These Days, Celtics, Sixers Battle for Lottery Spots
BOSTON _ The Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics used to compete against each other for NBA championships. Now they are battling for Greg Oden.
Oden embodies the type of prize that can result from truly awful play. Ohio State’s outstanding center could be the plum of what is shaping up as a fruitful draft, if he declares for the pros after he finishes his impressive freshman season.
Charging toward the rich field of picks set aside for the mediocre teams in the lottery field are the Sixers and Celtics, teams that, in better days _ much better days _ met in the playoffs five straight times in the `60s and three consecutive seasons to begin the `80s.
Now the Sixers and Celtics vie on a different level, for coveted top picks such as Oden.
As poorly as things have gone for the 76ers, with their 17-36 record and third fewest wins in the NBA, their futility is easily trumped by Boston’s.
The Celtics are 13-38 heading into a five-game road trip starting Tuesday night at Sacramento.
On Wednesday, Boston ended a franchise-worst 18-game losing streak with a 117-97 win over the visiting Milwaukee Bucks. The single-season NBA record is 23 consecutive losses, by the 1995-96 Vancouver Grizzlies and 1997-98 Denver Nuggets.
“This has been painful,” said Danny Ainge, the Celtics’ executive director of basketball operations and a member of two championship teams in Boston.
How did one of the NBA’s storied franchises, with 16 championships by 1986, fall to such a level?
It’s a classic example of today’s NBA, where teams that lack depth and have an overabundance of youth can become swamped by just one or two ill-timed, severe injuries.
In Boston’s case, it happened when Paul Pierce suffered foot and elbow injuries that forced him to miss 24 games. In those games, the Celtics were 2-22. Pierce returned amid the long losing streak, which had grown to 16 games.
“I always appreciated Paul before, but absence makes the heart grow fonder,” said Celtics coach Doc Rivers, who remained composed during the entire losing streak.
Just like Philadelphia, the talk in Boston is centered more on the lottery than the season, and that has drawn the ire of Pierce, who would rather see the Celtics acquire veterans.
“Who knows if the top pick will help the franchise in the long run?” Pierce said. “In order to win in this league, you need veteran guys.”
The Boston fans have been patient with their young team. Even in last week’s streak-stopper against Milwaukee, Boston trailed by as many as 15 points in the second quarter and yet the crowd remained supportive.
“Our crowd’s been amazing,” Rivers said.
Then, looking at the only out-of-town reporter, he pointedly said, “This isn’t Philadelphia, all right?”
Despite being asked about losing every day for more than a month, Rivers remained calm.
“It’s a lot of credit to him because it’s not easy what he went through and what the team went through,” Celtics forward Wally Szczerbiak said. “Everyone points the finger at the coach, but he did a great job the whole, entire time.”
At least teams like Boston and the Sixers have picked a good year to be bad. With Oden and Texas freshman Kevin Durant potentially available, this looks to be a memorable draft.
Yet, said Celtics starting point guard Delonte West, the third-year veteran from St. Joseph’s University, “there’s no mention of the lottery, not in this locker room. We’re focusing on getting ready for a great second half.”
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