Rick Pitino show - Nov 7

[Alex Wang <awang@mit.edu>]

On the Rick Pitino show:

1. He felt the Celtics had a successful preseason teaching their philosophy:
pass before shot on offense, defense as the common denominator, and two units
with different identities: a tough man-to-man unit, and a full court pressing
unit.

2. Lobel showed him that negative article from that idiot in the Providence
Journal. Pitino said that he respects sportswriters for having their opinion
as long as they don't hide behind quotes from other people. Hmmm, does that
sound familiar Peter May? ("Antoine is the most hated player in the NBA")

3. On his relationship with Antoine: he sat down with him and told him that
he has to be fair or consistent with everyone regardless of whether they are
the highest-paid superstar or minimum-wager. He said that playing time and
starting status will depend on how the players perform in practice and on
the non-negotiable aspects of Celtics basketball: they must put winning 
over stats, passing before shooting, and they must not view defense as a
time to rest.

4. They showed a video of Pitino's pregame speech before the Charlotte game.
He talked about handling refs and how the Celtics didn't get treated well
by the refs last season because they were a losing team. He told them that
they must know the refs' names, that they must not embarass the refs, and
that they should try to get the next call by treating the refs well. He
talked a little bit about strategy - when Mason put the ball on the floor,
they were supposed to instantly trap down on him from the strong side.

5. He tries to keep film sessions at 12 minutes because of the limited 
attention span of the players. Veteran teams tend to learn better.

6. He's striving to be more positive - 98-2 he calls it (for 98% positive).
Last year he said he was 30-70 because the lockout ruined everything.

7. The coach's clinic was on offensive execution. Good players will try
to drive towards the middle because it gives them more options - he calls
it "opening the window." But the defense will typically force the player
baseline and they may try to trap him; so he shows how the offensive
players move towards open sight lines. The post players get in the paint,
the weak side player goes to the corner, the strong side wing player also
moves for an outside shot. He showed Adrian Griffin driving baseline and
making some good passes to players who move to the right spots, generating
open shots for the Celtics.

8. He says he's happy with the starting lineup because of the way Griffin
complements the premiere players: Anderson, Pierce, and Walker.

Alex