RE: A Report on Celts vs Portland - Summer League Game

[John Lyell <Jlyell@concentric.net>]

Art mentioned the officiating. On Saturday the whistles were blowing every 
couple of minutes also, and it got kind of annoying to fans.


Cal State Fullerton is actually Bowens alma mater , not Long Beach which 
has James Cotton & Bryon Russell as alumni from what I remember. Hey what 
ever happened to Schea Cotton ?








On Monday, July 12, 1999 2:34 AM, HMURDOCH@aol.com



[SMTP:HMURDOCH@aol.com] wrote:
> In answer to John Lyell's request ;-), here's a quick report on Sunday's 
FILA
> Summer League game at Long Beach between the Celtics and Portland 
Trailblazer
> squads.
>
> For those not familiar with Cal State Long Beach, the games are held in a 
big
> blue pyramid. What can I say, it's California.  Clean, good seating, nice 
> arena.
>
> The roster for the Celts :  #12 Bruce Bowen, #28 Kevin Ollie, #30 Wayne
> Turner, #34 Paul Pierce, #36 Adrian Griffin, #40 Tony Battie, #42 Bryant
> Smith, #44 Eric Riley, #46 Derrick Battie, #50 Kris Clack, #52 Vitally
> Potapenko, #54 Antoine Hyman.
>
> The only Trailblazer I recognized was Kelvin Cato at center.  Bonzi Wells 
was
> listed, but I didn't hear his name referred to by the announcers during 
the
> game, and he may not have played.
>
> For a good part of the first period, there were literally more fouls 
called
> than points on the board.  The refs seemed to go to extremes on calling 
hand
> checking fouls.  This may be part of the plan to try to increase scoring 
this
> coming season.  At one point in the first couple of minutes, there were 8 
> fouls called and 3 points scored (by both teams).  Fortunately, the 
players
> adjusted or the refs ran out of breath, and couldn't blow their whistles
> later in the game.  Also fortunately, summer league rules allowed a 
player to
> stay in with more than six fouls or no one would have been left.  At the 
end
> of the first period, the score was Portland 26, Celts 22.
>
> Tony Battie had a great long distance high flying dunk, Pierce had a 
block,
> and a nice pass to Eric Riley for another dunk.  Adrian Griffin had a 
couple
> of nice drives to the basket for scores.
>
> At the end of the half, it was Portland 44, Celts 37.
>
> Chris Clack hadn't distinguished himself particularly in the first half, 
but
> had a brief one or two minute period in the 3rd quarter in which he : 1. 
made
> a steal in Portland's end and made a nice up-the-court pass to a breaking 
> Tony Battie for a dunk.  2. On the very next Celts possession, made 
another
> pass up court for a Paul Pierce layup.  3. On the next Portland 
possession,
> he took a charge for a Portland offensive foul.  4. On the next Celts
> possession he made a basket.  Great little stretch !
>
> In the 4th quarter, Clack also had an assist to Tony Battie for the 
basket
> that tied the score at 84, with about 5 min. left in the game (the Celts 
had
> gotten behind at one point in the game by 13 points or so).  And at about 
> 2:50 left, Bruce Bowen made a 3-pointer !  With the score at Celts 94,
> Portland 91 and 21 seconds left, Portland missed a shot and Paul Pierce
> grabbed the rebound.  Pierce was fouled with about 11 seconds left and 
hit
> one FT to make it 95-91.  Tony Battie got fouled in the remaining seconds 
and
> made another FT, and the score ended up Celts 96, Portland 91.
>
> Tony Battie finished with 19 points, Paul Pierce 16, Vitally 12, and the 
more
> aggressive Bruce Bowen had 10 points.
> These numbers are somewhat dependant on my memory after the game, so 
don't
> take them as gospel.
>
> This game tonight shouldn't be mistaken for a real game, given all the 
new
> players and lack of practice etc.  But it was fun to watch, and the 
players
> were putting out a lot of effort.  Getting good seats was easy, and you 
could
> sit close enough to actually see some of the Celtics players in person, 
which
> made it worth attending.
>
> Players :
>
> As noted, Bruce Bowen seemed to be displaying more aggression on offense, 
and
> was his usual active self on defense.  He got a hand whenever he scored, 
from
> the small crowd here at his former school.
> Kevin Ollie : probably got more time at Point Guard than anyone else, and 
> didn't look too bad, but didn't stand out especially either.
> Wayne Turner : also played point a fair amount and also didn't attract 
much
> attention to himself.  Did seem active on defense, as did most of the
> would-be new Celts.
> Paul Pierce : was one of the few players for the Celts (along with TB and 
> Bruce) that seemed to have his rhythm and game going.  Played well.
> Adrian Griffin : had some good moves to the basket, and was pretty active 
on
> defense.  Was second only to Derrick Battie in the muscle definition 
ratings.
> Tony Battie : My vote for player of the game for the Celts.  Looked ready 
to
> play perhaps more than anyone else on the team.  Was shooting, running 
and
> dunking in high style.  Very impressive.  Note to Pitino : Don't Trade  
 This
> Player !
> Bryant Smith : Listed as having played at Auburn.  Didn't look lost on 
the
> floor, but also didn't stand out.
> Eric Riley : Played reasonably well, but didn't have to play against top
> competition either.  Then again, neither did anyone else.
> Derrick Battie : As mentioned above, looked like he spent more time in 
the
> weight rooms than anyone else on the Celts squad.  Had a Batman tattoo on 
his
> arm to match his brother's.  Also can jump.
> Kris Clack : Broad shoulders - would be called a 'wide-body' if he were a 
> forward or center.  Quiet game except for the stretch in the 3rd reported 
> above.  Active on defense.
> Vitally Potapenko : Was practicing spin moves, hooks, up-and-unders, etc 
in
> practice before the game.  Made a few in the game too.  Still shoots 
well,
> still looses the handle in heavy traffic occasionally.  But played pretty 
> well.  Looked like probably the strongest player in the game.  Active on
> defense, picked up a lot of fouls (as did many others).
> Antoine Hyman :  Another player I hadn't heard about (not that that means 
> anything).  Listed as having played at "Keuka College".  6' 10", 235lbs. 
> Another of the many who played well enough to not attract much attention 
but
> didn't do anything very exceptional.  But then, this was the first game 
for
> many of these players playing for this team, and for that matter, at the 
NBA
> level.
>
> Players listed on the roster that I didn't see play : Walter McCarty and
> Marion Garnett.
>
> Portland players of note : Roberto Burgensen G (Boise State) - scored a 
lot
> of points - as did Monty Buckley G/F (Cal).
>
> Tomorrow's game is against the Toronto Raptors squad.
>
> Hank Murdoch
>