post mortem, pet peeves

["Thomas Murphy" <tfmiii@worldnet.att.net>]

OUCH! 

That was painful to watch, particularly down the stretch. It seemed to me
as if the Cs were inadvertently trying to make a prophet out of Jim who -
unfortunately? - was in attendance.
--------------
> From: "Jim Meninno" <jim_meninno@hotmail.com>

> What do the rest of you think about this issue?  To me, the team looks 
> dramatically better in half course defense compared to either of the last

> two years.  Especially when you consider the added difficulties of
playing 
> defense under the new rules.  If you ask me, they were doing great until 
> they started pressing, which was more in games 3 & 4, against better,
more 
> experienced teams, and at a time when the Celtics would be getting tired 
> from completing a 4 game in 5 night stretch.  I didn't see a lot of the 
> Indiana game, but they looked to be trapping a lot more, both in the 
> halfcourt and the press, and were giving up a lot of wide open shots.  
> Against Indiana!  You know, a team that can shoot lights out if you leave

> them open, but aren't the fastest guys in the world to stay with
one-on-one. 
>   Granted, I did miss the second half, where the C's apparently played
much 
> better.
> 
> It will be interesting to see what strategy Pitino employs tonight
against a 
> rested and prepared team that has picked the Celtics' press apart in
recent 
> years.  I have a feeling he'll try a lot of pressing, which is a mistake,
in 
> my opinion.  If they stick to pushing the tempo (shouldn't be a problem 
> against a Pistons team that wants to run anyway), playing solid
man-to-man 
> defense with switching in help situations and limit the Pistons running
game 
> by taking good shots and hitting a lot of them, they should come out with
an 
> easy home win.  That's the formula that looked successful against
Toronto, 
> Washington and Charlotte, but it doesn't seem to be how Pitino wants to 
> play.  It's always push the pace on both ends, especially when behind.  
> Problem is, when they are pressing they seem to lose their heads on
offense. 
>   It's rush, rush, rush, get the ball or give up a dunk and then forget 
> about ball movement on offense.
> 
> I'm probably getting a little paranoid. . .

I have to agree with what Jim had to say before the game, that the Cs are
better off playing man-to-man and trapping only occasionally. If I were
Pitino, I'd force Grant Hill to beat me (and hopefully tire him out) rather
than let the rest of the team enjoy easy opportunities. It was very
disheartening watching the fourth quarter knowing that every time that
Detroit got the ball in the half court all they had to do was get it to
"Mr. Grant Hill" (Heinsohn) and wait for the *automatic* double team. The
scramble would then begin. . . and end with Detroit having either another
open, uncontested shot or a foul by a late defender leading to another trip
to the charity stripe. How many times did Jerome Williams *alone* benefit
this way in the last frame? It would be one thing to be beaten by Hill, but
by Jerome Williams (5-6 FG, 10-11 FT, 20 pts, 16 rebs)?!?

Of course, playing man-to-man against a team with Grant Hill means finding
a combo of players who can wear Hill down. I would have loved to see our
Antoine knock around "Mr. Grant Hill" a few times. As was evident from the
game, Hill doesn't mind throwing his weight around (6-8, 225) and the refs
pretty much let him. Why not guard him with someone a little larger like
Cybertwon (6-9 245) rather than Pierce (6-7 220) or Griffin (6-5 215)? If
the concern is that Hill is too quick, then simply back off a bit. I'd
would gladly have settled for Hill popping jumper after fall-away jumper
while his teammates stand around. After all, forcing a "superstar" like
Hill into fall-away jumpers is not that bad a defensive strategy and
certainly preferable to watching Hill and the Pistons pick apart our ever
more predictable "trap". 

Since our team was inexplicably slow tonight (as Heinsohn reminded us time
and again - jeez, what a nag!) why not go big? Battie (once again
ineffective at the center position) played only sparingly and Ellison not
at all. I never thought I'd be calling for more Pervis! The Cs seemed to
have a real tough time on the boards tonight (again in part due to the Hill
"trap") and some additional size would have been welcome. Detroit is a
fairly small team; if we couldn't beat 'em on the break we could at least
have beat them on the boards (Det 46 Bos 40).

Of course, the above comments depend in part on playing Twon at SF at least
a some of the time (my turn to nag ;>). I would much rather have watched
Walker trigger our offense from outside than try and force-feed Griffin
into the role (as mentioned by Bill Cooper - thanks for the summaries!!).
Twon's height is a definite benefit here which enables him to make the
entry pass. Also I feel that making Walker the designated distributor
(rather than designated scorer) makes Twon a better player. He'll get his
points one way or another. Finally, as some on the list have noted (but
Heinsohn has yet to figure out - jeez, I'm tired of his recycled
"commentary" - bring on the Cooz!), Walker is a player who possesses many
skills but they do not include the skills of a conventional post-up player
like an Olajawon, Malone or even Ewing. He doesn't have a pet move or money
shot, he has difficulty passing out of the post or shooting over
double-teams and in many cases he is actually smaller than the man who is
guarding him down low. 

Overall, a sad effort in which we were lucky to be tied at the end of three
(that fact alone is a good indication of why Detroit was 0-4). Perhaps we
were due for a letdown and surely we should not over-react to one loss, but
unfortunately I think Jim's pre-game fears represent more than just
paranoia. In many ways Pitino-the-Coach remains the key variable this
season.

Let's win one for Cooz on Friday! Ciao for now - Tom Murphy