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Those weren't our Celtics
I appreciate this kind of up-close analysis, particularly in the worst
game the team has played in maybe three or four years. But I don't
think you can judge anybody in this game by their performance last
night.
Here's my observation, FWIW: the Celtics may well be a lottery team
this year. They may require a trade for a big man to put them into
contention. Pierce may not have arrived fully-formed as an all-star.
But the team is not this bad. You won't see them play like this
often. That isn't to say they won't play like this against Atlanta,
but the fact is that, for better or for worse, you can't play this bad
if you have any heart and effort to give. Last night was mailed in.
The one thing we always said about this team was that they never gave
up, that they hustled, and that if they lost it was because there
wasn' t enough talent. They might still not have enough talent,
particularly down low, but no Rick Pitino team is ever going to be
soft and lazy for long.
(That having been said, I am totally mystified how this could happen
after the Toronto game. Are the guys' bodies this exhausted? And
what in God's name is going on with Pierce? Who cut his balls off?
Maybe a stretch in street clothes is just what he needs right now.)
josh
---Todd Crane wrote:
>
> > Date: Wed, 10 Mar 1999 04:57:33 -0800 (PST)
> > From: Mister Ghost <mister_ghost@yahoo.com>
> > Subject: Some More Excellent Dissing Of Walker By Person
> >
> > From the Providence Journal via the AP:
> >
> > "Charlotte's Chuck Person wasn't the least bit impressed
> > with Walker's game, which included repeatedly barking instructions
> > to his teammates in between his 24 shots.
> >
> > "'That was a bad 32,' Person said. 'I don't think he got them
> > within the confines of what they do. He was working plays, going
> > one-on-one, screaming at his players. That's not good basketball.'"
>
> I had the dubious honor of attending the C's/Hornets game in person.
There's $30 I'll
> never get back. However, the one highlight for the C's was Walker.
Person has very little
> understanding of what exactly the C's have talent wise, and what the
situation in this
> particular game was. When Piece went out with his injury, the C's
lost 20 points and 8
> rebounds and they had to make up for it some place. Now, for some
reason Mercer got very
> little PT in the second half. Maybe he was hurt, or maybe Pitino
wanted Barros' three
> point shot in the game more, I don't know. So, with Mercer on the
bench and Pierce
> injured, Antoine did a very nice job of picking up the slack the
best he could given his
> team got down by 15 in the third quater. In addition, Antoine did
not force many shots. I
> can think of one long range bomb he put up that may have been ill
advised, but Antione does
> that in nearly every game. The man still shot 13 for 24. The real
reason Person was
> trying to diss Walker is because many of those 32 points were a
result of Person's complete
> inability to defend anyone in the NBA, never mind a player of
Walker's caliber. In
> addition, in the last couple of minutes of the game, Walker was
fouled by Person and when
> Walker got to the line Person said something to Walker. Walker
walked over and got in his
> face. The both got technicals, but when your team is up 15 points
and clearly on their way
> to a win, why do you say anything to the one man on the opposing
team who had a good game?
> Person is a bonehead, always has been, and always will. Person
should talk. A couple of
> his fade away 3 point attempts clearly were not part of the Hornet
offesive sets.
>
> Other comments observations of the game.
> (1) Walker cannot defend in the low post. J.R. Reid had 26 points.
JR Reid for gosh
> sakes!! Reid sucks, but Walker's low post D sucks more. The C's
had to double team Reid.
> Double team JR Reid!! Are you kidding me.
> (2) Anderson is useless against even an average point guard in this
league. While Wesley
> did not have a great game, it seemed to me that he was going by
Anderson almost at will.
> (3) The C's got robbed of at least 1 ten second violation against
the Hornets and there
> was a second one that was very close. At one point in the second
half, the shot clock
> clearly said 13 seconds when a Hornet player was in the middle of
coming to a jump stop
> just over the timeline. Pitino was clearly annoyed at this non-call.
> (4) The book is out on Pierce. I understand he got injured early,
but teams have already
> seen enough film of this kid to understand how to slow him down
effectively. Pierce needs
> to learn how to use the screens and picks a bit more effectively to
get open. Also, the
> rookie is not getting any love from the refs and I think it is
frustrating him. Early in
> the game, Pierce went baseline and got absolutely mugged but there
was no call. Pierce had
> a very nasty look for the ref.
> (5) We all know this, but after seeing it in person, I am
absolutely shocked at our second
> team's complete lack of offensive talent in the half court set.
Dana dribbles the ball too
> much, the rest of the team just stands around, and the offense
usually degrades into
> McCarty throwing up some ugly 17 foot jump shot. A team can only be
as good as their
> second unit allows them to be, and right now the C's a very, very
bad team based on that
> criteria. I think the C's need to consider bringin Pierce off the
bench, provided he can
> handle that mentally. Pierce would get the chance to go up against
a second team defender
> and get back some confidence, and the second team would acquire some
desperately needed
> offense.
>
> Desperate times (back to back loses against Toronto and Charlotte)
demand some type of
> shake up. Not a trade, but a shake up.
>
> Todd
>
>
>
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