The Herald reports:

[damekmo@teleport.com]

Thoughts from today's Herald:

>    Kenny Anderson and Popeye Jones, rare veterans on the Celts, think
>it's time to discuss the matter. Anderson wants to speak to Pitino and see
>how he can channel the coach's plan better.<P>
><P>
>
>    ``I don't know how to confront him with that, but I think we have to
>talk about it,'' the point guard said. ``I'm not questioning him. I just
>want to do more. I have the utmost respect for him. He's been real
>successful and he's been coaching for 30 years. I want to say stuff, but I
>don't know. I'm going to talk to him hopefully and see what I can do.''<P>

You know....I don't mean to be overly negative here....however, this seems
like a case of the blind leading the blind. Mike Dunleavy couldn't wait to
get Kenny out of town and and trade him for a shorter point who can't shoot
any better, because Damon Stoudamire actually thinks pass first every now
and then. The 5'10" Stoudamire is as much of a defensive liability as
Kenny, however...he's incredibly agressive, quick, and he's tough. It also
helps that the Blazers have a huge frontline to help when players blow by
Stoudamire. However....Kenny's never been agressive, never been tough,
never wanted to play defense, and Kenny simply  doesn't think pass first
very often. Kenny was supposed to bring veteran experience and leadership
to the court. This was supposed to be the perfect system for Kenny's
skills. Haven't seen much of that this year. He's playing like a confused
and useless rookie. But...maybe it's the coach's fault.
><P>

>    Pitino seemed more depressed than angry after watching his Celts miss
>open shots and fail to protect the middle again.<P>
><P>
>
>    ``I'm really disappointed in our guys,'' he said. ``We had wide-open
>shots inside and 15 feet, and we struggled putting them down.<P>

Look...this team has two consistent scorers on offense. Two guys who Pitino
can count on to bring an offensive game every night. End of story. I'm
actually beginning to feel sorry for Ricky. He still has no "Plan B" when
he's coaching... never had one and never will, however...this team has zero
options on offense, except for Walker and Mercer and that becomes a little
predictable after a while. Look, I'm beginning to think you could replace
Walker and Pitino with Larry Bird and John Wooden and they'd still be a
below .500 team. The defense is miserable and you can say anything you want
about size not being an issue for rebounders...it would help a whole lot.
Chuck Person on Walker? Person's spent a career passing the ball?
However...while I find it laughable Person's calling anyone selfish...let's
give him the benefit of the doubt. Let's say that wasn't a good 32 because
this team was never in it in the second half. However...I said it all last
year, I'll say it again...if Walker's not playing the way his coach wants
him to, sit him down. If you're going to lose, at least make a point.
So...I'm going to guess that when the kid hits >50% of his shots (So I
guess even if his shooting % is good, he's still satan/the problem) and the
rest of the team can't find the basket from inside 15ft. and the point
guard is a mess...well...you tell me. "If only Walker would pass the ball,
they'd win" is getting incredibly old really fast. "Pitino needs to stop
babying him...and they'd win" is getting even older. Ricky's signed at huge
dollars for the next decade. It's his team. If Pitino's afraid to sit
Walker down because he's not playing the way his coach wants...then
Pitino's a bigger failure than even I ever imagined. "Too many threes...not
enough passing...bad defense...absolutely selfish...," this describes a
player who needs to be gone now, not a player who's ever on the court for
big minutes. But, maybe he's doing exactly what his coach wants. This is
Pitino's team. He's made a bunch of moves and still has only three real
assets. He lucked into Pierce, Walker was already there...and yes, he did a
great job positioning the Mercer pick. I actually believed the hype for a
while, that is, I bought into the Pitino can turn lead into gold
myth...against my better judgement. However...this is not a talented
team...this is not the right collection of players...and I'm afraid of
Pitino's next move. I fear this list is in for, dare I say years, of
reading, "Walker's the problem....if only he'd...,".... if only he'd walk
on water for 35+ minutes a game while the rest of his mediocre teammates
slop around in mud all game long.

Paul M.