Re: The Boston Celtics Mailing List Digest V5 #46

[David Pinkowitz <pinkowid@union.edu>]

	I'm only on the digest, so I don't know whether it's been posted
already, but I got this off nba.com. Your usual mid-year recap.

Boston Celtics (18-23 overall; 9-11 in first 20 games,     Pacific
9-12 since) : The season is half over, and the Celtics     Division
are still within striking distance of a playoff spot.      quarterly
For some teams, that's no cause for celebration, but in    report
Boston, where the faithful endured a 15-67 nightmare
last season, it's quite a comfort.                         Boston Celtics
                                                           home page
The Celtics have still been prone to some  [Celtics logo]
losing skids, recently dropping nine of 11                 Miami Heat
games. But a similar slide early in the season was         home page
turned around by a four-game win streak, so it's clear
that Rick Pitino's young team will not hang its            New Jersey
collective head after a dose of tough times. Surpassing    Nets
last season's 15-win total on January 3 was a sign of      home page
how drastic a change this franchise has undergone.
                                                           New York
Hubie Brown recently noted that the Celtics are            Knicks
perceived as a team with a young NBA All-Star in Antoine   home page
Walker (22.1 ppg, 10.6 rpg) and a bunch of role players.
But Brown pointed out that Pitino is changing the          Orlando Magic
character of the team, instilling a strong work ethic      home page
where none had existed before. Pitino is willing to live
with the fact that the Celtics commit more fouls than      Philadelphia
any team in the NBA (more than 28 per game), as long as    76ers
his players are aggressive and create havoc for the        home page
opposition. The Celtics are also first in the NBA in
steals (12.27 per game).                                   Washington
                                                           Wizards
There are other reasons to be                              home page
                                       [Chauncey Billups]
encouraged besides Walker's starring
play. Ron Mercer (13.5 ppg) showed     Chauncey Billups
his potential with three recent games     -----------
of over 20 points. Workmanlike center
Andrew DeClercq hustled his way into more playing time,
including 13 starts in the past 17 games. Rookie point
guard Chauncey Billups has shown some terrific scoring
skills.

Opposing teams have prepared better for the Celtics'
pressing, trapping defenses the second time around the
league, and Boston's record has suffered as a result.
But this season is all about re-establishing pride to
the NBA's most storied franchise, and nobody can argue
that has been achieved.

Check out nba.com also for a link to an article on Walker, and I guess
that Walker is also appearing on LiveAudio on the site either tonight or
tomorrow, I think tonight.
	
Tired of overly leeching on the digest, Dave