Re: Prediction

[j.hironaka@unesco.org]

Dan Forant Sr wrote:

> Off list subject but, here goes, Red Sox beat out Yanks this year.

I don't know about that, but, to put it back in a proper Celtics'
context, the team of Nomar and Pedro are IMHO very much like the team of
Havlicek and Cowens in 74-76.

If you posed the question: "who is the SECOND best coach in Celtics
history", most people might choose Bill Russell - who led without the
aid of an assistant coach the aging, fourth place and injured Celtics to
a miraculous 7-game victory over a team with three Michael Jordan
caliber players (Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, Wilt Chamberlain) who
desperately wanted to kick our heads in. Or you might choose KC Jones,
who not only coached one of the proudest underdog Celts teams to a
thrilling 7-game deja-vu triumph over the Brent Musberger-hyped "Lakers
Dynasty", but also coached arguably the most majestic team for
basketball purists in NBA history in the 1986 Celtics (82 wins-18
losses). KC Jones also was probably the second greatest winner in
Celtics history, as he was involved at every playing and coaching level
in about a dozen championships.

But for me personally, Tom Heinsohn was the second greatest of Celtics'
coaches by virtue of having rebuilt a dynasty against all odds around a
maniacally competitive front-line that went 6-8, 6-7 and 6-5 (Cowens,
Silas and Havlicek). Remember folks, this was no longer the George Mikan
era!! Dave Cowens entered the NBA at a time when the league was being
defined by people like Abdul-Jabbar, Lanier, Walton etc. What the
Celtics did in 1974 and 1976 was IMO a triumph of reckless courage along
with an utterly naive dynastic belief that "we'll win in the end because
we're the Boston Celtics." If the Red Sox win a pennant this year
without even a legitimate 30- home run hitter and led courageously by
the laughably scrawny Nomar Garciaparra, Pedro Martinez and Tom Gordon,
it will be an equally unfathomable miracle. Of course, we're talking
about the Red Sox here, not the Celtics. :-(

The downside of the 1974 and 1976 seasons is that people around Boston
still make simplistic analogies (Ron Mercer is just like Havlicek in
some ways, yet a much more explosive athlete) or (now that we have Paul
Pierce, who needs Antoine Walker's irritating antics?). The 1974 and
1976 Celtics made it look far easier than it really is. If you look
around the league and compare talent on the rosters, you know EXACTLY
why you need (and frankly better get used to) having one ferocious,
bastard of an overwhelming 5-skill player like Antoine Walker. You win
partly because of talent, but also because of a reckless courage the
rest of us macho studs can only pretend to have in clutch moments.

A sane being simply won't meet Tim Hardaway hip to hip at midcourt and
openly start taunting "Mr Crossover" to beat his team, knowing the
Celtics were behind by 7 points or whatever (behind every minute of the
game even) to a team with the best record in the conference. Hardaway
waved his arm a bit too frantically for a one-on-one clearout, only to
see Antoine reply seconds later by poking the ball away, call like mad
for the ball on the other end and drill the do-or-die three point shot,
then sink the 17-footer to make the game even closer, then, just
two-points down with 4 seconds left, catch the ball with NBA All
Defensive player PJ Brown in his face, drive hard and sink the game
winning three before the buzzer. Although he is such a retard, Antoine
should have known somewhere in his heart at each ticking moment of that
game that all his loud, open taunts at Hardaway could have led to utter
personal humiliation. Remember, this was the game immediately following
the big  booing incident. That's chiefly why the Miami game ranks for me
up there with the time he dropped 47 points on power forward Chris
Webber after Peter May wrote that Webber (among others) may beat him out
for an All Star spot.

We can despise this kid, but he is ultimately the one who can carry the
team far enough to give Pierce, Mercer and Potapenko a chance to also
make big plays in meaningful 7-game playoff series that we will
inevitably win. Antoine is obsessively, embarrassingly competitive. If
Dave Cowens or John Havlicek were 22-year-old black men and defiantly
and irritatingly acted like "those people", I'd wager we'd feel
"uncomfortable" with their competitiveness just as much as we hate and
simply can't wait to run Antoine out of town. We might deeply regret it
afterwards or we might not, but we'd still hate them at the time. Dave
Cowens on an off the court was a far more petulant (remember when he
boycotted the team?), mercurially self-absorbed and shamelessly violent
athlete than Antoine Walker. Thank God he was white. Thank God for us
Celtics' fans.

Joe


p.s. Now how's that for challenging my stereotype as an impeccably
commonplace, orthodox and predictable guy. :-) BTW, I have nothing
against Josh Ozersky, as I hope he knows....never had, and most likely
never will.

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