Shaq Quotes etc.

[opi@unesco.org]

Below are quotes from Shaq in the Herald. Does anyone know what the heck
an "outbreak, monkey defense" is? God I hate losing to those Lakers, and
the fact that they walked all over us on our home court.

"I knew Rick Pitino was going to make them play that outbreak, monkey
defense,'' he said. ``He's been doing it all his life.'' (....) "They
were pressing and doubling all the way back in the full court so by them
doing that I was open and able to beat the double teams a couple of
times. But my guys look for me. They have been looking for me all year
and I just have to do the things I do best.''

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Last night the Celts forced 10 more turnovers than the Lakers had been
averaging coming into the game and we even held our own on the boards
overall (thanks to an 11-6 lead on the offensive glass). The Celts even
hit 83% on freethrows and were +8 in turnovers for 29 points. We had
Kenny's best game of the season (21 points, 10 assists, 2 blocks, 2
steals).

You couldn't hope for anything more from our team, yet the Lakers still
toyed with us. If we were at full strength, I wonder if we could have
somehow held onto our 13 point lead in the 3rd quarter? We need some
serious payback on the 25th of February, that's all I have to say.

What a frustrating season. I'm trying to stay positive but if we lose to
Atlanta in our last 20th century home game tomorrow night (Mutombo had
28 points and 29 rebounds in a game last week), this losing streak could
easily double to 13 games or so. Pierce and certainly Fortson might not
be back for the Clippers road game (read: 1-9 Celts record on the road)
on the 26th, then you have Sacramento at 8-2 and Denver at 10-3
respectively at home, followed by Cleveland, New York and Sacramento
again.

Why do the Celts have to torture all their fans like this during the
holiday season?

Joe

p.s. I watched a sequence of the win over the Knicks, where Antoine had
an exceptional first quarter capped by a terrific steal followed by a
no-wiggle three pointer. In the slow-motion replay of the shot (Couz or
Heinsohn actually highlighted the "and NO wiggle, either" part), you
could see a couple of distinguished elderly fans in the front row
literally grimace in disgust after Walker made his shot and turned
around to return to the bench (as though they were hoping he'd miss). I
guess you can't teach an old dog new tricks. It seems like a few fans
are conditioned to root for Toine to fall flat on his face. Seriously,
I'd bet even Pavlov's dog would have snapped out of it for that moment
and given Toine an appreciative paw or a friendly bark or something. I
know some of this has been Walker's own fault in the past (I hate that
he steals lunch money from children etc.), but  he seems to be doing
noticeably less showboating and whining just as the fans are getting
more confidently vocal and rude this season.

I guess some locals this year are animated by disgust and bewilderment
that Pitino would actually decide to keep an Antoine-type over a Ron
Mercer. If the Celts were finally to trade Antoine for a pair of second
round draft picks, I'd bet fan opinion polls would show a near 50-50
split in support of the trade. Is that an exaggeration? In any case I
agree with Mark Berry. The situation is just so untenable here in
Boston. It is neither good for Antoine's game nor fair to the many fans
who don't want to hear anti-Toine carping from the audience every time
they attend a home game. Trade him to Philly and let him try to blossom
out there. The rivalry hasn't been much fun anyway since Barkley left.

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