The Kevin Gamble Interview
By:
Michael D. McClellan
|
Monday, May 9th, 2005
During practice, you used to play some friendly one-on-one with Kevin McHale.
How did most of those games turn out?
I
won some and I lost some. Kevin had to guard perimeter guys – Larry wasn’t the
quickest guy, but Kevin was long. KC and Coach [Chris] Ford used to have Larry
guard the bigger guys in practice, mostly fours [power forwards]. McHale used
to guard the threes [small forwards], who were quicker. He used to practice
with me to work on his quickness. Kevin had those long arms. He wasn’t real
quick, but he moved his feet well. He would give you space, and then, when you
went up for your jump shot, he would contest it with those long arms and his
reach. So I think that was one of the things that he wanted to work on, because
he was going to be matched up against players my size, or even bigger, who could
take the ball to the basket. But we had fun. Playing one-on-one with those
guys taught me a lot of things. I learned a lot about basketball being around
them, observing them, and also playing against them in practice.
The
Celtics are known for all the championships, but they are also known for
their practical jokes. During your rookie season, Dennis Johnson and the
rest of the guys convinced you to lead them onto the Garden floor when the
team was introduced? What happened, and did you ever get even with them?
No
I didn’t [laughs]. I had forgotten all about that, but now that you mention
it I do remember. Dennis came up to me and said that it was a tradition in
Boston to have the new guy lead them out. I can’t remember if it was my
first game with the team, but I do remember that it was during Kareem
Abdul-Jabbar’s farewell tour. We were playing the Lakers, of course, and I
ran out of the tunnel and into the gym. When I got on the court I turned
around and looked back, and all of the guys were still back there in the
tunnel, laughing at me. It was funny because here I am, this young kid
standing on the fabled parquet floor, who has watched this place on
television for years-and-years, through all of those battles between the
Celtics and the Lakers, and also against the Philadelphia 76ers. That’s
what made it so horrifying for me, and such a good joke for them. I was so
nervous, and I was also embarrassed. For them to put me out there like
that, I’m surprised that I didn’t faint [laughs].
You
logged 17 "DNPs" that first year, and it looked like the team would make you
available in the expansion draft to either Orlando or Minnesota. But then
you turned in seven strong minutes in a road win over Philadelphia, and
started in place of an injured Dennis Johnson the final six games of the
regular season. What was it like for you to succeed on such a big stage?
It
was exciting. I remember when DJ rolled his ankle in Atlanta – it was
really bad – and we’re flying back to Boston that night, knowing that he
wasn’t going to be able to finish up the season. We didn’t know if he was
going to miss all six games, but we did know that he was going to miss a
few. Our next game was against Cleveland, and we’re in the locker room
going through our normal pre-game stuff. Coach [Jimmy] Rodgers comes into
the locker room with the Cleveland’s starting lineup – Larry Nance, Brad
Dougherty, Ron Harper, and so forth. Jimmy looks at Brian Shaw, and he
tells him that he will guard Mark Price. Then he looks at me, and he says,
‘Oscar, you’re going to be starting, and you’ve got Ron Harper.’ That was
the first time that I heard that I was going to starting in the NBA. I’ll
never forget that feeling. Of course, everybody knew what Ron Harper could
do – he was one of the best players in the NBA. He was known as a very good
all-around player, strong offensively and defensively, which made my first
start exciting and nerve-wracking at the same time. I think I had 20
points, 10 assists and seven rebounds. From that point on I think everyone
on the team knew that they could count on me.
The
Celtics were swept from the 1989 NBA Playoffs by the Bad Boys from Detroit.
What do you remember most about your first playoff series?
I
think we limped into the playoffs that year and had to play the Bad Boys.
The one thing that I do remember – and it wasn’t a good memory for me – was
that I got hurt during the first game of that series. I pulled my groin.
It was a severe pull, so it obviously wasn’t a good series for me. I
remember playing against Isiah, and Dumars, and the Microwave [Vinnie
Johnson]. I think that might have been the first of their back-to-back
championship seasons. It was a great experience, but I just wish that I
could have been healthy enough to contribute more.
