Bob Kravitz:

It's tough to top this kind of cohesiveness

link

April 21, 2004


It's probably too late at this point, but the Celtics might want to concoct a way to get somebody else suspended. If I'm Boston, I'm giving NBA vice president Stu Jackson a call about all the Indiana Pacers' starters, who spent the entire fourth quarter out on the court, cheering their replacements as they put the hammerlock on the Celtics.

Although, at this point, the Pacers could be reduced to starting Primoz Brezec and Jamison Brewer, and the pair would likely put up Shaq-and-Kobe numbers on the doomed Celtics.

If anybody had forgotten how and why the Pacers won a league-best 61 games this regular season, there was the answer, right there on rousing display during Tuesday night's Game 2 victory.

Talent. Depth. And most of all, professionalism. Something this group lacked one year ago.

"For me, being around a couple of years ago and seeing Antonio (Davis) and Chris Mullin, guys starting and then coming off the bench and always staying ready, it really promoted a positive energy," Austin Croshere said. "And it promotes a losing energy when guys are complaining and ing they should get more minutes.

"There's a thin line between being a championship team and one that loses in the first round."

In recent years, the Pacers were a collection of intriguing talent. But they weren't a team. Subs thought they should be starting. And nobody quite knew where they stood.

Croshere, for instance, never had a personal issue with former coach Isiah Thomas but always wondered why Thomas wouldn't explain the way he was used -- or wasn't being used.

That has changed with the arrival of team president Larry Bird and the Rick Carlisle coaching regime. It's really a simple thing. Communication. Here's what we need from you. Here's what we're thinking. Things like that.

"You know where you stand now," Croshere said. "It's been a similar situation for me in terms of playing time. But now, I know what to expect. Everybody does."

When the Pacers were pulling away from Boston in that remarkable fourth quarter, the starters were on the bench. Well, near the bench. For most of the run, nobody sat down, rooting on the reserves like it was a college game.

That's the way it is with this team now. No more complaining. No more whining. Just a lot of winning.

"This is probably the most professional team I've ever been on," veteran Kenny Anderson said.

There's no way of figuring exactly how and when the Pacers were transformed from a bunch of solo acts into a team that has a shot at a le. Because it really happened over time, and it happened in a number of different ways.

It was Jamaal Tinsley, starting the season unhappy at being benched, but staying fit and ready and ultimately replacing Anderson.

It was Al Harrington, a starter almost anywhere else, embracing the idea of becoming a game-changing sixth man.

It was Anderson and Scot Pollard, two veterans with significant playoff experience, keeping their mouths shut and staying prepared.

It was Jermaine O'Neal, a free agent last summer, sending his teammates a message by committing to the Pacers before he ever set foot in San Antonio.

It was Ron Artest returning from thumb surgery in what seemed like a day and a half.

"And it all starts with Reggie Miller," Anderson said. "I tell my wife, my friends all the time, Reggie Miller is the most unselfish superstar I've been around in 13 years. He's amazing, the way he carries himself. Guys look at him and say, 'He's been around that long, and he's willing to step aside and let other guys lead the team.' That's got to send a message to other players."

That may be the best thing about watching this team now, because it is a team, because after trial and lots of error and three straight first-round playoff busts, it's grown up to become something pretty special.

That was a game the Pacers could have lost Tuesday night, and it would have been a horrific loss. But the bench came in and did all the things it's been doing all year. Delete one player, insert another. Different ingredients, same result.

"A number of guys on their bench could probably start anywhere in this league," Boston guard Chucky Atkins said. "It's almost like they're bringing in another starting five."

They have the longest bench in the league, another reason this is going to be a short series. Unless the Celtics find a new way to unleash Brandon Hunter. And even then . . .