Re: The Boston Celtics Mailing List Digest V6 #485

[peter delevett <pdelevett@amcity.com>]

All very good points, Cecil. In fact, though I didn't see the Pacers game,
from the box score it looked as though Antoine, Pierce and Kenny had nothing
to be ashamed of -- shot a good percentage, rebounded well, etc. The real
"culprits" may have been Williams and Battie, who were a combined 2 for 15;
had just one of those shots gone in, the Celts win. However, you could also
say Walker and Pierce as our stars DO have the responsibility for stepping up
to win a game like that, against an eminently-beatable opponent, by any means
necessary. It also would have helped if anybody in our backcourt could have
played defense that night; when you're getting beat by the likes of Fred
Hoiberg, Randy Brown and Old Man Hersey Hawkins, are you really going anywhere
worthwhile? Maybe had Cheaney been healthy he could have neutralized those
guys, but again, there's really no excuse IMO for losing a game like that.
Teams that are serious about making the playoffs find ways to beat the teams
they should beat. That was the key to Pitino's first team winning 34 games. 

You're right, I am focusing on the negative. I could say, "Yeah, we've also
beaten some teams we 'shouldn't' have." But this team's not good enough (yet)
or experienced enough that it can afford not to take games like Chicago to the
bank. There will be many tougher opponents ahead.