Re[2]: The Boston Celtics Mailing List Digest V4 #237

[MBerry@mail.journalink.com (MBerry)]

Tom wrote:



>So here's my question: Can this strategy be effective in the NBA?
>What NBA team doesn't have outstanding, highly-skilled
>athletes? From what I've seen, very few teams ever try to
>full court trap outside desperation time. Some team employ
>half court traps that can be effective in spurts if they get
>the right matchups. But, relying on pressing and trapping
>against NBA players? I'm skeptical it can work in the long
>run. I would agree that it should be part of a game plan,
>particularly if you have a fast team.


          The reason most teams do not try to trap more is stamina.
          The 48-minute NBA game and 82-game schedule is a grind -- a
          marathon. If a team is going to press and trap all the time
          over the course of a season, it better be extremely
          well-conditioned and have a deep bench. The Celtics should
          have both. Depth hasn't been the Celts' problem in recent
          years. They have a roster full of decent players
          (unfortunately they're being paid like superstars). Greg
          Minor, Dee Brown, Andrew DeClercq, Derek Strong and (if
          healthy) Pervis Ellison and (if still here) Dana Barros,
          while not superstars, certainly give you adequate depth on
          the bench behind the expected starters (Billups, Mercer,
          Williams, Walker and Knight -- although Williams may come
          off the bench). I don't think Pitino's system will be a
          problem, but I do think we still need to upgrade our talent
          base (obviously). If I had to guess now, I'd say we're
          looking at 30-35 wins. -- Mark