Celtics’ McHale Redefines Consistency

Several mysterious aspects of this unusual Boston Celtics season will remain forever indecipherable.

There have been some constants, and one of them has been the play of Kevin McHale. It would be neither outlandish nor naive to suggest that he has been, from day one, the most consistent performer on a team riddled with inconsistencies.

Defensively, he has shown signs of being the dreaded opponent swallower of years past. He is blocking shots as he once did, which is to say, often. He has added a three-point shot to his already potent offensive arsenal--there still is no one as adept in the low post--and he is trailing only deadeye Larry Bird in the free-throw race.

“Kevin has had an exceptional year,” said Celtic Coach Jimmy Rodgers. “He has been the epitome of efficiency. He has added a couple new dimensions to his game. He really has been solid.”

Now, for the first time, the Celtics apparently have started to show something. Just what that “something” is cannot be defined and the victims of their recent streak are pretty much borderline lottery teams or the New York Knicks, who are playing like one.

But the recent streak, seven victories in eight games, has coincided with one significant roster move. After the team lost three in a row at home (OK, well two in Boston and one in Hartford), Rodgers decided that it was time. McHale, who had been the club’s primary reliever through 58 games, was to become a starter again.

Unlike someone else on the team, McHale has not squawked about his minutes this season, although they have been shaved. He has not squawked about his role, although that, too, has been altered.

He has resolutely refused to get excited over a good team performance because it generally has been followed by one that wasn’t so good. One of the more clairvoyant statements of the season came from McHale, who ridiculed any suggestion that the Celtics had “turned the corner” after playing superbly in beating Phoenix on Super Sunday. He was right. Five days later, they lost to Minnesota.

Now, however, the Celtics have put together some victories and are in the race for the Atlantic Division title. Bird has picked up his game, most noticeably his shooting. And McHale? He has been a certifiable monster since taking over the starting job.

He now is playing the minutes he used to play--39.8 a game as a starter--after averaging almost 31 as a sub. In the eight games, he is averaging 27 points, as opposed to 19.5 as a reserve. He is shooting 68.8% from the field after going 52.2% as a reserve.

You want rebounds? He had 13 against the Knicks last Saturday and 13 against the Cleveland Cavaliers. In this eight-game run, he’s hauling down 9.4 a game. As a reserve, it was 7.8. And blocked shots? Glad you asked. As a sub, McHale rejected 1.7. In the last eight games, he has been a one-man swat crew, turning away 19. He had five against Cleveland and four against the Atlanta Hawks.

Against the Knicks, he had a slow start and finished with 27 points and 13 rebounds. He had a big hoop down the stretch to thwart a Knicks rally. He blocked a Kenny Walker shot after New York pulled within three. He even took on Patrick Ewing for a while, although that was a losing proposition for most of the night.

Coaches and players often think that whoever starts a game isn’t nearly as important as who finishes. Never mind that 99% of the time, it’s usually the same people who do both.

But having McHale as a starter is different because it gives Boston an added weapon offensively and defensively. In the last eight games, for instance, the Celtics have led after the first quarter in seven (Orlando being the exception.) The average lead going into the second quarter was almost eight points.

And as the season winds down and the serious stuff gears up, it is apparent to Rodgers and Co. that McHale had better be on the floor as much as possible.

Said Trent Tucker, “you heard a lot of stuff earlier this season about McHale coming off the bench and the Celtics using a lot of people. Look who’s starting now?”

Assistant coach Chris Ford was asked about McHale being moved into the starting five again.

“We needed some more production offensively,” Ford said. “The game plan all along has been to buy time for Kevin so he would be fresh and ready for the playoffs. I don’t see anything wrong with his playing long minutes now. He’s fresh.”

This week will tell us a lot about the resiliency of the newest Celtics’ incarnation. Indiana is no picnic. And Wednesday night in Philadelphia already has prompted the following, Kruschevian warning from Charles Barkley.

“We’re going to pound them into the floor. I’m tired of answering questions about the Celtics. Not one player, if you match them up, is better (than the Sixers),” Barkley said.

Then, the Detroit Pistons come to town Friday.

Few could argue that the Celtics appear to be as ready as they have been all year to meet the challenge. But no one has to tell McHale that appearance and reality often have been irreconcilable adversaries this season.

“No one was satisfied with what we did in the first half of the season,” he said. “We stunk out a lot of joints. Now, we’re getting things going. We know we’re not going to win every game, but if we can play well and continue to improve, we’ll be going into the playoffs on a high. And that’s what you want.”