Montross’ Career Has Sadly Faded

Where did it all go wrong for Eric Montross?

Three years ago, as a rookie center, the No. 9 pick in the 1994 NBA Draft started 75 games for the Boston Celtics and came off the bench on three other occasions. He averaged 10 points and 7.3 rebounds; shot 53 percent from the field and 66 percent from the free-throw line; played in the Schick rookie game during All-Star Weekend; made the 1995 All-Rookie second team; was an honorable mention for the NBA rookie of the month four times; and with his wife, Laura, became active in Celtics charities.

Indeed, with Montross in the pivot, the Celtics made the playoffs. Based on his solid rookie season, Montross had every reason to believe that he had begun a successful NBA career.

Such has not been the case for the 7-foot, 270-pound center from the University of North Carolina. On Thursday, the Philadelphia 76ers traded Montross and guard/forward Jerry Stackhouse to Detroit for guard Aaron McKie, forward/center Theo Ratliff and a conditional first-round pick.

The Pistons became Montross’ fifth team in his three-plus seasons as a pro.

So, where did it all go wrong for Montross? That’s easy. Boston, 1995-96, when M.L. Carr, in his first year as coach, cut Montross’ playing time by 900 minutes, from 2,315 to 1,432. Carr tinkered with everybody’s playing time that season under the guise of trying to see who could do what and which combinations worked best. Montross, his confidence shot, suffered most. And his free-throw shooting suffered even more than his confidence. His percentage from the line plummeted to 37.6. Last season it dropped to 33.9. This year it’s up to 36.8. Carr’s handling of Montross helped turn a dream into a nightmare. The irony is that Montross was Carr’s first pick after he took over from Dave Gavitt in 1994 as the Celtics’ basketball boss.

Rodman dominates

Dennis Rodman grabbed a season-high 24 rebounds and Michael Jordan ignited an 11-point fourth-quarter run that led the Chicago Bulls to their fourth straight win, 100-92 over the New Jersey Nets on Saturday in East Rutherford, N.J.

Jordan finished with 24 points in a so-so performance that gave Bulls coach Phil Jackson his 499th career coaching victory.

Elsewhere

Chris Webber scored 28 points and jammed in a missed shot at the buzzer to lift the Washington Wizards to their fourth straight win, 94-92 over the Raptors in Toronto.

At Charlotte, N.C., Nick Van Exel scored 11 points in the final 3:06 as the Los Angeles Lakers gained their league-leading 10th road win with a 109-100 victory over the Charlotte Hornets.

Alonzo Mourning made his first start of the season and blocked two of Steve Smith’s shots down the stretch to help Miami to a 99-92 victory over Atlanta in a matchup of Eastern Conference leaders in Miami.

Avery Johnson scored a season-high 21 points as the San Antonio Spurs avenged their worst loss of the season (22 points) with a 100-87 victory over the Houston Rockets in San Antonio.