Celtics and Lewis' widow offered a hollow response

Sporting News, The, March 20, 1995 by Shaun Powell

Next Wednesday, the Celtics will honor the memory of Reggie Lewis by raising No. 35 to the Boston Garden ceiling. Until then, they must deal with something else concerning Lewis raised last week -- the ugly insinuations surrounding his death.

How much of a part, if any, did cocaine play in the heart that tragically failed Lewis two years ago?

That question was put forth by the Wall Street Journal in a comprehensive, front-page article last Thursday. The newspaper said the "dream team" doctors who first diagnosed Lewis suspected cocaine use, yet the issue of drug use became an untouchable subject perhaps because of the flawless stature of Lewis within the Boston community, public-relations concerns for the Celtics and insurance reasons for the Lewis family.

In response, the Celtics vented an all-out public relations attack by vehemently denying any hanky-panky, accused the paper of racism and threatened to slap the Journal with a $100-million libel suit.

Despite all the posturing, face-saving and blame-shifting that polluted an explosive week in Boston, several questions went unanswered. Among them:

* Why was the Celtics' response so hollow? Team Owner Paul Gaston, General Manager M.L Carr and Lewis' widow, Donna Harris-Lewis, stood before the media and used a broad brush to slam the Journal article. But if they were so incensed about the story, why didn't they dissect each alleged inaccuracy, piece by piece, and tell us why?

Did they dispute the suspicions held by the medical team? After Lewis collapsed during a playoff game two Aprils ago, a diagnosis of his scarred heart showed arteriosclerosis, which affects mostly the elderly, patients with a history of heart problems, patients with viruses and drug users. Because Lewis was only 27 and never had a heart attack before, doctors, according to the Journal, narrowed the cause to viruses or drug use. Because Lewis wasn't tested for drugs, a virus was fisted as the cause. That leads to the next question:

* Why didn't Lewis submit to a drug test? The Journal said he was asked twice but declined. His friends, family and business associates swear that Lewis never, ever touched drugs. Of course, only Lewis knew for sure. Lewis refused to submit to a test because he and his wife were insulted by the request, even after they told doctors that drugs were not an issue.

That certainly is a reason to feel insulted. The Journal said race played a part, too, because the Lewis family felt a white player wouldn't be subjected to drug inquiries.

At the same time, however, the Lewises could have effectively killed this nasty notion before it became a tarnishing public issue by simply delivering a urine sample for drug-testing purposes. They didn't.

* Was the NBA's drug-testing policy at fault? The NBA's much-applauded policy has suddenly been accused of being too stringent with too much red tape. That's not really the case. True, the NBA doesn't test veteran players for drugs unless there is "reasonable cause." A phone call from the Celtics to the league office would've been sufficient enough. But the Celtics didn't press the issue with the league because of their belief that Lewis was clean.

Only one person can clear up this whole mess. But Reggie Lewis can't tell us if he used cocaine. And that is a shame. Because neither his memory nor his jersey retirement ceremony deserves to be tainted by so much uncertainty and doubt.

Sliding with Clyde

A few years ago Clyde Drexler was considered Jordan Lite. Even in his twilight, Drexler owns some of the best all-around skills in the game. He held special attraction for the Rockets because of the enticing prospect of rejoining his Phi Slamma Jamma teammate, Hakeem Olajuwon.

But now it has become apparent the Rockets were better off with Otis Thorpe.

The Rockets were one of the weakest rebounding teams with Thorpe. Without him, they are weaker than 27 teams -- the other 26 and Dennis Rodman.

Perhaps the biggest wound opened by Thorpe's departure was the Rockets' defense against power forwards. You have to figure they'll see Charles Barkley, Shawn Kemp, Karl Malone or all three in the playoffs. What those three All-Stars will see when they play the Rockets is Pete Chilcutt and Carl Herrera.

Barkley has already slipped the Chilcutt-Herrera tandem a psychological note when he said he feared neither player. And as for the defending champs, let's just say Barkley, all of a sudden, doesn't like their repeat chances.

"Otis is a terrific player," Barkley says. "They're going to miss him sooner or later." didn't score much, and there would be nights when he simply disappeared. But he never hurt the Rockets. They could count on Thorpe to run the floor, help Olajuwon with the rebounding chores, and body-up the Barkleys on defense.

Drexler lends stability to a suspicious backcourt. He can also double as a much-needed second small forward. But in the playoffs, the Rockets will see the Barkleys, the Kemps and the Malones in seven-game spans. And that's if they get past the first round and a likely matchup against the Spurs and Rodman.