If there was a smidgen of self-doubt in Pitino’s emotional repertoire, it wasn’t evident. Were you to look in the dictionary under cocksure, a gloss of Rick Pitino would have been staring right back at you.
The Celtics ownership seemed every bit as assured of Pitino’s worth as he was. They lavished a $50 million contract on him and even allowed him to assume the title of president, needlessly displacing the greatest coach in NBA history, Red Auerbach, from his titular legacy. But what would one expect for man who, it was repeated over and over, had been successful at every stop–college and pro–in his coaching odyssey.
So one could almost take a certain amount of glee in Pitino’s amazing fall from grace. His is a stark lesson in the limits of hubris. He didn’t just fail with Boston, but flopped in spectacular fashion. His winning percentage in three-and-a- half seasons was was barely above .400 and the current Celtics edition, one that he fashioned with a barrage of trades and free-agent signings, is pitiful, arguably less promising than the basement-dwelling squad he inherited.
And what an inglorious end with Pitino, at least metaphorically, skulking out of town under the cover of night. When the Celtics were routed for their fifth loss in a row this weekend in Miami, Pitino simply stayed on the beach. His resignation came in a brief written statement: “It has been a great privilege to coach the greatest basketball tradition in sports…I wish we could have accomplished more between the lines, but I am proud with the efforts of my staff and players.”
But somehow it’s hard to find any cause for celebration in this comeuppance, even for those diehards whose Celtic resentments can be traced back generations to the dynasty years. Watching Pitino’s dream unravel was a stomach- churning experience that felt disturbingly voyeuristic. For weeks now, he has literally looked diseased, one-stepped removed from the hospice for old coaches. Ashen-faced and obviously agonized, he continued to plead desperately with his team–privately and publicly–to make some kind of commitment to his game plan. All to no avail, as the Celtics continued to toss up brainless shots and regard defense as an optional component of the game.
The reason that no basketball fan should enjoy this debacle is that while the bell this week tolled for Pitino, it is also sounding a dire warning knell for the entire NBA. Could it be only a decade ago when the “Dream Team” seemed the ultimate embodiment of sports excitement? Today the Celtics stand as far more representative of the league as a whole than that all-star lineup. The NBA is filled with lackluster and indifferent performers, compounded by what appears to be something of a talent drought. Not a single NBA rookie is making a significant impact this season. Which leaves too many bad teams hopelessly mired in the league’s nether-reaches with no prospects for the future.
Even the illustrious can no longer entice us as they once did. Alan Iverson marches to his own rap beat and, despite his nonpareil skills, seems destined to drive his coach, Larry Brown, into retirement (or madness) before he delivers on his hardcourt promise. And Kobe Bryant apparently could stand to play a supporting role to Shaquille O’Neal for only one championship season. Now the youngster appears to be on a one-man crusade to win himself a scoring crown and championships be damned. Anyone who watched the NBA’s showcase Christmas game between arguably its two best teams, L.A. and Portland, saw a horror show down the stretch, as Kobe took the ball one-on-five every time up the court.
This has not escaped the fans notice. While big network bucks keep the league flush, TV ratings have plunged. And while the corporate coffers may fill Madison Square Garden and the Staples Center in L.A., the empty seats in one-time basketball hotbeds like Boston, Charlotte and Houston make a pretty conspicuous TV backdrop. (Those yellow seats at Boston’s Fleet Center are a particular eyesore.) With Pitino barely out the door, there are already whispers of the next rescue plan for the Celtics, a rumored sale that would bring in a new management team headed by Celtic legend Larry Bird. But Bird was a magician on the court, not off it. No more than Magic was with the Lakers or Michael is proving to be with the Washington Wizards.
Pitino was too arrogant by half, or maybe by ten-and-half. And he was blind to how much the players and product have changed since more than a decade ago. Yet he cared passionately about the game, and his vision of how it should be played was an appealing running and trapping game, not the constipated approach that passes for offense and defense throughout the league. Perhaps most important, he was a teacher in a league that desperately needs to impart fundamental skills to its young players. Any way you look at it, a sorry day for Pitino and the Boston Celtics is a sad day for the NBA and an ominous note about its future.
