Good luck charm: Belichick lends support

If there is a Game 7 in the Eastern Conference finals, perhaps Patriots coach Bill Belichick might feel compelled to do more than grace the Celtics with his presence courtside at TD Banknorth Garden.

Perhaps Belichick might replace Lucky the Leprechaun for one game, don the green, and hurl himself through the air on those trampoline-aided dunks. Then again, maybe not. Still, Belichick has been such a devotee of the Celtics of late, and become such a fixture at home games during this series, he's drawn the loudest cheers when he's been shown on the video screens above the court.

"I feel like the team mascot," Belichick told reporters yesterday in Foxborough.

Belichick, who has been spotted seated near the visitors' bench, hasn't been the only one from the Patriots organization to lend the Celtics support. Adalius Thomas, Richard Seymour, and Vince Wilfork have been regulars at home games this season.

While his friendship with Red Sox skipper Terry Francona is no secret, Belichick was asked what kind of rapport he enjoyed with Celtics coach Doc Rivers.

"Doc and I have talked several times over the last few years," said Belichick, who addressed the Celtics after their 106-102 victory Wednesday. "He has been really supportive of us and I really appreciate that. The Celtics take great care of not only me, but you also see a lot or our players [at games]. I know all the guys love to get over there and watch those great athletes perform. The Celtics have been great. They have been very supportive of us and they have taken great care of us and we appreciate it.

"We are pulling for them," Belichick added. "Hopefully, they won't have to come back from Detroit and play them Sunday. Hopefully, they can wrap it up in Detroit. We are pulling for that."

High marks

The NBA yesterday was lauded for its diversity in a racial and gender report card. Richard Lapchick, the head of the University of Central Florida's Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport and author of the study, said, "The NBA has had the top grade among the men's [professional] leagues for race for all 15 previous reports over nearly two decades."

The study cited the fact that at the beginning of the 2007-08 season, there were 12 African-Americans in head coaching positions, which represented the highest ratio in all pro sports at 40 percent; and that the NBA achieved the highest ratios of minorities in the history of men's professional sport in the categories of team CEOs/presidents at 23 percent, team vice presidents at 15 percent, and league office professionals at more than 34 percent.

Those numbers, however, did not reflect recent coaching changes, with African-Americans Avery Johnson, Sam Vincent, and Isiah Thomas losing jobs to white coaches in Dallas (Rick Carlisle), Charlotte (Larry Brown), and New York (Mike D'Antoni), respectively.

"I've always said since I've been in the league as a player, when you want to win, color doesn't really come into play," Rivers said. "I think our league understands that as much as anything. We have GMs, we have minority owners, in ownership groups, coaches, obviously, assistant coaches. I just think through the league office, I just think it's been great and not only about blacks but with women, as well.

"I just think our league has done a terrific job of hiring the best person, and I think that's what we have to continue to do."

Wallace fined $25,000

Pistons forward Rasheed Wallace was fined $25,000 by the NBA for using profanity and criticizing the officiating following Game 5. After the Pistons' loss, Wallace went on an expletive-laced rant targeting officials Mike Callahan and Kenny Mauer. "The cats are flopping all over the floor and they're calling that," Wallace said. "That ain't basketball out there. It's all entertainment. You all should know that." . . . Rivers said his decision to shorten his rotation of big men Wednesday - limiting it to Kevin Garnett, Kendrick Perkins, and P.J. Brown - wasn't a gut decision. "We actually do give these things thought," Rivers said during yesterday's teleconference. "We meet as a staff and we talk about stuff before we go into games, and we just wanted to limit and shorten the rotation as much as we could. The key for us was trying to keep Kevin or Perk in when Rasheed was in. That's basically what we were doing." Asked if he was happy with the result, especially given the 33 points submitted by Garnett and the monster 18-point, 16-rebound game by Perkins, Rivers said, "Oh, I was happy with the way Perk played, so, yeah. Will we do that again? We may. But we did it for a specific reason." . . . Rivers had nothing new to report on Tony Allen, who did not dress for Game 5 after injuring his right ankle playing one-on-one Tuesday. "I haven't talked to him or [trainer] Eddie Lacerte yet," Rivers said. "He was in this morning getting treatment, and we'll find out tomorrow." . . . An aficionado of the fight game, Rivers said he has taken up the practice of showing the team films of Muhammad Ali bouts. "You're obviously going to hit some in the playoffs, but you're going to get hit and you're going to get hit hard, and the key is how many times can you get hit and still move forward," said Rivers. "That's basically the real theme of it is how many times can you get hit and keep moving forward, and that's what champions are made of and that's what we talk about." Asked if it would be apropos to show the team clips of Marvelous Marvin Hagler of Brockton, vs. Thomas "Hitman" Hearns of Detroit, Rivers said with a laugh, "No, because they quit too early. It was three rounds." Told that Hagler and Hearns traded haymakers, Rivers replied, "Yeah, they were haymakers. I think the best one, for me, obviously, and guys who know me know I love fights and I love Ali, is the [George ] Foreman-Ali fight where he took punishment for eight rounds and then got off the ropes, obviously. Then there's the Thrilla in Manila. You don't even have to use words. Just show the fight."

Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.