celtics, in desperate need of fresh bodies, collapsed in the playoffs.

But Rodgers made it clear from Day 1 that Lewis would play. The Celtics rewarded him over the summer with a three-year contract for about $1.1 million. And when Bird went down, Lewis eventually stepped into the breach after Brad Lohaus struggled.

“Reggie doesn’t surprise us at all,” Rodgers said. “We saw many of these things a year ago and now he has a chance and he is capitalizing. He is growing as a player. We knew he was athletic. We knew he could score. But he’s also doing a lot of other things for us--passing, rebounding, playing defense--and he’s just going to get better and better.”

Lewis is one of two regulars, Dennis Johnson is the other, whose statistics are better on the road than at home.

Among Lewis’ memorable road shows have been 33- and 32-point performances in Chicago, a 28-pointer against the Knicks and a 26-pointer in New Jersey against the Nets. His high for a home game is his 22-point relief stint against the Lakers.

All of this leaves Rodgers with the pleasant prospect of bringing Lewis off the bench when Bird returns, probably in March.