Re: Tommy is getting critical

["Cecil Wright" <cecil@hfx.eastlink.ca>]

I have been avoiding this conversation on purpose, but I will say this
AGAIN.  How can Toine be expected to increase his rebounding from the
point/forward position?  He is spending increasing amounts of time in that
spot and some individuals want his rebounding numbers to rise.  Impossible
if things stay as they are.  He is making an abvious effort to include more
of his teammates in the plays.  He is playing absent Pierce, Fortson, VP's
playing injured, as is Griffin and McCarty.  WTF!

Cecil

----- Original Message -----
From: <opi@unesco.org>
To: <DJessen33@aol.com>; <Celtics@igtc.com>
Sent: Wednesday, December 22, 1999 7:57 AM
Subject: Re: Tommy is getting critical


> DJessen33@aol.com wrote:
>
> > Has anyone noticed that Tommy is most negative on the Celtics that he
has
> > every been? He has always been a defender while Coz was critical. Yet,
> > against the Lakers, he was leading the critical charge and Coz was
agreeing.
> > Plus, he exploded at Walker on his third foul and called it "Walker's
dumbest
> > play to date".  Does anybody have an idea why there is this change in
heart?
> > I think it might be because he thinks the talent on the team and with
the new
> > rules that the Celtics should fast break more. Years past, he used to
preach
> > on how they were working on it and learning it under ML and Pitino. You
don't
> > hear that this year. Tommy sees the game one way and that is with "old
time
> > fast-break Celtic" style eyes and maybe he has concluded that it just
isn't
> > going to happen now under Pitino or these set of players. That maybe the
same
> > thing with Pitino except he see everything with those "outbreak, monkey
> > defense" style eyes...<g>
>
> Yeah, I noticed too. I think it is because of Antoine's rebounding,
something a
> player like Tommy would really admire having had his share of big
rebounding
> games as a youngster and having coached Paul Silas into becoming arguably
the
> archetype pure "power forward" in NBA history (I'm not sure the word
"power
> forward" even existed before that, though I could be mistaken). When you
lead
> your team in rebounding 65 times in a season from the forward spot (as
Antoine
> did), Tommy probably couldn't care less if he shot nothing but bricks
every night
> (Paul Silas had the ugliest, stiffest shot I've ever seen)
>
> It's true that Antoine is averaging only 34 minutes per game this season
compared
> to 39.9 in his "great" 20-10 year, but that fails to explain everything.
> Projected over 39.9 minutes this year, Antoine would be averaging only 8.1
> rebounds per game this season (a full 20% drop in productivity off his
second pro
> season). In general I'd think that fewer minutes should translate into
more
> energy and better productivity on the boards, which incidentally is one
reason
> why Travis Knight's respectable per minute rebounding and shotblocking
numbers in
> Boston really meant squat.
>
> Take away his rebounding and Antoine is just another player. Like I think
DJessen
> said in an earlier post, he's a great dribbler who is pretty much average
(or
> below average) at every other aspect of the game. How can anyone really
challenge
> that statement right now?
>
> Antoine can almost surely help a winning team once he learns to better
finish his
> otherwise eye-opening driving ability AND starts rebounding again like he
did
> from 96-98. But both those things are easier said than done (the first
takes
> instincts, the second takes instincts and effort). Still, I do think he
has
> improved in other areas including team play (if his shooting weren't so
poor this
> year, this would be a bit more obvious), so he's not a complete basket
case.
>
> If he improves at finishing and rebounding, Antoine's open court talent
will seem
> all the more outstanding (unique, even), and no question he will be a
great
> player. But that could very well be years from now and on another team. A
lot of
> players become "complete" between ages 25 and 28, but in some cases
they've had a
> change of address(es) in the interim that wasn't forced necessarily by
salary
> considerations (say a Chris Webber or Jason Kidd or Tim Hardaway).
>
> Happy holidays,
>
> Joe
>
> p.s. There is NO way Ike Rider and the Atlanta Hawks deserve to win the
last game
> of the century on the Celtics' original parquet floor tonight. Enough is
enough.
> Celtics Pride.
>
> ----------
>
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