Celtic Integrity More Important Than the Draft

Potentially one of the ugliest moments in National Basketball Assn. history was avoided in the last game of the regular season when a struggling former champion refused to be seduced by the benefits of losing.

The Boston Celtics had much to gain by dumping that last game. A victory guaranteed them nothing more than a first-round playoff loss to the Detroit Pistons. A defeat created the possibility of winning the draft lottery and getting an impact player to team with a healthy Larry Bird. The Celtics could have regained their elite standing quickly.

The obvious immorality of losing on purpose was magnified by the fact that the Celtics would have had to lose to the helpless Charlotte Hornets in front of the Boston Garden home crowd while playing on the storied parquet floor below 16 NBA championship banners.

The Celtics, however, played it straight. No funny stuff with weird lineups. No resting regulars. They won the game and lost a chance at the No. 1 pick. Then they lost three consecutive games to the Pistons.

“What did we gain?” asked Boston President Red Auerbach. “Nothing. But it was a matter of maintaining our self-respect. You try to win every single game you play.”

But what about Boston fans and members of the Boston media who wanted the Celtics to lose so that they could win in the draft? “I don’t give a damn about those people,” Auerbach growled. “Once a team loses its integrity, then you’re in the wrong business. It’s a terrible thing to do that.”

Which is true, but it hasn’t stopped others. Anyway, the point for the Celtics now is: Where to from here? During the 1989-90 season, Robert Parish will be 36, Bird will be 33 and Kevin McHale will be 32. McHale has trade value, so perhaps it is time to move him for a younger player and a No. 1 pick.

“We don’t contemplate major moves,” Auerbach said. “We feel with Larry back and the development of our younger players and adding a player in the draft, we’ll be all right.”

And that, too, may be true. Consider the rise of the Phoenix Suns, who went from 28 to 55 victories in one season, primarily because of the acquisition of Tom Chambers. And the Golden State Warriors went from 20 to 43 victories with Mitch Richmond as the only significant addition.

It seems now that the NBA is in an era in which teams can swing drastically with one major and perhaps one or two minor additions. And the Celtics will have that major addition in a healthy Bird, who is expected to be fully recovered from heel surgery. Boston also has the 13th pick in the college draft.

The playoff experience, although limited, also should help young players such as Reggie Lewis and Brian Shaw, much as the first-round, four-game series against the Celtics last year helped the New York Knicks’ young players.

But more than anything else, what will help the Celtics is that they maintained their championship tradition of trying to win. They understand that any team that believes losing leads to winning is nothing more than a loser.

The Word From Bird--Bird met with Boston reporters the day after the Celtics’ elimination, and he had some pointed comments, although he refused to name names. “To get this going again, everybody’s got to give 100 percent,” Bird said. “You (reporters) are around enough to know who’s doing it and who’s not. Everybody’s been sliding for a couple of years. We never had to worry about guys not giving the effort three or four years ago, but we have that now. Not only this year, but last year and the year before.”

Interesting. The only other players on the roster who were in Boston during the 1986-87 season are McHale, Parish and Dennis Johnson. So who is Bird talking about? Speculation in Boston is that Bird has not been enamored with McHale’s play, but neither player will comment on the matter.

If Bird is upset with McHale, that increases the likelihood of a McHale trade. What Larry wants in Boston, Larry usually gets.

The Denver Bricklayers--The Denver Nuggets won the Midwest Division championship in 1987-88 but finished third this season, then were eliminated in the first playoff round. Part of their problem was their reliance on outside shooting, particularly their reliance on low-percentage outside shooters.

Of the top 50 scorers in the NBA, Fat Lever was 47th in field-goal percentage (.457) and Michael Adams was 49th (.433), and those two, the starting guards, were two of the Nuggets’ top three scorers.

Lever has suggested that he might be traded in the off-season because he is the Nuggets’ most marketable player. Denver Coach Doug Moe said, “Nothing is 100 percent in the NBA. But the closest thing is that we’re not going to trade Fat Lever.”

The dreaded vote of confidence. Bye, Fat.

Summer Games in LA--Anyone in need of an August basketball fix might consider a vacation in Los Angeles. David Robinson will be there, playing for the Spurs’ summer league team. And Roy Tarpley, who played in only 19 games this season because of a knee injury and a second stint in a drug rehabilitation clinic, will play for the Mavericks’ summer league team.

Caught Short--Seattle backup guard Avery Johnson had a minor problem with his shorts in last Tuesday’s Sonics-Rockets game. Johnson apparently wasn’t too careful when he dressed, so when he entered the game, he noticed that his shorts were on backwards. Seattle Coach Bernie Bickerstaff called time out and the Sonics players huddled around Johnson, who made the proper adjustments. “I know everyone is laughing at me now,” Johnson said, “so what can I say?”

He Isn’t What He Drinks--Witnessing this scene might have been worth the price of a round-trip plane ticket to Oakland, Calif. After the Warriors eliminated the Utah Jazz last Tuesday, there was a going-away party for Golden State public relations director Cheri White, who will join the NBA PR staff in New York after the Warriors’ season ends. Several players attended, including Larry Smith, who entered the restaurant and worked his way to the bar. A person standing near the renowned Mr. Mean burst out laughing when Smith, in a deep voice, told the bartender, “I’ll have a Shirley Temple.”

Highs and Lows--Ricky Pierce’s 35 points in last Tuesday’s Bucks-Hawks game were a career high. . . . And, as difficult as it is to believe, Bill Cartwright is getting less aggressive. Last season, he led the NBA by scoring 37% of his points from the free-throw line. This season, he was down to 25%.