Celtics Center season wrapup

["Ozersky, Joshua A" <OzerskyJA@corning.com>]

A Dry Green Season

The time has come, as the Walrus once  said, to talk of many things.   This
columnist has been shamefully delinquent in updating Celtics Center, but
with the strange state of affairs in Boston this season, who can blame me?
A disastrous March was followed by a suprisingly good April, which included
two hoop-o-liscious victories over the Miami Heat, the first of which was a
statement game for Antoine Walker, who had been booed by know-nothing boston
fans irate at being distracted from their gay jumbo-tron dances.  

With the season safely stowed away in history, however, now is a good time
to look back and forward.  It seems clear that the Celtics' woes in 1999
were the result of fat players, no practice time, and youthful panic.
Everything that went wrong this season can be traced to one or more of these
three culprits.  I will deal with indivdual players below, but the fact
remains that the Celtics squad which finished the season was a much better
one than started out in February as a .500 team.  This bodes well for the
future, even if we have to trade Ron Mercer for economic and competitive
reasons.  Talk of the team being better without Antoine and Kenny Anderson,
both of whom were sidelined by injury during a winning run at the end of the
season is wrong, but has grasped an important point not wasted on Rick
Pitino.  The team must play selflessly and fluidly to win.  Antoine does try
to take over too often, but this is not nearly the problem that Kenny
presents with his slow-down, ball control style -- a fact clearly shown by
the hyper tempo of Dana Barros and Damon Jones, the latter a CBA pickup cast
off by the Nets, of all people.  With all the parts in place, and possibly
with a veteran power forward added (with Antoine at three and Paul Pierce at
2)  we could see a really destructive team at work next season.  (I for one
would prefer to see Tony Battie start at four, blocking shots while Vitaly
Potapenko doles out punishment in the paint.  But what do I know?)

Player Grades
Antoine Walker:  you've got to start at the top, and Antoine remains the
Celtics' best player and the team's leader.  Antoine didn't perform up to
last year's all star level in the early going, owing to his fatness from the
lockout.  This prompted the microcephalic Peter May of the boston globe to
fulminate in print that Walker hadn't improved in three seasons, and that he
remained an immature star with gaudy stats but no Bird-like game sense.
Pure bullshit from the smug curmudgeon wannabe and demonstrably false.
Antoine this season has toned down his attitude, moved the ball better,
taken smarter shots, become a much better foul shooter, and become a much
better three point shooter into the bargain.  His defense needs some work,
but the guy can flat out play on both ends of the court, as evidenced by his
one on one stop on Timmy Hardaway at the top of the key in the 4th quarter
against Miami -- a season highlight play if ever there was one.

Kenny Anderson:  Ok, we all know by now that Kenny let us down by hogging
the ball, walking it up court, looking for his own shot, and other point
guard no-nos.  But Pitino seems to believe that Kenny's game results from
his being out of condition, and Pitino will see to it that Kenny gets in
shape no matter what.  Of course, the attitude that brings you to camp out
of shape to begin with, along with the attitude that keeps a guy from seeing
streaking players waving hysterically for the ball upcourt, is a mental
state, but Kenny if he isnt traded should rebound pretty well.  I think he
needs practice too, given that his whole career has been based on his
passing only after he was done dribbling.  Kenny has to learn to release the
ball faster, and to penetrate with an eye towards passing.  This is a
decision he has to make, but for all his shortcomings it has to be
remembered that this guy has some of the best point guard skills in the game
buried in him somewhere, and that if he could get on it would make the
celtics a 100+ scoring team almost every night.

Ron Mercer:  I like Ron, as we all do, but the fact is that his game is
essentially limited.  He has no three point range to speak of, a huge flaw
in your starting shooting guard, and his drives to the hoop, when not
unopposed are circus shots much of the time.  Nor can he be called a
defensive stalwart.  Having seen him for two years, I think that while he
still has the promise of something better, his career looks to be a 2nd tier
star along the lines of Doug Christie or Allan Houston or Kerry Kittles.
Which isn't bad!  But we may not be able to afford him, and a veteran tough
guy like PJ Brown or Horace Grant would probably help us more.  (Pierce can
play his position, if he loses a little weight, and probably play it a lot
better by overpowering other guards.)  We really have enough scoring, and
the screens and so on that Ron requires to be effective hurt the ball
movement the team needs.

Vitaly Potapenko:  I love this guy.  He can go out and get you 15 and 9
every night, and shut down any center in the game not named Duncan or
O'Neal.  The guy is legit, selfless, tough as nails, big as a mountain, and
a workoholic with coaches and in the weight room.  He is our cop, our low
post threat, and a damn fine passer too.  Fundamentally solid.  He has bad
hands, but not when he gets the ball low.  He shouldn't be out on the
perimeter setting screens -- that's not where he belongs.  V gives us the
chance to play the inside out game in teh halfcourt set, which is what makes
Sacramento so effective with Divac.  The only thing he can't do is block
shots.  Which makes

Tony Battie:  so effective.  Tony is fast and a shot blocker and can shoot
and loves  the system.  What more do you want?  He's only a so-so rebounder,
but he gives us the swatting capacity we so desperately need at the back of
the press, particularly if guys are going to gamble on steals  (which they
are).  I think Tony is far more important to the team's future than Ron
Mercer is, and I don't think he can be easily replaced.  (Esp. now that
people see what Theo Ratliff is doing for Philadelphia.)   A real key.  If
he is moved I will be very upset.

Paul Pierce:  Pierce was annointed as Slam magazine's Rookie of the Year,
and I suppose some argument could be made on his behalf for the wholeness of
his game, his skills, and ability to cook in pressure, etc.  But he also
showed some mental softness and a tendency to hang his head which has to go.
(Vince Carter deserves the award on testosterone alone, IMHO. )  This is
where having Antoine as a locker room leader really helps, because Antoine's
will to power will suffer no self-pity.  Pierce also shows a certain
weakness in having fallen in love with two basic offensive moves:  a spot up
three point shot, and a lefty spin to the baseline which he isn't really
quick enough to pull off, given that everybody knows it's coming.  Don't get
me wrong -- Pierce has greatness written all over him, but he needs to be
pushed, and his game needs to be mixed up and deepened, particularly on
offense.  Obviously, though, he is an incredible find and with his
lockout-molded rookie contract we have him for three more years at a
reasonable cost.  

Dana:  played great, is effective as a point guard for long stretches,
pushes the ball, is still improving at the position, gives you some pesky D,
and of course is still one of the all-time greats at three point shooting.
Also a veteran leader. Well worth his 4 mil a year, and I hope he doesn't
get traded.

Riley, Shintzius, Garnett:  didn't show much.  Shintzius of the bunch is the
most interesting with his size, shooting, and passing skills, but he can't
seem to get off the bench. Garnett has been waived.

Damon Jones -- interesting pickup.  Good size, fast, good shooter, and
beloved in the locker room.  Good reserve find.

Bruce Bowen:  love Bruce on defense, but he's helpless on offense.  We can't
afford that, really.  Not at his position.

Greg Minor:  really benefited from Pitino's fine coaching and his own great
attitude.  an excellent defensive player who can shoot and rebound, and
doesn't care about minutes.  Again, the kind of guy you love to have on your
bench.

Popeye Jones:  probably about washed up.  We should get some cap relief on
him if there's any justice.  Another Haggar's Big and Tall model, along with
Pervis.  Too bad, because he really could have added a lot to the team.

Walter McCarty:  had a bad year due to injuries, and didn't seem to know
what he was doing.  Pitino thinks he has regressed since his senior year in
college, and indeed his role as energizer bunny and disruptive defender is
about all you can commend him for this season.  But the guy is a legitimate
track star, can shoot, plays defensive like the world is coming to an end,
and doen't require minutes or shots to keep him happy.  He just needs to
play with a little bit of composure.

All in all, a very disappointing and painful season, especially since we are
no longer needing young players.  But hope springs eternal, and with a lot
of practice and conditioning, the talent we have, under the kind of coaching
we have, shoud be more than enough to propel us into the playoffs and maybe
even further.   We are as good as Philadelphia if not better, and Sacramento
strikes me as being about the same level as we are, if we can just move the
ball around, get that chemistry going, and play like we are capable of.  I
expect the Celtics to play very well in stretches next year, have a few
losing streaks (inspiring Peter May to deride their chances in the playoffs)
and win between forty and fifty games.  Much depends on keeping guys
together and adding veteran mental toughness and gamesmanship.  And not
trading Tony Battie.  But I'm not worried.  I keep the faith from year to
year, and I still believe that the style that won 13 championships is not
osbsolete.  If you bleed green and understand basketball, you will too.
Joshua Ozersky
Marketing Communications
Environmental Products Division
Corning Incorporated.
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