Bob George's article

[jmc@ptc.com]

In Bob George's article at: 
> Read "A Pressing Defense Now Gets A Pierce-ing Offense" at:
> 
> http://www.bobgeorge.com/celtics/012999.html

he said:
> Youth will be the biggest problem of the Celtics this year, followed by 
> ongoing chemistry development. As great a promise as all these players
> show, keep in mind that they are mostly 25 or younger. This is why most 
> people point to Anderson as the most indispensable Celtic, and why
> he must stay healthy this year. 
> 
> As for chemistry, the Celtics of the early 1970s showed that you can't vie 
> for the NBA Championship if all you have are a collection of great
> players. It took until 1974 for the Celtics of the Dave Cowens era to 
> finally shake off the more polished New York Knicks and win a title. If
> these players can only stay together for a while, and the new CBA will
> certainly enhance that possibility, this is a team with an upside that
> will bring about a new generation of books, articles, folklore, and 
> hopefully, championships. 

This is an excellent point that many haven't talked about yet.  What 
about team chemistry?  From what I could see at one of the players' own 
scrimmages at Brandeis the day before the lockout was over, most of the 
team seemed to be getting along well.  The only disruptive force was 
Antoine Walker, who called too many fouls on others, and strongly disagreed 
when any violations or fouls were called on him.  Kenny Anderson was 
always at least as vocal as Walker, and that seemed to keep the team 
from breaking out in conflict.  At one point on a break Walker got the 
ball near the corner and drove baseline for the basket, only to be met 
there by someone bigger, so he spun around in mid air, realized he 
couldn't shoot before hitting the ground, threw the ball to the ground 
while coming down, and started dribbling again... clearly either a 
double dribble or a walk or both.  Several guys called him for walking.
Antoine said "I didn't".  Anderson said "you walked".  Walker: "I didn't 
walk".  Anderson was as loud and persistent as Walker, but knew how to 
avoid it escalating... while verbally sparring with Walker, he physically 
ignored him... getting the ball, turning his back and directing the players 
to continue play.  

Anderson has been rumored to have somewhat of a bad reputation, but
what I saw and heard was a guy who could "talk tough" with anyone, 
while keeping things running smoothly.

I'll post some more about my observations of that scrimmage when I get some 
time later this week.  

I think that with so much player movement in the last few years, most teams 
will be struggling with chemistry at least as much as the Celtics.  I think 
the MUTUAL youth and MUTUAL athleticism of the C's lends itself well to 
developing chemistry, as does having a high-scoring offense with a good
point gaurd who'll get everyone some layup and dunk opportunities.
Having Pitino as respected coach who knows what he's doing will also help.

Jon Mc