11 Boston Celtics

When is Antoine Walker going to be recognized for his remarkable productivity rather than his supposed selfishness? The Celtics ' co-captain, Walker was the only player to rank in the top 20 in points, rebounds, assists and steals last season, yet he failed to make the All-Star cut. What more is a 25-year-old power forward to do? "If you want the accolades, you have to win," says Boston coach Jim O'Brien . "I think Antoine can have a breakout year, because I think we're going to win."

In his five seasons with the Celtics , Walker has drawn justifiable criticism for shooting too much and showboating. Those complaints subsided last season, however, when he ceded the scoring spotlight to small forward Paul Pierce to help Boston make a run at the playoffs. Together they led the team to a 24-24 finish under O'Brien , who had replaced Rick Pitino in midseason.

It was no coincidence that Walker responded to O'Brien or that he showed up in the best shape of his career for the coach's first training camp. He believes in O'Brien more than he did in Pitino, who often blamed his failures on his power forward, making Walker the target of the fans' discontent. Unlike Pitino, Walker, who signed a six-year extension in January '99, is willing to ride out the bad times. "People in Boston appreciate good teams," he says. "I've seen how it is when we aren't doing well, and it makes me think how good it's going to be when we're winning."

The Celtics aren't going to outmuscle opponents to the playoffs: The 6'9" Walker attempted a league-leading 603 three-pointers, compared with 348 free throws. G.M. Chris Wallace insists, however, that Tony Battie , Mark Blount and Vitaly Potapenko will combine for above-average production inside. Wallace notes that Battie was the team's third-best player before missing 41 games with a sprained left ankle. In his absence Blount emerged as a solid center, and the team went on to play its most consistent basketball. Says O'Brien , "We have a good marriage of players who are really sick and tired of losing."

Among those most fed up is 31-year-old point guard Kenny Anderson , who will try to recover from the worst season of his career. His importance has grown now that O'Brien has shelved his plans to play Walker at the point, an idea he had before the new rules permitting zones, which will make it harder for Walker to exploit mismatches. "Antoine is still going to have the ball in his hands a lot as a point forward," O'Brien says.

Of Boston 's three first-round picks, 6'7" swingman Joe Johnson of Arkansas is the one who will be asked to contribute immediately as a much-needed third scorer; Pierce and Walker accounted for 51.0% of the team's points last year. (The other No. 1 choices, shooting guard Joseph Forte of North Carolina and forward Kedrick Brown of Okaloosa-Walton Community College, will take longer to develop.) The most important newcomer, however, may be assistant coach Dick Harter , a defensive whiz who must shore up a team that allowed 45.9% shooting, fifth worst in the league.

Over the 40 years of Red Auerbach 's reign as G.M., the Celtics never went more than six seasons without a title; now it has been that long since they reached the playoffs. Pierce is prepared to improve on last year's individual success, when he ranked eighth in the league in scoring. He notes that Walker looks stronger after spending the summer working out in Chicago with Michael Jordan and trainer Tim Grover. "You can see Antoine's attitude has changed," Pierce says. "I tell him he can average 20 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists. I can't think of another player with that type of ability. He can be like Magic Johnson for our team."

You know it's been too long since the Celtics achieved success when they're looking to the Lakers for inspiration.

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