Re: Ugly ugly ugly 4th quarter

[opi@unesco.org]

Alex Wang wrote:

> I actually thought that Antoine played better than a 5-14 night
> would suggest. Yes, we don't like to see 1-6 on threes, but he
> wasn't taken crazy ones; the ones I saw were open three pointers
> created from other people's offense. He had hit 47% from downtown
> to that point so an open 3 from Antoine is a shot that works in
> the offense. Other than that, he actually got to the line by
> taking it to the hole, and he was really working at his rebounding
> for the first time this year, looking like the player who has a
> 9.3 career rpg average. He was really battling to get those
> rebounds.

10 rebounds, 1 turnover, plus 9 trips to the line in 31 minutes - while
taking just 14 shots within the general flow of the offense - is the
type of performance that will help the Celtics win, if only Antoine can
do it consistently. He's been so rancid on rebounds and turnovers so
far. I hope he didn't get booed on those missed three pointers. He needs
to string together some double-double games now, after getting shut out
over the first four games.

Detroit is a tough team, a probable 50 win team (based on last year's 29
wins and a true rising star in Jerome Williams). Beating them will be a
milestone for the Celtics. There our some teams that the Pitino system
just looks foolish against. I'm hoping it will be different this year,
with one fewer passer (Joe Dumars) on that team.

Regarding the risk of panic mode among our players, I honestly fell the
Celtics also project as a 50-win type team EVEN if they finish this
month at .500. Obviously, it's a shame they've fallen out of first
place, though. The important thing is that they "develop an
expectation". They need to believe the Boston Celtics will win at home,
and that they as a team can now consistently show-off to the rest of the
league a recognizable style of hustle, unselfishness and bruising
meanness (once Fort and Vitaly reunite).

At 3-2 the Celtics are kind of at a watershed. They need to stay
confident that they will deliver whup ass on  the Knicks, something they
did once early last year. They need to believe our matchups are ideal
for beating a three-guard team like that. The Celtics continue to have
played nothing but full-strength, playoff-caliber teams, and they've
held their own so far even with subpar performances from everyone other
than Adrian Griffin. And Adrian Griffin deserves credit for adjusting
last night to a slow start, to play his usual game (I'm basing this on
Bill Cooper's game report, which also had a lot of interesting insights
hidden at the end).

I wonder if the Celtics will start Overton or Barros on Friday, assuming
Kenny's hip-pointer makes him a major liability. Doug Ovaltine has to
stop playing like a 12th man on a ten-day contract (shoot away at every
opportunity). Doug Ovary has no real strengths as a player, other than
NBA (bench-warming) experience. I remember him from the year-and-a-half
I lived down in Wash DC. At least Damon Jones showed he could make the
entry pass as well as knock down the three-pointer and play some
defense.

Last night was a tough loss, but nothing to panic about. Even if we lose
three straight on Friday against the Knicks, we still have a decent
chance to enter the final brutal stretch of this month at 6-3 if we
pummel Chicago on the road, then beat NJ and the Cavs at home. IMO, a
7-7 record in November would augur well for the season (there are so
many crappy teams we've yet to play), even if the Peter May's of the
world will no doubt jump straight off the bandwagon (because the Celts
couldn't take better advantage of so many early home games).

Joe

*****