Ford Looks Like Better Idea Now
Around the NBA In his first official visit to Boston’s FleetCenter, Milwaukee coach Chris Ford found it much more hospitable to visitors than the Celtics’ old place.
Ford’s Bucks beat Boston 107-91 Monday night to give their coach a small measure of revenge against M.L. Carr, who fired Ford and named himself Celtics coach after the 1994-95 season.
“We, as players, had it in our minds that it was an important game,” said Vin Baker, who scored 28 points and added 11 rebounds for Milwaukee in Ford’s FleetCenter debut. “We didn’t talk about it. There wasn’t anything different we did. We just came out and played.”
“It’s all for the better,” said Sherman Douglas of his trade from the Celtics to Milwaukee last year. “And I don’t think he (Ford) would trade places at all.”
Ford played for the Celtics from 1978-82 and coached them from 1990-95, when Carr, then the director of player personnel, fired him. Ford caught on with the Bucks (13-9) this year, taking on a promising roster that has a chance at the playoffs.
Carr and his Celtics (5-17) cannot say the same. The sparse crowd offered Ford polite applause at his introduction - still better than the smattering of boos given to the man who fired him.
“I joined in,” Carr said. “I’m a fan, too.”
Ford said, smiling, that he didn’t notice the boos for Carr, but that it was nice to hear that people appreciated his work as a player and a coach. He also said the game didn’t bring back many memories for him because he had served his Celtics tenure in the Boston Garden; in fact, he had only been in the FleetCenter once before, for the circus.
And there were no hard feelings towards Carr, he said.
“How long ago was that? We’ve got to move on now,” he said. “My job is to win basketball games, no matter who they’re against.”
Hurtin’
Orlando guard Penny Hardaway says he could miss a month of play because of tendinitis in his left knee. Hardaway underwent arthroscopic surgery Nov. 17 to repair torn cartilage in his knee and has been hobbled much of this season.
Rockets forward Charles Barkley, who has a sprained right ankle, returned to Houston and will miss today’s game against Vancouver and possibly Thursday’s against San Antonio. An examination by team doctors shows the NBA star has a minor lateral ankle sprain.
Rookie forward Marcus Camby was placed on the injured list by the Toronto Raptors on Monday because of the back injury he suffered in late November.
The 6-foot-11 Camby, the second overall pick in the last NBA draft, strained his lower back in pregame warmups Nov. 26 and missed four games. He saw limited action or did not dress in the next seven games, and is now out for at least another five games.