Thoughts after reading today's Globe article

[jmc@ptc.com (Jonathan McIntyre)]

Some encouraging thoughts about last night's game:

  * Ellison had 2 blocked shots.  Knight had 2 blocks during the 
    Celtics 13-0 run in the 3rd quarter, and probably more on the night 
    as a whole.  We didn't see a whole lot of blocks last year, so this 
    is very refreshing and encouraging! 
  * Walker, Brown and Billups each had 5 assists.
  * Brown had 4 steals and Ellison had 3.  
  * Mills was 7 for 9, with half his points during crunch time in the 
    4th quarter. 
  * It was the first game where Pitino was trying to play the game 
    like a real regular season game, and the first one where he said 
    before the game they were actually going to try to win the game 
    instead of focussing only on learning, and... they won.
    Here's a quote from this morning's Globe article:

     The Celtics did not press nearly as much as they had in the first
     four games. ''I only want to press 40 or 50 percent of the time,''
     Pitino explained. ''It's more effective when you mix it up. We did
     it more in the other games because we were teaching it. But we
     want to play these last four games like real games".

Obviously, this doesn't mean an end to the games where the Celtics get 
embarrassed, but it sure gives some hope that the embarrassing losses 
won't be as frequent or as bad as we might have thought. 

Many have expressed concern over Billups.  Remember, it's still pre-season, 
he's a rookie, and he has years of learning to do.  I'd be most concerned 
with his attitude... is he letting the poor play affect him too much, or 
is he keeping his focus on learning?  From what I saw in the CBS Sportsline
article that Tony Pinto posted yesterday, he's keeping focussed on learning 
and not making the mistake of trying to show everyone what he's got.  
Here are some quotes from that article that have calmed my fears:

> "In this system, playing point guard has to be second nature," said
> Billups. "That's the point I'm trying to get to. Right now I'm out
> there just thinking a little too much. It's all part of the maturation
> process.
> 
> "Mookie's a great player. His hands are quicker than any I've ever
> seen. He's an established pro, and you've got to respect that. For me,
> it's just a matter of going out to compete and learn as much as I
> possibly can so I can be ready to do what the team needs me to do by
> the time the regular season starts."
> 
> Billups is trying to compete now, but he's fully cognizant of the baby
> steps he must now take.
> 
> "What happened this weekend with me is going to happen to any rookie,
> especially against a guy like Mookie Blaylock," he said. "It's to be
> expected. I just want to make sure I keep getting better.


  Whether he'll be able to learn well remains to be seen, but at least his 
focus is in the right place. 

Jon Mc