Revising predictions? Just wait...

[jmc@ptc.com]

I think the suggestions people have made that some folks may want 
to revise their predictions are premature.  The first 3 games are far 
too little to go on.

I'm not revising my original estimate of 31 wins.  The Celtics have 14
players who've barely had a chance to practice together, are trying to
learn a complicated system, aren't in shape yet to play this style of
basketball effectively, and have had a rash of injuries to key players.
Of course they're going to look bad.  If they'd looked good and won 2 or
3 games now, I'd be upping my prediction.

I think that after tonight's game, the 6 days off will give the players
a chance to rest and get some stamina back, to work on their
conditioning, to look at their mistakes on tape from real games with
real opponents, and to work on "putting it all together".  Remember,
the coaches throw a lot of information at them very quickly, and they
only had 2 weeks of practice before the season.  After this break, they
may be a bit clumsy in their first game as they try to put their
understanding of things into practice, but I think you'll see their
level of play steadily rise throughout the road trip.  When they return
home to play Orlando and the Knicks, be ready for some excellent
basketball.  Those 2 games will be my barometer for whether this team
will come close to my prediction.  Right now it's still way too early
to expect them to have it all together.

Jon Mc