Curtain lifts on the first stage of training camp

By Shira Springer, Globe Staff, 10/1/2003

WALTHAM -- The two-tier start to training camp got mixed reviews and little attention yesterday. Only three reporters and one photographer were present for the official start of camp. From the Celtics side, director of basketball operations Danny Ainge, director of player personnel Leo Papile, and owners Wyc Grousbeck and Steve Pagliuca watched the morning session. On the court, coach Jim O'Brien tried to make the best of the veterans' delayed arrival.

"You have to make it a part of your plan," said O'Brien. "You can't look at it as a hindrance, then that's just negative thinking. You have to look at the positives of it. The positives of it are you're going to have six guys under contract to you that are going to be able to play a pretty decent brand of basketball by the time the veterans come in. Usually, in the regular training camp if you had a new player like Mike [James] and three rookies, they might feel after the first practice that they're behind because the veterans will know what the coaching staff wants. Now, I think we can all hit the ground running come Oct. 2."

Plenty of backup

Kendrick Perkins no doubt faces the biggest transition, making the move from high school to the NBA. As a result, the Celtics are going to make sure he receives lots of support even if he doesn't get lots of playing time. "I think the whole organization is focused in on the fact that he's a young man," said O'Brien. "The first thing we did is make sure if we were going to draft a high school player, he was a young man of high character from a great family with his head exactly where it needs to be with wonderful people surrounding him. I think he's all of that. Just because of who he is as a person leads you to believe he's going to have a pretty good chance to succeed. "We'll be particularly aware of making sure that we help him through a long season, the dog days. If he gets playing time, he's going to be thrilled. If he finds himself behind, in a bit of a logjam at the center spot, I'll make sure that he's continuing his work ethic and realizes that his time will come." . . . So far, so good for the new strength and conditioning coaches, Brian Doo and Walter Norton. After practice, players went through a series of stretches to build flexibility and ease tired legs. "[Doo and Norton] are nice," said Kedrick Brown. "They came out to LA and visited me there. They change up the routine and they keep it fun."