PITINO

["Dorine" <norine@sover.net>]

OK.  Miss Manners here -
I turned on the game and the VCR.  Figured tonight would be different.
Wrong!  The first quarter wasn't bad - showed some signs of our guys in
green coming back to life.  Whoopee!
Second quarter I started reading my book and fell asleep, VCR still running,
because what the heck, if it got better I could watch the tape, right?
Slept through halftime.  Made a pot of coffee, watched part of the third
quarter and listened to Cooz and Heinsohn.  They weren't too happy either.
I finally stopped the VCR, rewound the tape and handed the remote control to
my husband.  Just couldn't take any more.  Right now I'd settle for any
other good coach in the NBA in place of Pitino.  It isn't lack of talent.
It's rotation, lack of fundamentals, throwing up 3 pointers whether they
have  a chance or not, not driving to the basket, not setting screens, in
other words, Pitino ball doesn't work in the NBA and I never thought it
would.  Fast break basketball does work, but there's a difference.
Cleveland has a good team this year.  However, this team of ours is talented
enough to have at least given them a run for their money.  Losing is bad,
but if a game is well played, if plays are run and well executed, if the
score is close, then you can handle it - they are young.  However, it's a
drubbing every time for a month now.  When is the bleeding going to stop?

Having said all that, because I'm as frustrated as all Celtic fans, I still
think this is a good team, basically, and that with some good coaching
they'd improve drastically.  I know there are reasons - no practice time,
short attention span, etc.

While I'm spouting, I'll say one more thing.  Why is Walker so spoiled by
Pitino?  He's the captain of this team and for the coach to say the whole
team should stay in the Boston area in the summer except Walker because of
his daughter?  What?  With all Walker's money he can afford to fly to
Chicago every weekend, or bring his child and her mother here for the
summer, or whatever it takes.  As for Pierce - I read hundreds of posts
about how young Walker is, but Pierce is the rookie.  This must be a tough
season for a rookie to come into the NBA.  I feel sorry for him.  Someone
mentioned the assistants.  Do you know in all the years I've been watching
the Celtics I can't give you the name of even one of them?  I just realized
this and it amazes me.  It's like they're invisible.

Sorry.  I got carried away with my frustrations.  I'll take a couple of
ibuprofen and go to bed.

Dorine