First Look

["dan.p" <dan.p@MCI2000.com>]

Well, there were a lot of new faces, but the result was the same old thing
- - another loss for the Celtics.  They were aptly handled by Atlanta by the
score of 113-89.

Observations:

Walker looks great.  It looks like he put in a lot of work on his jumper,
as he has a much smoother looking stroke this year.  He knocked down a lot
of outside shots and was the only Celtic who could score consistently.  He
brought the ball up a couple of times in the first quarter, but that didn't
continue.  He also rebounded well, picking up where he left off last year. 
All-star is definitely a possibility this year.  27 points, 16 rebounds.

Travis Knight and Andrew DeClerq looked pretty good.  The C's didn't seem
as undersized as I expected them to.  They battled well on the offensive
boards.

Dana Barros was awful.  He never drove to the basket and bricked all his
outside shots.  Twice on the fast break he pulled up and clanked jumpers
off the rim (once was a 3 on 1!).  Dee Brown wasn't much better.  He had a
lot of spring in his step but settled for the outside shot and clanked most
of them.

Both Mercer and Billups looked very raw.  Neither one is going to dominate
from the get-go, but I bet by mid-season they'll both be looking sharp.

The C's pressed a lot and it was somewhat effective.  They did create some
turnovers, but the Hawks often picked it apart leading to easy baskets. 
With a little fine-tuning this could be very effective.  The Celtics
clearly had the necesary athletes to press.

I wouldn't be suprised to see this Celtic team follow Rick's 87-88 Knick
team.  That team started out slowly, going 14-28 at one point.  Once they'd
jelled, they went 24-16 after that.  The C's will have a lot of rough times
early, but as long as they keep their heads up and keep learning, they
could be a solid team for the second half of the season.  It's anyone's
guess whether that'll be good enough to make the playoffs.

I have to think there'll be one big trade before the season's over.  Pitino
isn't going to go through the whole season with the current personell.

Dan