Re: Terrible Game Plan!!!!!!!!

[Joe Hironaka <j.hironaka@unesco.org>]

Alex Wang wrote:

> Pitino has said that because of the schedule,
> practice is primarily focused on game preparation, so he is not teaching
> as much as he usually does.  But he has a very young team; how many coaches
> out there are doing well with young teams? It'll take time.

Yeah, I agree this season is a continuation of last year, with really no
off-season whatsoever (due to the lockout) and just a three-week training session
in between. Arguably few other teams are at a greater disadvantage than our
Celts, due to our extreme youth and our complicated system.

Bottom line, though, is that the Celtics have significantly regressed since
Pitino's "rookie" season. At their present .348 winning percentage (.439 last
year), they would win 8 fewer games over an 82 game schedule than last year. We
are actually now tied with the Horri-Bulls in wins this year. Assuming the Celts
somehow get the next two "must wins" (at Cleveland, then home to Kevin Garnett
and Co.) and thereby salvage the half-season at 10 wins 15 losses, they would
still need to go 17-8 the rest of the way just to have a reasonable chance to
avoid the lottery.

Yesterday afternoon, Pierce continued his surprisingly consistent play with his
familiar 2 points-per-quarter production (8 points in 43 minutes). Clearly,
Pitino can count on no worse production if Minor or McCarty got those minutes and
Pierce sat for awhile. Better yet IMHO, give Tony Battie a starting job, try
Antoine Walker at the three to open each half, and let Pierce lead the charge off
the bench a la Havlicek. This could help Pierce win back his confidence (he'd be
the best player on the floor again). I also believe Pitino is wasting our time
and Battie's time by trying to convert him into a future NBA backup center. I
might be dead wrong, but at least Battie has a fair chance to be a future impact
player at the power forward position. He could give us Iavaroni, Rambis-type
numbers as a starter and help the defense with his shot blocks and plus
rebounding.

I see a light at the end of the tunnel (we are not the Bulls). Count me out of
any "face it, we suck" group developing on this list. But a 2-10 month is far
worse than I imagined was possible, and as basketball purists we probably have a
right to be a little disgusted with the aesthetics of Pitino-ball on our parquet
court.

"March is the cruelest month, breeding lilacs from the dead land, mixing memory
and desire..." :-)

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