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A fork in the road for Boston
by Tim O'Sullivan / May 7, 2002

The Celtics lost their third consecutive road playoff game on Sunday. The latest defeat was at the hands of the Detroit Pistons, 96-84, in the series opener of the best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinals.

Boston has been slowly, ever so slowly, developing into a winning team since Walker arrived in 1996. Well, that first year there wasn't much winning going on as the Celtics finished with the league's worst record at 15-67. Bust since then, they have made steady improvements. Along the way the Celtics have discovered what everyone else in the league seemed to know all along: winning on the road is the hardest thing to do in the NBA. And now they know the subtext to that axiom: winning playoff games on the road is even harder.

During that abysmal '96-97 season Boston was an astonishing 4-37 on the road. That figure improved (there was really nowhere to go but up) to 12-29 in '97-98, Rick Pitino's first year as president/coach/resident fat head. In
the lockout season of '97-98, Pierce's first year, the team was 9-16 away from the parquet. The next season they took a step back and went 9-32 when sleeping in hotels and ordering room service. In 2000-01, the C's were a
16-25 traveling act, with most of those wins coming after Pitino resigned and Jim O'Brien took the helm.

The Celtics were able to continue that O'Brien-led road success this season, compiling a 22-19 record away from The Vault (a.k.a. the Fleet Center), which included wins against the world champion Lakers and other top Western Conference foes like the Portland Trail Blazers and the Minnesota Timberwolves. Those 22 road victories are the most for any Celtics team since the '89-90 squad, which was also 22-19 on the road. That was last time Larry Bird played in more than 60 games and averaged more than 21 points per game.

After winning the first two games against the Philadelphia 76ers in the cozy confines of the Fleet during this year's opening playoff round, the Celtics headed to Philly with momentum and confidence, eager to finish the series in the land of cheesesteaks and boo-birds. Boston held a 103-100 lead with 1:32 left in Game 3, but Philly closed with an 8-0 run to win 108-103. Those final minutes created some turmoil within the Boston locker room as Pierce complained to the media about not getting the game's last shot. The loss, the Celtics 18 turnovers and the complaint were all signs of a young team that hadn't learned how to follow the road signs on the treacherous and bumpy playoff highway.

It was a deja vu all over again in Game 4 as the C's had a 77-75 lead with 1:39 remaining, but again Philly was too tough down the stretch. Pierce committed a costly turnover and Walker missed a potential game-tying shot.
76ers win, 83-81.

The team in green took full advantage of their home rims and home crowd as they rolled to a 120-87 victory in Game 5. Thanks in large part to their winning regular season road-record, the Celtics had the home court advantage in the first round and didn't need to win on the road to dethrone the Sixers, defending Eastern Conference champs. They don't have that luxury against Detroit.

The Pistons fed Boston some its own medicine as they rained accurate threes on the Celtics in Game 1 on Sunday. Yet the visitors were able to cut a 20 point lead to seven late in the fourth quarter, but the inexperience reared its head again as both Walker and Pierce committed costly turnovers by forcing their offense, killing the team's momentum and any chance of a miraculous comeback.

Those 16 championship banners hanging in The Vault are like a toddler's security blanket to these young Celtics, but they have to get over it. They need to maintain defensive intensity, without the raucous backing of their fans. They need to maintain composure on offense, despite the cacophony of the away crowd. And they need to come through when it counts the most, in the last two minutes of close games, regardless of the venue. Pierce was the
NBA's leading fourth-quarter scorer during the regular season. He's shown that type of touch at the Fleet Center in the post season, now he needs to do it away from home.

They all have another chance Wednesday night. It may have taken Walker, Pierce et. al. four years to learn how to win on the regular season road, but they don't have that much time now. The playoffs are like a bucking bronco ride compared to the slow and easy saunter of the regular season horse, adjustments have to be made quickly, or you'll get tossed.

Tim O'Sullivan is a staff writer at the Concord (NH) Monitor and a regular contributor to HoopsHype.com

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