Celtics-Bucks

[Steskiles@aol.com]

Living in Green Bay, I had court-side seats for last night's preseason game.
Here's my opinion:

- -I've read some negative comments about the Celtic press.  Keep in mind, the
Bucks have two excellent guards, Terrel Brandon and Ray Allen.  Yes, the
Bucks beat the press, but they were rattled by it, and I think the press will
be more effective as the players get used to it.

- -Travis Knight has a nice shooting touch and played the best overall game for
Boston.  Yes, he will get bullied by the likes of Patrick Ewing, but he's a
more effective center than anybody the Bulls have, and I think they've got a
few championships.

- -Tyus Edney blew by people and drove to the basket on four separate
occasions. He'll be a handful for any defense.

- -The biggest difference between the Bucks and the Celtics last night: the
Bucks are a team, the Celtics are a bunch of guys playing one-on-one. Billups
and Mercer just aren't comfortable playing with each other, or playing
against NBA talent.  Now, we had to expect this.  The first half  of the
season is going to be ugly.  I predict we're going to hear people asking if
Pitino knows what he's doing? Were the Celtics better off last year?  Quite
frankly, we'll be lucky if we have ten wins by the all-star break.  Now,
before you leave this e-mail message, hear me out.  The first half of the
season will be just as frustrating as the second half will be promising.
 After the all-star break, I think this team will start to mesh.  By then,
they'll actually start looking more like a team.  It's unrealistic to expect
40+ wins.  What is realistic is 25-30 wins, another lottery pick and free
agents wanting to hop on the Celtic train as the team grows into a contender.

Skiles