Quick Post: Sporcle Quiz

My all-time favorite Sporcle quiz:  Pro Teams of the 60s .  Love the ABA teams.  (Hint:  One of them is in the name of this blog!)  I can't seem to score perfectly, no matter how I often I try it.  If you get a good score, share it with us.

Spurs Notes: Writing a Premature Epitaph for Duncan / Tony Parker - Eva Longoria

Update 11/17: There is a new report today from SI.com that Tony Parker and Eva Longoria are divorcing.  After a day yesterday where rumors abounded that they were filing for a divorce in Texas, there is confirmation that she did, in fact, petition for a divorce and the reinstatement of her pre-marriage name in California today.
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David Robinson is the all-time Spurs leading scorer with 20,790 points.  Close behind and creeping ever closer is Tim Duncan, who currently sits at 20,762.  (To be fair, Duncan has 3914 playoff points to Robinson's 2221, plus three more rings, so while he really already has more points, but that's not how the records are kept.)  In pursuit of the regular-season Spurs points title, Duncan registered the following three boxscores:

• 11/10 vs. Clippers:  6 points, 3/7 FG, 6 rebounds, 3 blocks
• 11/12 vs. Sixers:  7 points, 2/9 FG, 3/3 FT
• 11/14 at Thunder:  6 points, 2/7 FG, 4 rebounds 3 blocks

Not exactly rolling along like gangbusters, eh?  Those look more like Dampier numbers than Duncan numbers.  But consider the following mitigating factors here before we send the greatest power forward in NBA history out to pasture:

1)  Duncan had the flu and Popovich limited his playing time to an average of 23 minutes in the three games.  While the shooting numbers and rebounding totals weren't great, Duncan's plus/minus ratings for the three games were +15, +28, and +5.  And that leads to...

2)  The Spurs won all three games.  Do you think that Popovich and Duncan care about anything else but cranking out the W's?  If they win, they're happy -- hence the nickname 'Big Fundamental'.

3)  It's okay to defer to the guards.  In the first three quarters of the game against the Sixers, the Spurs starting backcourt of Parker and Ginobili outscored the Philly tandem of Jrue Holiday and  Evan Turner by a margin of 42-2. Parker and Ginobili shot 16-of-23 while Holiday and Turner went 1-of-12 from the field.  When things are going that well, Duncan is wise to defer to the hot hands of his teammates.

Don't count out the Duncan and the Spurs yet.  Adding another year to Duncan's resume doesn't make him any scarier to his playoff opponents.  But there are so many other factors that will make the Spurs dangerous this year:  extra time in the Spurs' system for Jefferson, the health of Parker and Ginobili, added playing experience for youngsters George Hill and DeJuan Blair, and the acquisition of pivot-man Tiago Splitter.  The Spurs could still be the most dangerous threat to the Lakers in the Western Conference.

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And while we're on the topic of the Spurs, TMZ is reporting that Tony Parker and Eva Longoria are divorcing.  While those rumors swirl, their representatives are making vigorous denials.  Either way, I get to include one of my favorite photo sequences of all-time: Parker, Longoria, and soccer player Thierry Henry at a US/France exhibition game.

Aaah. Those crazy Frenchmen.  (I can relate.  Despite the tile of the blog, my heritage is French/Portuguese.)  I don't think Thierry was looking for his car keys.

Monday Notes -- Team Statistics

Ten games (or so) into the season and there are some telling gems in the "team statistics" department.   Let's take a look at some of the winners and losers in key departments.  Some tell stories you probably already know; others may reveal the unexpected.

• Assists:  Here is one stat that is probably not a surprise if you seen some of their early-season games.  The Celtics smooth offense leads the league with 268 assists, while the discombobulated Thunder attack is struggling with a league-low 146.  Rotation guys Serge Ibaka, Nenad Krstic, and Jeff Green have combined for a total of 10 assists this season.  Way to make the extra pass, fellas.
• Opponent's FG percentage:  Three best:  Dallas, New Orleans, Milwaukee.  No surprises there.  Dallas started well last year, but will sustain it this year by adding Chandler and Butler and subtracting Dampier.  Three worst:  Washington, Toronto, Sacramento.  Washington has gotten excellent shot-blocking so far from Javale McGee and a suprising Yi Jianlian, but they are woeful rebounders and they get pushed around inside for easy buckets.
• Opponent's 3-pt. FG percentage:  Another bad mark for the OKC Thunder -- they are letting opponents hit 43.4% of their shots from deep.  As Kobe said recently, you can't "put guys in the gym by themselves."  The Thunder are giving opposing shooters way too much space.  On the other end of the spectrum, the Hornets have been magnificent, allowing only 28.2% of their opponents shots.  The league leaders in recent years have been in the 31%-34% range, so perhaps we can expect some regression to the mean in this department.  Or maybe we can expect more of the same:  New Orleans is second in the league (behind Dwight Howard and the Magic,) allowing opponents only 80 offensive rebounds this season -- depriving them of the golden second-chance looks that often lead to wide-open threes.
• Steals:  Want to begrudge Mike Conley and his $40 million contract?  His league-leading 30 steals have paced the Grizzlies to a high mark of 113 steals.  The league average is 72.  The Nets scrape bottom here with only 39.  Maybe we should tell them that it is good to have possession of the ball?
• FT percentage:  Here's a head scratcher -- for all the trouble that the Thunder have had this season, they are hitting 87% of their free throws this season.  What makes this stat all the more remarkable?  Their top-8 rotation guys are 23 years old, on average.  It's rare to see such a young bunch with such sweet strokes.  On the other hand, for obvious reasons, Orlando is hitting 65.1% of their free throws.  More to come in a second.
• Opponent's FT percentage:  Okay, this one is a bit of a farce.  Nobody is playing good FT defense.  The worst:  Orlando's opposition has made 81% of their free throws.  The best:  New Jersey's has made 70.1%.  What do we learn here?  1)  Orlando doesn't get the benefit of playing against Orlando (and Dwight Howard).  2)  New Jersey is 3-6 despite being rather lucky.

Buffalo Braves In the News

Okay, okay, the Buffalo Braves aren't really in the news.  But they did come up a couple of times over the last week and, given the sorry state of the Bills, if one fan from Buffalo smiles in nostalgic reminiscence, then it was worth the mention.

In a glorious display of fiery-hot shooting, the Indiana Pacers scored 54 points in the third quarter of their victory over the Nuggets on Tuesday night.  In one dizzying stretch, the Pacers had consecutive possessions where Mike Dunleavy

• Was fouled on three-pointer and made 2/3 free throws
• Made a 27-foot three point jumper
• Made a 26-foot three point jumper
• Was fouled on three-pointer and made all three free throws
• Made a 27-foot three point jumper 

and he finished the quarter with 24 points.  In case you were wondering (and really, if you follow the NBA, you really shouldn't have to wonder), J.R. Smith was the defender on those five plays.  Well done, J.R., well done.

54 points sounds like an awful lot for one quarter.  But they broke no records for points in a quarter, and not just because Josh McRoberts chose to break out his ugly jumper in the final seconds of the quarter to turn 20/20 FG shooting into 20/21.  The actual record for points in a quarter is held by ... the Buffalo Braves.  On October 20, 1972, in a game with the Celtics, the Braves scored 58 in the final 12 minutes.  And lost.  Let me say that again:  they outscored the opposition 58-23 in the fourth quarter and lost.   Here's a clip of the New York Times boxscore for the game (which was positioned just to the right of a feature article on an old, odd variation of tennis: court tennis.)

Fun little boxscore, eh?  Did Don Nelson shoot 2-2 or 2-17.  Who knows?

The late Randy Smith, who passed away not too long ago, scored 23 of his 29 points in the final frame.  And keep in mind that unlike the Pacers, the Braves managed to put up 58 points without the benefit of the three-point shot! 

The Braves, who came into the league in 1970 along with Portland and Cleveland, came to my attention a second time this week when Bill Simmons posted this pic to his Twitter account of him as a youngster, eyeballing John Havlicek on crutches during the 1976

playoff series between Boston and Buffalo.  After defeating Philadelphia in the first round, they split the first four games with Boston before losing in 6 games to the eventual champs.  Following that defeat, things went sourly for the franchise.  Coach Jack

I couldn't resist.  Posting about Havlicek made me want to show off my Wordle creation -- based upon Celtics scoring (idea thanks to Hoopism).  As their all-time leading scorer, Havlicek figures most prominently.

Ramsay would leave for Portland and McAdoo would leave halfway through the following season.  Attendance suffered and David Stern (then an NBA lawyer) mediated a deal where Braves owner John Y. Brown swapped franchises with Irv Levin, who owned the Celtics.  Why would the Celtics owner want the Braves instead?  Levin wanted to move his team to California; the swap enabled him to get his wish -- the Braves then left to become the San Diego Clippers in 1978*.  Three years later, the Clippers fans would get this news and the rest is (the-worst-team-in-major-US-professional-sports) history.

        The struggling San Diego Clippers have been sold to Donald T. Sterling, 

       a Los Angeles lawyer who said today that he was ''prepared to pay 

       whatever it costs'' to make the team a winner.  Sterling said the 

       franchise would remain in San Diego and that he planned to live 

       here and practice law here and in Los Angeles.  ''We're not that far 

       away,'' Sterling said. ''We can be a winner in a year.''    

       (New York Times, May 5, 1981)

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*If Levin had taken the Celtics, we might have the Celtics and Lakers sharing the same state, or even the Staples Center!

Classic Tweet! Give me your best line to the following...

Mary Schmitt Boyer, who replaced Brian Windhorst as the tweeter for the Cleveland Plain-Dealer's NBA Twitter account, gave an unintentionally hilarious tweet on Andy Varejao today. 

 

This quote is so good -- I am really going to need your best 1-line response.  So what's your best line, people?

Yao and Yi in Chinatown for 400 Million

Tonight at the Verizon Center, in the heart of DC's Chinatown, Yao and Yi faceoff for the first time in the nation's capital.  According to Wizards owner Ted Leonsis, 400 million basketball fans worldwide will watch the game, and yet it still won't be a sellout.*

Some thoughts on the game:

• For what it's worth, Yi has looked fantastic this season defending the pick-and-roll.  When his man sets the screen, Yi gives an excellent show -- very similar to what you'd see from Kevin Garnett.  I know this sounds ludicrous, but until the Wiz make frequent national TV appearances, please trust me.  Playing the FIBA tournament and being the focal point of the Chinese team helped Yi immensely.
• Formally, it's 'Asian Heritage Night' at the Verizon Center.   Features include a halftime Lion Dance, a postgame meet-and-greet with Yi, and a post-game free throw on the court.
• Here is the full statement from Ted Leonsis on his blog:  http://www.tedstake.com/2010/11/10/effort-matters/   Magic Johnson is scheduled to speak to the Wiz tonight.  Now, here's one from the "stuff I made up" department.  Since Magic was rumored to sell his small stake in the Lakers with the hope of getting a larger one with a new NBA team, might he be speaking to Ted about getting a share in the team?   The Pistons, currently for sale, from his home state Michigan were the obvious object of his desire, but Ted just took over ownership and things are still in flux, so I wouldn't say that it's a totally ridiculous thought.
• From the Wizards Game Notes (http://www.nba.com/wizards/news/preview_111010.html), Wiz forward Trevor Booker and Rockets forward Jordan Hill are cousins.  In a frontcourt full of thin guys getting pushed around (all of whom have other, more positive aspects to their skillsets), it's hard to believe a winless team can't find a role for a widebody like Booker.

*(Aaah, the perils of losing for a zillion straight years.  On the flip side, tickets are available, and I live in the DC Metro area -- if you stretch the definition a bit -- so I am very tempted to take the plunge and haul into the city tonight.)

Buried Leads -- Jazz/Heat

Last night's Utah-Miami game was one for The Ages.  You just can't say enough about Millsap's huge 46-point game, capped by three desperation three-pointers in the last minute.  (And Deron Williams had one, too!)  But this game was a masterpiece, with more story-lines than an entire season of Timberwolves basketball.  (Sorry, Minnesota.  Your team is boring.)

1. Watch this link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0eTiC-jjnU.   Unbelievably, it was Dwyane Wade's third-best dunk of the night, with the other two coming much later in the game.   The other two also made NBATV's highlight clip (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LZWqhCFGVA) of the game.  For the first one, late in the fourth quarter, Wade retreated to the corner and waited patiently.  When Ronnie Price turned to watch the ball, Wade cleverly tiptoed around him, cut to the hoop, and LeBron made a nice pass to find him open for a huge dunk.  Then in overtime, Wade gashed through the middle of the lane and soared in for a supernatural, video-game-like jam.  Wade didn't deserve to lose after such a heroic effort, but he did miss a clutch free throw at the end of regulation.
2. Check out the two clips above -- a tale of two halves.  With the big Heat lead, some Miami fans evidently thought it was safe to sneak out early and check out South Beach.  They missed an epic finish.
3. Millsap deserves every bit of praise that he gets for this game.  He was a phenomenal force.  But on the final play of the game, the Jazz received Lady Luck's most sincere blessings.  If the last-second C.J. Miles heave is more accurate, it hits the top of the rim and time runs out before Millsap can get his putback.  Rebounding balls that hit the underside of the rim is a crapshoot under the best of circumstances, and here the Jazz were fortunate that it fell right in their laps before time ran out.
4. The Jazz were down by 22 points with seconds remaining in the first half.  Not only did they came back, but they did so quickly -- they were back in the lead halfway through the 4th quarter.  When the Heat needed a final push through the 4th quarter, LeBron slid into the point guard position and Carlos Arroyo was out.  The crunch time lineup for the heat was LeBron, Wade, Haslem, Bosh, and James Jones.  LeBron did a nice job passing the ball, with 14 assists, but he looked lost without the ball in his hands.  He also shot 5-18.  
5. The three losses for the Heat this season came against the Celtics, the Hornets, and the Jazz -- good teams with elite point guards  Rondo, Chris Paul, and Deron Williams.
6. Al Jefferson was buried in this game.  Kyrylo Fesenko got all the key minutes for the Jazz at the center position, except for the last Jazz possession in OT.  Fesenko moved his feet on defense,  played physically, used his fouls, and showed a nice touch near the basket.  On that last Jazz possession, in a tie game, Fesenko was taken out for a better offensive player and a better FT shooter.  But even then, Sloan went to Francisco Elson instead of Jefferson.  If you want to know why Jefferson rode the pine, check out Wade's first dunk above and look off-the-ball at Jefferson.  That's not the way to gain Jerry's favor.  Jefferson also shot 1-7 on FG for the game.  If Al can't get minutes now, how is he going to get playing time when Okur is back?  To Jefferson's credit, he was on the bench cheering mightily for his teammates during their comeback.
7. Speaking of Fesenko, when the Jazz were desperately trading three-pointers for free throws, why were the Heat covering Fesenko (and everyone else in two-point range) like legitimate threats to score.  The Jazz were down by 8 points with 30 seconds remaining and had to shoot three-pointers.  Look how open Millsap is.     (And shoot they did.  They scored 14 points in 28 seconds, with 11 of those on Millsap's three three-pointers and the final putback.)
8. LeBron collected his first offensive rebound of the season in the third quarter.  Congratulations,  I knew you could do it, Bron-Bron.

LeBron and the Art of Rebounding

Go ahead and read it.  http://sports.espn.go.com/dallas/nfl/news/story?id=5780944.  Yup, that's right, the mainstream media has bothered to tell us what a famous player in one sport in one city thinks of another team in another sport in another city.   Go figure.  Next thing you know, he'll be telling us who should win a Gold Glove at shortstop this year.

For the restoration of sanity, let's flaunt our audacity and take a look at LeBron in his own sport.  The Heat are 5-2, LeBron and DWade are both averaging over 20 points per game, while wreaking havoc on the rest of the league with their defense on opposing wing players.  But LeBron's numbers in the rebounding department are down this year compared to his totals in Cleveland.  In the last three seasons, James has averaged 7.0, 7.2, and 6.7 rebounds per game.  This year, his average is 4.8.  While any data at this point in the season is from a small sample, it still appears to be statistically significant.

To make matters worse, James is missing out on the offensive glass, too.  Reggie Evans has 33 offensive rebounds this season.  Russell Westbrook has 14. Matt Barnes and Grant Hill have 20 apiece. LeBron has the same amount as you and me:  zero.

Below is a shot of LeBron on defense versus the 76ers.  To be fair, it was the second night of a back-to-back, immediately following the media-scrum of the opening game against the Celtics.   But James' technique on the defensive glass is decidedly less than precise.  As the shot goes up, LeBron completely ignores his own man, Evan Turner, on the far side of the court.  He has visual contact on Turner as the shot goes up.

 But without any sort of an attempt by James at boxing out, Turner heads to the hoop around James.

Turner ends up in the middle of the lane.  Here he is right at the hoop (at the peak of the charge circle) and the end result is an offensive rebound and two points for his efforts.

The Celtics, the Lakers, and Playing Time

Last spring, the Celtics and Lakers both went deep into the playoffs, both with aging players whose minutes might be a concern.  At age 35, Ray Allen is coming off a season in which he played over 100 games, regular season and playoffs combined.  It would seem, then, that at an age when most shooting guards are near retirement, Allen's minutes would be an early season concern for the Celtics.  On the contrary, Allen is being used at an incredible rate:  almost 40 minutes per game (39.3) early in this young season.  His teammates are also being used at heavy rates -- each of the Big Four is experiencing a significant bump in minutes, with each player being used at least 9% more than their 2009-2010 rates. 

Boston -- Minutes Per Game

 

Is it part of Doc's plan to ease up later this season?  Once the Celtics get out to their traditional hot start (Boston is an amazing 78-12 in games played on or before Christmas since Garnett and Allen arrived), will these minutes go down?  It might not be surprising that Garnett's minutes are up, considering that in Kendrick Perkins' absence, he is the Celtics finisher at PF/C with Glen Davis as his partner.  But Marquis Daniels has been phenomenally efficient so far this season and it hasn't translated into increased minutes tossed his way.  He could be used more to spell Pierce and Allen, but perhaps Delonte West's return will be the real key in getting them more rest.

Los Angeles - Minutes Per Game

In the Western Conference, the Lakers have taken a different route to get off to their unblemished 7-0 start.  Kobe Bryant's minutes are way down as the team tries to rest his knees.  Artest is also getting less playing time, while Pau Gasol and Derek Fisher get used at about the same rates as they did during the '09-'10 season.  The only player here whose minutes are up significantly is Lamar Odom, arguably the one who might need rest the most over the course of a long season, given that he went from a championship season in June, to FIBA preparation and play in August and September, and then right back to the NBA a few weeks later.  His minutes for this season are up 12%.  It's a trend worth following as the season progresses.

There are other veteran players on championship contenders (Duncan, Nash, Vince Carter, Mike Bibby), but given the long playoff runs of both the Celtics and Lakers, these are the two teams whose minute-management skills may be most important once we get to 2011.  And while the early season is a small sample, the Celtics seem to be taking their chances with such heavy usage of their starters.

Eat 'Em and Smile

There's a certain irony in eating at a restaurant synonymous with your opponents. Let's hope you eat 'em up tomorrow, too, Nate.

PS:  I have to admit:  I miss the Seattle Supersonics.  It was good to see some of their fans in Portland last week when the Trailblazers played the Thunder/Sonics.  I hope you enjoyed your meal, Nate.  You certainly ate them up with this shot:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5JIYyHPtc0.

The 30th Anniversary of the 1980 Boston Celtics Training Camp -- Part 1

With the Walter A. Brown trophy held firmly in his grasp, the rookie smiled and exclaimed to all within earshot.  "They've been trying to get me to carry stuff all year long”, he noted, referring to the typical hazing of first-year players.  “This I'll carry." 

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Before that season, thirty years ago this fall, Kevin McHale hadn’t exactly ingratiated himself to his teammates and management.  He said the right things, to be sure, but it was his holdout – and subsequent threats to play in Italy – that got things off on the wrong foot.  McHale’s holdout was just one twist in a breathtaking sequence of events for the Celtics, all of which transpired in the month before the ‘80-‘81 season.  To put it in perspective: the current Celtics preseason roster sports four Hall of Fame locks (Paul, Shaq, KG, and Ray); back in Fall 1980, the C’s had a revolving roster that, at one point or another, contained six players who made it to the Hall.  But they never made it to the parquet (or any) floor together and some of the anecdotes surrounding their entrances and exits are amusing, bizarre, or some combination of the two.

McHale, of course, was acquired by The Trade in June 1980.   After years of disastrous seasons in the late 70’s, followed by the resurgence of the Celtics in Bird’s rookie year, Auerbach traded the number one overall pick (which they used on Joe Barry Carroll) to Golden State for Robert Parish and the number three pick, which they used to pick.  (The lesser known part of that trade:  Auerbach flat-out hoodwinked Dick Vitale to get the pick that became the #1 overall pick.  Auerbach signed M.L. Carr as a free agent from the Pistons, back when teams were given compensation for the players they lost.  Knowing he was going to owe the Pistons for the signing, Red offered to sweeten the deal, adding Bob McAdoo to Detroit in exchange for two first-round picks.  Not only were there picks, but trading McAdoo freed up playing time for a young Cedric Maxwell.)  At the outset of camp, three months later, McHale remained unsigned.  On September 13^th, a day after veterans reported to camp, Kevin was in Milan and his agent said there was a 90% chance that he would sign to play overseas.  Was this move a negotiating ploy?  Almost certainly, but the Celtics drew a hard line of their own.  On the subject of McHale, Coach Bill Fitch had taken his own verbal jabs.  “I was watching the tape of the NIT finals when Virginia whipped Minnesota, and it's very nice to be able to compare good and bad films. Based on that, I'd say that McHale could use this rookie camp.”  Fitch, the hard-driving ex-Marine, derisively referred to McHale as the “Spaghetti Man” in his absence.  On the same topic, Auerbach would say, “McHale is a fine player.  But I’m not going to prostitute the ballclub to get him.”

McHale was part of an astonishingly deep frontline.  In addition to the original Big Three, the C’s had the previous year’s starters, Dave Cowens and Cedric Maxwell, as well as Rick Robey, M.L. Carr, and Eric Fernsten. Conversely, Fitch said that he was thinking of starting the season with three guards – not for a three-guard lineup, but for the entire roster!   Presumably, Fitch knew that M.L. Carr could serve as an occasional backcourt player and that point guard Tiny Archibald, who was holding out, might eventually return to the fold. 

The left-handed Archibald had been brilliant in the ’79-80 season, scoring 14.1 points and 8.4 assists per game.  He had earned $413,000 the previous year, but money was not the issue for the free agent.  According to Red, “The length and the structure of Tiny's contract is the problem.”  Archibald wanted a contract of at least two years; the Celtics offered a one-year deal.  As a native New Yorker, Tiny had previously played summer ball on the outdoor courts of the Rucker League, but as a veteran free agent, he wisely eschewed the asphalt to play indoors.  Instead, he played for the Celtics, the Bronx Celtics, in the New York Pro Summer League.  His backcourt teammate, fresh off the second of two national championships at Old Dominion University, was Nancy Lieberman.  She was originally scheduled to be playing in the Moscow Olympics, but the U.S. boycott kept her stateside.  She scored 7 points, to go with 4 rebounds and 7 assists in 16 minutes of action over her first two games.  After those two games, she was literally given to another team to increase her playing time since her Bronx teammates also included Earl Monroe and Lloyd Free.  Facing the prospects of starting the season without Tiny (or Lieberman, for that matter), the Celtics had a roster which was dangerously thin at point guard.  Shooting guards Gerald Henderson and Chris Ford (the starter) were returning, and Pete Maravich was scheduled to be back after a late-season, 26-game stint with the Celtics.  Heading to camp, the C’s were going to need to find some guards who could play.

Two veterans attended August’s rookie camp in Marshfield, Massachusetts:  M.L. Carr and the reigning rookie of the year, Larry Bird.  Fitch ran a structured, disciplined camp, and one experiment was to run a high-post 2-1-2 offense with Bird in the middle surrounded by guards.  It was later used successfully in the preseason.  10 of the late-round draftees and free-agents survived the cut and made it to training camp at Helenic College on September 9 and, given the emphasis on finding backcourt talent, not one of them was taller than 6-6.  Local talents Ronnie Perry from Holy Cross and Rufus Harris from the University of Maine were two of the guards thought to have a chance at cracking the opening day roster.  On September 12, the veterans reported – including Maravich, who a day earlier signed a one-year contract for $200,000.  “My big goal is to earn a championship ring and this could be just the year to do it,” Maravich said.   With the veterans in camp, the talent level and the intensity elevated.  During one practice early in camp, Dave Cowens sidled over to the sideline and muttered, “Too much ability out there.”  To make matters worse, he lost a toenail on his big toe and had to sit out for a few days.  His potential replacement, Parish, wasn’t awing his new team, either.  Looking back a few years later, Bird would say of him, “You didn’t know whether to laugh or feel sorry for the guy.  Bill Fitch was busy being ‘Mr. Drill Sergeant’ and the poor fellow had obviously never had to run like this.  By the time he’d get to midcourt, he’d be so far behind that he’d have to turn around and go back the other way.”  With Cowens ailing, Parish struggling, and McHale in Milan, the promise of a deep front line started to fade away.  Perhaps it nudged Auerbach to action.  Or perhaps Italy hadn’t sat well with Kevin.  In either case, there were signs that their standoff was reaching an end.  The GM of McHale’s Italian team said that the chances of him inking McHale were 50/50 at best.  Then there was an overseas call from McHale’s agent to Celtic owner Harry Mangurian.  Finally, on September 17, McHale flew in from Milan, signed the contract, and joined the night session of the two-a-day camp.

Kevin would soon impress his new teammates, with several mentioning his surprising shot-blocking ability.  But there were only a few days between his signing and the initial preseason game.  In the final preseason scrimmage – the Green and White Game – McHale and Maravich stepped to the fore.  The game pitted the starters (Green) against the bench players (White).  Maravich scored 38 points and the led the backups to a win.  His scrimmage teammate, Carr, said, “He was on fire.  We were going crazy.  We just gave him the ball.”  Maravich wanted desperately to be a starter.  He told friends he wasn’t coming back (for the '80-'81 season) unless he could start.  He had trained vigorously in the off-season, lifting weights, running sprints, and bulking up to improve his durability.  He had even shed that goofy perm that made him look a little bit like Mark Fidrych. In his memoirs, he wrote, “I couldn’t stop thinking about what might happen if we made it all the way to the playoffs and I had spent the year on the bench in disgrace.”  Both Auerbach and assistant coach K.C. Jones took note of his hard work, but his efforts to impress Fitch had no effect.  Chris Ford was going to be the starter and Fitch was never going to take a liking to Pistol Pete’s game.  Pete’s frustration gradually simmered to a slow boil.  Once during a drill, M.L. Carr got frustrated during a drill and kicked the ball across the room, narrowly missing the back of the head coach’s head.  Fitch spun around and lit into Pete.  “Maravich, goddammit!”  During the tirade, Carr tried to step in to take the blame, but Maravich (who was Carr’s childhood idol) didn’t let him.  So the next day, one day before the Celtics’ first preseason game, Pistol Pete Maravich retired from the NBA at age 33.  Following Maravich’s departure, Fitch said, “I wasn't counting on Pete any more than last season, even in Tiny's absence. Chris and Gerry (Henderson) were playing ahead of him. So, no, it wasn't a situation in which Pete was letting us down.”

The day after Pete left, the Celtics prepared to play their first preseason game.  Compared to the preseason schedules of 2010, the 1980 schedule was quite quirky.  They played 8 games in 13 days, including a tidy middle stretch of three games in three nights where the bookend games were part of a Madison Square Garden doubleheader.  Below is the list of opponents and venues:

• September 21 – New Jersey Nets (New Haven, CT)
• September 23 – New York Knicks (Portland, ME)
• September 25 – Milwaukee Bucks (NY, NY – MSG, 1st game of doubleheader)
• September 26 – Milwaukee Bucks (Hartford, CT)
• September 27 – New York Knicks (NY, NY – MSG, 2nd game of doubleheader)
• September 29 – Indianapolis Pacers (Indianapolis, IN)
• August 1 – Chicago Bulls (Evansville, IN)
• August 3 – New York Knicks (Terre Haute, IN)

The last sequence of games is interesting for two reasons, two homecomings of sorts.  First, Larry Bird was getting a game in Terre Haute where he rose to prominence on the Indiana State team.  Second, the jaunt through southern Indiana was bringing Dave Cowens perilously close to his old Kentucky home.