Celtics' story is a long tale of woe

Basketball Betting Lines

02/08/2007 -

BOSTON (AP) -Paul Pierce didn't get a chance yet to read the inspirational book Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck left for him. The Boston captain was in the hospital with an elbow infection that derailed his return from a bad foot, and the book remained in his locker.

Wally Szczerbiak left the book behind when he went to get his ankle taped after a 91-79 loss to the Miami Heat extended Boston's franchise-record losing streak to 16 games Wednesday. And Tony Allen's copy of ``The Adversity Advantage,'' by blind mountaineer Erik Weihenmayer, was still in his locker, too; it's probably tough to carry a lot of stuff when you're walking in a full leg cast.

The first blind climber to summit Mount Everest, Weihenmayer was honored during a break in the Heat game Wednesday night as part of the Celtics' ``Heroes Among Us'' campaign. Grousbeck insisted the visit was long-planned and not timed to snap the team out of its franchise-record losing streak.

``If there's an advantage in adversity, I haven't found it yet,'' he said.

Neither has his team.

The Celtics matched their magic number with their 16th loss in a row - one for each of the titles that once made them the pride of the NBA. The league record of 23 straight in one season was set by the Vancouver Grizzlies in 1996 and matched by the Denver Nuggets in '98.

``Every game they're close,'' Grousbeck said. ``Every game, there's two or three players that succeed. There's someone scoring 23, someone scoring 27, getting rebounds, people diving for loose balls. There's a lot to like about it, and they're playing hard for Doc.

``But it's time for a 'W.'''

The Celtics won 16 titles from 1957-86 to establish themselves as the NBA's most prolific dynasty. But it's been a long time since the Celtics, who named their mascot ``Lucky'' and wear a shamrock on their uniforms, have had any good fortune.

The deaths of Reggie Lewis and Len Bias; the transparent tanking of the 1996-97 season in an attempt to obtain Tim Duncan, only to get a bad draw in the lottery; the disastrous tenure of Rick Pitino - all set back the quest for banner No. 17.

This year, it's been injuries that left the youngest team in the league without veteran leadership, or talent.

Center Theo Ratliff played just two games before being sidelined with a bulging disc. Allen tore his ACL just as he was emerging with a streak of 20-point games. Pierce missed 22 games with a stress reaction in his foot, then went back to sick bay with an infection and fever just as he was on the verge of returning.

``Obviously, it's a tough break,'' coach Doc Rivers said. ``But we've gotten used to that.''

The Celtics are 2-21 without Pierce, prompting one fan to hold up a poster that said: ``Wanted: Paul Pierce. Reward: a win.''

Pierce was released from the hospital on Thursday.

Szczerbiak had already sprained each ankle before attempting to block a shot on Wednesday night and landing on the foot of Leon Powe, who was sitting near the end of the Boston bench.

``Step on your teammate's foot on the bench? What else can go wrong?'' Szczerbiak said. ``It's like, gee, it's one of those things. ... It's just frustrating, right when I was starting to feel better.''

Rivers joked that he would go to a seven- or eight-man rotation - ``If we have seven or eight guys'' - but otherwise wouldn't change his approach.

``First of all, I am who I am. I ain't changing,'' he said. ``I believe in what I believe in offensively and defensively. And that ain't changing. And I believe it's the right thing, you just have to stick with it.''

But it would be nice to get a little luck.

Before loss No. 16, Rivers lamented the fact that Boston had back-to-back games against the Detroit Pistons, who had the best record in the Eastern Conference, and the defending champion Miami Heat. Just the Celtics' luck: Shaquille O'Neal leading a resurgent lineup after missing 35 games with torn cartilage in his knee.

``When he went down, the first thing I did was look at the freaking schedule. I said, 'He'll be back.' So what can you do?'' Rivers said Wednesday before the Heat beat Boston 91-79. ``We've got to be the only team that didn't play Miami without Shaq.

``That's how things go.''

That's how things have been going for the Celtics, at least.

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