Cowens sees fine-tuning as a vital link in a team's progress towards consistent victory. He says that players don't change their individual style of play from game to game. It's more of a coordinated shift from an entire unit.

"Players can do different things," he says. "Some press well, some shoot well, and the coach has to work with the abilities he's got. The coach has to devise a team strategy, and that strategy is what shifts, depending on the opposing team's abilities.

"I don't really change my game, no matter who I play against. It's a team game and you have to work together to get the job done," Cowens, who has grabbed almost 8000 rebounds in his NBA career, says. "If you're not working together, each individual has to work harder, and that's when there are problems."

But the Celtics are still individuals this season, working on putting it together. There are new faces and old ones, and coach Tom Heinsohn has not yet found the right combination for his team. Bright spots have been infrequent for the Celtics in '77, but the latest one has been Cedrick "Cornbread" Maxwell, the Celtics' talented rookie.

"Cedrick proved himself against the Cavaliers," Cowens says. "He's a good player, he's active, and he knows what's going on, but he has to get much more physical. That takes time...he'll get used to it and learn what he can get away with."

Maxwell is the new face on the floor, but the Celtics also have a new man on the bench: former Harvard head basketball coach Tom "Satch" Sanders. As an assistant to Heinsohn and the team's chief scout, Sanders will have a major impact on the Celtics' future.

"Satch is much different than the screaming, cursing, excited coach. He knows the game, is quiet and direct." Cowens says. "He calls the players, `Gentleman.'"

Behind the players and coaches, Cowens considers another factor as key in the Celtics' fate: the fans. He says the Celtics need support from their fans now more than ever.

"It's like a guy who has just lost his job...he needs his family," the 6-ft. 9-in., 230-pound center says. "We've given the fans exciting, winning basketball for many years, and we'll continue to give them exciting ball--hopefully also winning ball. The people in Boston are so used to winning though, I hope they don't get fickle. They will hopefully just come out for the sake of watching good basketball."

But Cowens knows these hopes are a bit unrealistic.

"If you lose continuously, the fans won't keep coming out.... That's just the way it is," he says, "Unless of course you have a guy like Pete Maravich who puts on a show that the press can exploit."

But when you boil down the whole Celtic mess, things come right down to Cowens; for as Cowens goes, so go the Celtics.

Last season, after Cowens took a mid-year leave-of-absence, the Celtics struggled through 30 games at almost .500. Some said that the team's ability to win without Cowens showed that the center with an 18.8-point career scoring average is not so crucial to Boston's success. But that was just Celtic optimism. In reality, .500 basketball will get Boston nowhere fast.

But Cowens says his leave is history and he is now back for good.

"Last year...that's all over," he explains. "I never had any qualms about playing basketball, I just did what I thought was best at the time. Right now I want to play basketball and I'm just gonna keep playing until...well, I'm not sure when. Then I'll just quit or go someplace far, far away."