Strangers in the night...

[Ellie Cutler <ellie@oreilly.com>]

from the Herald's Mark Caufman:
"Of all the major sports, basketball relies most heavily on familiarity and
chemistry 
      among its personnel. Which brings up a significant concern awaiting the 
      Celtics at October training camp.
      On a roster expected to be somewhat stable this summer, there are six
new

      faces (Danny Fortson, Eric Williams, Eric Washington, Calbert Cheaney, 
      Adrian Griffin, Wayne Turner). All of the newcomers, with the exception
of 
      Washington, are expected to contribute."

But Fortson, Williams, and Washington know each other, Battie knows those
guys,
Williams knows Antoine and Dana, Turner knows Antoine and Wallah... it's not
like they're a bunch of total strangers.  Yes, the more they play together,
the
better they will get, but the off-season moves were preferable to keeping the
'99 roster intact just for the sake of maturing together. This is the
strongest
team we've fielded in a long time - I can't wait to see them take the court.

Alex, nice post about Kenny Anderson. Who knows, he may enjoy himself this
year
and flourish. I do look forward to better outlet and full-court passing, and
you're right that better rebounding will allow that.

On another note, isn't it refreshing to see Michael Holley doing the Sunday
hoops column instead of Peter May?

--Ellie