RE: Herald: Battie to play "4"

["John Lyell" <Jlyell@concentric.net>]

Or showcasing him for a trade !

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-celtics@igtc.com [mailto:owner-celtics@igtc.com]On Behalf Of
opi@unesco.org
Sent: Thursday, December 02, 1999 2:47 AM
To: celtics@igtc.com
Subject: Herald: Battie to play "4"


At last, Pitino says he'll give Battie power forward minutes. Hopefully
this
will totally turn around Battie's season, just like it did last year
when Antoine went down.

Go Celts!

p.s. It's not NEARLY as much fun if the injured Tim Hardaway isn't on
the same court with Antoine Walker this Friday. I hope there still will
be a playoff ambiance at the Fleet Center, since this game is sort of an
exhibition "Game 2" of a possible playoff matchup this Spring. Guards
and small forwards (Mashburn) have been lighting up Pierce and Griffin
lately, so they probably need to come out fired up and hungry.

Without question defensive intensity wins games in the fourth quarter.
The Celtics need one or more guys to really lead by example there.

The Celts have been outscored in the fourth quarter already 10 times
this year by an average in those games of 8.4 ppg. For awhile it looked
like the Celts had finally solved this problem, until the most recent
Milwaukee and Atlanta debacles (outscored by 15ppg in each fourth
quarter).

In the five games prior to that, the Celts had averaged a deadly 31.6
ppg in the fourth, outscoring opponent by 8.6 ppg (this included a +8
garbage time 4Q against the Spurs, but the other games are pretty
legitimate). Miami was the only team that outscored them (30-25) during
that span of five games.

Below is the Herald article


----------------
Battie finds more time on hands
by Gus Martins
Thursday, December 2, 1999

    Reserve frontcourt man Tony Battie appears to be headed for an
increased role with the Celtics' first team.

    ``We're happy with Tony,'' Celtics coach Rick Pitino said yesterday.

``He shoots a good percentage. We've got to get him more playing time
because he's the best rebounder-per-minute-player on the team.''

    Battie, in his third year out of Texas Tech, has averaged four
rebounds and 6.6 points in 17.8 minutes per game. He has a team-high 15
blocks.

    ``He'll play more against Miami (tomorrow night) and he'll play a
little more at the 4 (power forward) spot,'' Pitino said of the matchup
with the Heat at the FleetCenter. ``He can block shots, he can score, he

can rebound. He's a very good offensive rebounder. He's got to get more
physical on the defensive end, but he's making progress and we like his
future.

    ``I'd like to get him some more time with the first unit at the
backup 4. I'd like to play him with both units. He's been primarily at 5

(center) but I'd like to play him more at the 4 spot.''

    Battie was excited to hear about Pitino's plans for him.

    ``It's something I want to do,'' he said. ``I want to be out there
with Antoine (Walker), who is a good passer, with Paul (Pierce), who is
probably one of the biggest 2-guards in the league right now, and with
Kenny (Anderson), who is a great passer. Then you got me, you got Pervis

(Ellison) down low, and I think that's our biggest squad. The more we
can get different looks, I guess, the harder it will be to guard us.''

    Battie, a near 7-footer who is athletic enough that he can be
effective in Pitino's pressing defense, thinks the league's new rules
that disallow hand contact have made it tough on him.

    ``I'm in on the pressing unit,'' he said. ``Press the ball a lot.
It's been a little more difficult because of the rules where you can't
even touch the guards. For myself, I'm an inch away from 7 feet, and I'm

chasing a point guard down the court trying to get a trap and you can't
touch him. What I try to do is bring some intensity off the bench, along

with some shot-blocking, try to get some turnovers and force the
momentum my way.

    ``We know that Paul and Antoine are going to be our scorers. The
rest we are going to need a contribution from off the bench - me, Walter

(McCarty), Vitaly (Potapenko).'

    The Celtics' objective against Miami is to snap a three-game losing
streak. Battie said that if the last few practices are an indication,
the Celtics are rarin' to go.

    ``We've been battling each other, getting ready for upcoming
games,'' he said. ``Something's got to change.''