Re: Who will start?

[Josh Ozersky <josh_ozersky@yahoo.com>]

I expect Antoine to play well.  If he picks up where
he left off, we'll be fine.  Really, the single most
important variable is Kenny Anderson.  Pitino will
have coached these guys.  I think if the team stays
togehter, you will see them do really well out of the
gate.   I don't think you can get value for Antoine
Walker. He's too frigging good.  Still better than
Alan Houston when he plays under control.  I still
can't imagine what Pitino was thinking.  Look how
teams give players away.  Orlando could have had Ron
Mercer and Kenny Anderson, instead of the crap they
got.

--- Michael Joseph Byrnes
<mbyrnes@leland.Stanford.EDU> wrote:
> 
> Assuming that there are no more major personnel
> changes, I think that
> there are only three players guaranteed to be in the
> starting lineup for
> the Celtics: Kenny Anderson, Paul Pierce, and
> Antoine Walker.  And, while
> Anderson will obviously be the point guard, it is
> too soon to say which
> positions Pierce and Walker will start at.
> 
> The remaining two jobs will be up for grabs between
> Potapenko, Fortson,
> Battie, Williams, and Cheaney, although Fortson
> probably has the inside
> track for one of the two jobs.  
> 
> The more I think about the Celtics, the better I
> think they will be.  Here
> are what I see as their biggest weaknesses:
> 
> 1) Lack of depth at center/power forward.  The
> Celtics only have one true 
>    center (Potapenko) and 2 power forwards who can
> fill in at center
>    (Fortson, Battie).  But, this won't be a huge
> problem because most
>    teams are not stocked with dominating big men. 
> Walker will probably
>    get plenty of mintues at power forward, so depth
> up front shouldn't be
>    a huge problem.  The Celtics lack of big men will
> only really be a
>    problem if one of them gets injured, or if
> Potapenko and Fortson both 
>    get into early foul trouble.  
> 
> 2) Lack of a "true" 2 guard.  I haven't seen enough
> of Cheaney to know how
>    well he plays the 2, but I do know that he was
> converted from small
>    forward.  Can Pierce and Cheaney handle the ball
> well enough to play
>    the 2?  Even if they can't, this doesn't have to
> be a huge problem
>    because of Antoine Walker, who is about as good a
> ballhandling big man 
>    as you're going to find.  
> 
> 3) Which Kenny Anderson are we going to see?  The
> 1997-98 version, who 
>    gave our struggling offense a huge jump start
> after he was acquired?
>    Or last year's version, who often failed to push
> the tempo, and who
>    let the offense be little more than "The
> One-on-One moves of Walker,
>    Mercer, and Pierce".  I think that one of the
> reasons Pitino signed
>    Wayne Turner was to send a message to Kenny
> Anderson.  
> 
> I think the Celtics will have a good year.  How good
> a year will depend on
> Antoine Walker.  I tend to believe those who say
> that Walker "wants to
> win".  His problem has been in understanding how to
> win.  Regardless of
> how Walker plays, the Celtics should be able to
> finish over .500 this
> year.  But, if Walker finally has matured, and is
> willing to take his
> points in the flow of the offense, rather than
> forcing his offense, then the 
> Celtics will be capable of a very good playoff run. 
> 
> 
> Michael Byrnes
> mbyrnes@stanford.edu
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 

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