Re: Whither Chauncey?

[Warwick Janetzki <giants@icplus.net.au>]

Cecil Wright wrote:
> 
> Hey Bob,
> 
> Welcome to the list!!
> 
> Many will agree that I have been defending Billups from day one.  In fact
> I was elated when we drafted him.  I am still happy with his selection
> for a number of reasons which I have alluded to many times in the past on
> this list.
> 
> There are a number of postees, however, who do not share my optimism on
> this young inexperienced guard based off of what they have seen over the
> duration of a relatively short professional career.  At this point in
> time, CB as many weaknesses at his position which the doubting-thomases
> will use as evidence that he can never become a true point guard.  I beg
> to differ, as I think that young players can be taught by great coaches,
> and I feel that Pitino falls into that category.
> 
> But I also believe that you must accept the bad with the good.  I realize
> it will take a team as young as the squad time to grow together before
> they become title contenders.  It seems though that some other Celtic
> fans do not have the willingness to accept that fact and want to
> challenge the NBA elite teams RIGHT NOW.  Hence, the eternal damnation of
> CB.  He gets an inordinate share of the blame for a low assist total when
> guys are bombing away from the outside with little or no success.  He's
> criticized by the color commentator for leaving his feet prematurely and
> not finishing strongly.  He his flogged because people expect more from
> the "3rd overall pick in the draft" regardless of the fact that he is
> being asked to play a position he never played before against the
> greatest players in the world.
> 
> I think everyone on the list want what's best for the team, however, they
> also have the hunger for a top five team as well.  If they could
> understand the need for patience, they would see this team contend in the
> near future.  That is realistic.
> 
> Cecil

Cecil and the rest of y'all,

great post about a great player. I told my friends today that the guy
would be a top 10 player in the future and they just laughed at me and
saying "yah, the top 10 player busts." I cannot wait until CB matures
and gains the experience necessary to dominate the league as you quite
clearly pointed out.

Whether he is a Celtic or not, CB will always be one of my favorites.
The reason that he is one of them is because the attitude I saw in him
from Day #1. The Celtics and the Bulls opening night clash was my
greatest moment. A chance to see the new team in action, opening night.
WOW! My first major live C's game since 'Nique played for us.

I never expected much out of Chauncey. When he came on, the crowd
welcoed him warmly, as should be expected from the majority of the C's
fans, even those who had bagged him w/o getting a proper look at how he
played.

Chauncey, the first time I had seen him in A Celtics uniform, hustled
and bustled his way around the court. He did a few errors on the court,
but he always did something to make up for it. He scored a little,
passed the ball around, and here I was sitting a few inches away from
the television screen, screaming my lungs out for a rook, who I've only
seen play a couple of times before, in a uniform I scarcely knew
anything about, without any warning that he would become one of my
heroes in the next few months, after slightly more than 2 hours,
watching my brand new NBA team. 

A new team, a new favorite player. A whole new experience.

Chauncey Billups has some bad flaws in his game. I'm sure that you'll
find 95% of the players in the NBA have serious flaws in their games.
Just open your eyes next time an NBA game is on, be it Celtics or non
Celtics. Pick a player, be their harshest critic for 2 hours, then get
back to me, tell me who it was and if they had any flaws in their game.

Even try me on a player such as Jordan or Karl Malone, I'm sure I can
pick out a flaw in their game.

Chauncey's flaws are so easily noticeable simply because he lacks that
expreience necessary to excel. Once he gets that experience and the
confidence that most experienced players have he'll settle down and
those flaws will definitely be not as noticeable, and yes they'll still
be there, but not to the extremities that they are now.

As for the rest of the team, I'm saying let them learn, let them play,
let them die. 

Die? I hear you ask. Yes let them die in this early stages. We've got a
5 game losing skid. Thats 5 games where each and every person involved
in the Celtics organisation, be it as a fan, a member or personelle on
the team has felt sick in the stomach. That to me is where we'll get
more experience. Its the losses now that will make both the W's that
will not only make them taste a hell of a lot nice, but feel a heck of a
lot more earned.

Now what does that mean for the players? Losing is experience. Losing is
a feeling. If you're a real player, you'll hate losing. Look at all the
great champions of the sport. Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson
and Russell to name a select few would answer to the question "what out
of anything, do you hate the most" losing as their answer. They hated
losing so much that they worked on their games, got all of the little
bugs out of their game and became superstars. 

I see no reason why these group of Celtics cannot feel the same way.
Sure they might not have the same skill as any of the players mentioned
above, except possibly Antoine, Ron and Chauncey.

Learning has so much to do with the above simply because I think that
when you lose, you work that much harder to improve yourself mentally,
physically and skillwise.

Let them play. Let them learn, let them develop. Let them have some fun.
Each games a new experience, a new encouraging step forward in the
championship campaign of the Boston Celtics. Its already hard enough for
them knowing that they're not at the level of the famous teams that this
organisation has had. Every team that the Celtics have is always
compared to the championship teams, be it Cousy and Russell's era or
Bird, Parish and McHale's.

The way the Celtics have started their championship campaign and their
current phase 1 of it entitled 'rebuilding' is a remarkable achievement
in itself. I mean from having an old team with all of those contracts
hanging over our heads and a pathetic coach, who wasn't that bad a GM,
players who were always injured (ie. Radja, Barros, Brickowski, etc.)
and only one shining bright light in the Celtics future (Antoine Walker)
the path seemed dark. I wasn't a fan then, but I sure as hell supported
the C's and kept up to date with what was happening in their sorry
season. 

I'm not going to feel a championship victory as much as someone who has
supported the C's as much as someone on the list whose been following
the C's for years, eg. Gene, etc. I'll be the first one to admit that.
But, I do know how it felt like playing through one miserable season.

The reason I know is that I played cricket, we lost every single match,
except for 1. They were played over 2 days, on the Saturday morning of
each week during summer. The game that we happend to win, i played the
first day, I scored 20 runs, my highest score, got 2/31 or something off
my bowling and the 2nd week, the final week, I had to go to my aunty's
place for a reunion sort of thing. Man when I went to school the next
morning and heard that we won, I never knew whether to be totally
ecstatic, knowing that I had  my best ever game and we won for the first
time, or to be totally disappointed with it because I missed it. In the
end I was a little bit of both, I just felt good for the guys and felt
sick in the stomach thinking about what the guys did when we won. I
guess thats what it must have felt like for each Celtics player whenever
they had a win last season and they never played. It hurts and at an
incredible amount too.

These guys apart from them learning are a great bunch of guys to watch.
I've seen only a few of them live, I've got others on tape. I'd rather
sit there and watch them play live, than I would doing one of my
greatest joys, for example playing the game.

I know I've babbled on a heap and if you haven't hit the 'delete' button
on your mail program, then I thank you, and think to myself, you're a
true fan who understands and wants to read about what other fans think. 

I may as well get out of your lives until my next post, which I think
shall be as boring and pointless as usual (knowing myself) and hoping
you'll read it again, so on a good thing, its good night until you read
me again.

Warwick.