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SportsGuy's Celtics
http://home.digitalcity.com/boston/sportsguy/main.dci?page=1celts00
11/15 EDITION: Why was the Mercer trade so one-sided? How did Kenny
regain his juvenation? And are the Celtics for real?
You know the old saying, "Sometimes the best trades are the ones you
don't make"? In the Celtics' case, sometimes the best trades are the
ones you do make.
Consider last summer's controversial Ron Mercer deal: The Celtics
needed to move the third-year shooting guard because they already had
two scorers (Antoine Walker and Paul Pierce) and were leery of paying
Mercer "Kerry Kittles money" ($50 million for seven years) when he was
probably best-suited for this team as a sixth man. So what happened?
They dealt Mercer to Denver for Danny Fortson, Eric Williams and a
future #1 pick. On paper, it seemed like a fair trade. Fortson would
provide rebounding and much-needed toughness; Pierce would move to
Mercer's 2-guard spot and thrive with the extra shots; Williams was an
intriguing gamble for the second unit; and it never hurt to grab a
future #1 when the Denver Nuggets were invoved.
Of course, that was before Adrian Griffin entered the picture.
Because when you consider salary cap and team chemistry, I wouldn't
trade Adrian Griffin for Ron Mercer straight-up. And that's the truth.
Griffin fits in soooooooo perfectly here, I keep waiting to discover
that he has a drinking problem or something. Next to the
completely/utterly/totally/irrevocably rejuvenated Kenny Anderson,
Griffin has been the most invaluable player on this year's Celtics
team -- quite simply, Rick Pitino can't keep him off the floor for
more than 2-3 minutes at a time. Do you realize that Griffin leads the
team in minutes played through seven games with a whopping 253
minutes, more than either Pierce or Walker? It's true. Look it up.
The best thing about Griffin is that 99% of the fans don't realize
everything he's doing out there -- you almost have to play basketball
to truly appreciate him. AG's just the best teammate you ever could
imagine -- he never stops working, he never stops thinking, he always
tries to make something positive happen, and he's completely, utterly
unselfish. I think he's also the biggest reason Antoine's been playing
so unselfishly this year -- how can you be selfish when Griffin's on
your team?
(Again, anyone who plays hoops knows what I'm talking about here --
we've all played with someone like that and we always hold a soft spot
for them. For instance, my Uncle Chuck was like that before he hit his
mid-forties and lost about 35 steps. Every time you played with Chuck,
you knew you'd get the ball if you were open, you knew he'd get you a
big steal when you needed it, you knew he'd make a few big shots and
you knew your team would probably win. He also thanked the Lord
profusely after every win, much like Griffin does when he's being
interviewed by Willie "No, I'm not homeless, I'm just missing a few
teeth" Maye on Fox SportsNet. Skin color and locker room prowess
aside, the parallels between AG and Chuck are remarkable. And yet I
digress...)
As for Mercer, I'm not saying he was selfish when he played here, but
he was decidedly self-centered as a basketball player. For instance,
he was a good one-on-one defender, a good scorer when you set him up
with picks, a good player to fill the lanes on fast breaks... but he
didn't do anything to make anyone else better (lousy rebounder, lousy
help defender, passed as an afterthought, always stood around on
offense watching other guys). Griffin? He's the diametrical opposite
of Mercer, and not just because he emerged as the defensive stopper or
because he helps out wherever the Celts need help on any given night
(15 rebounds against the Knicks?!?!?!).
Here's a quick statistical comparison of Mercer and Griffin through
seven games. Pay special attention to the things Griffin does even
when he's not scoring... as opposed to the things Mercer does (or
doesn't do) when he's not scoring:
GRIFFIN
Opp Min FG FT RB AS ST PTS W/L>
Tor 28 5-9 4-4 3 7 2 14 W
Was 34 4-7 1-1 8 5 4 9 W
Ind 27 4-6 0-0 4 5 2 8 L
Cha 40 3-7 2-2 10 6 5 8 W
Det 43 4-8 2-2 9 5 2 11 L
NY 41 4-9 0-2 15 4 2 8 W
Chi 40 2-5 2-4 9 2 1 6 L
MERCER
Opp Min FG FT RB AS ST Pts W/L
Pho 47 6-17 4-5 6 4 1 16 W
Por 34 6-13 3-3 3 1 0 15 L
Van 37 11-17 4-4 4 1 0 31 L
Atl 36 8-19 2-2 1 0 1 19 W
Por 36 2-11 0-0 4 1 1 4 L
Sac 39 6-16 6-6 4 4 3 18 L
MINS FG% FT% RPG APG SPG PPG
Griffin 36.1 .510 .733 8.3 4.9 2.6 9.1
Mercer 38.2 .419 .950 3.7 1.8 1.0 17.2
Hmmmm...
One last thing: Whenever I go to the games this season, I always find
myself watching Griffin running around and doing "Griffin things" --
he's really, really fun to watch in person, the same way DJ was fun to
watch in person. Inevitably, I end up tapping the person next to me
and blurting out "Griffin!" whenever he does "Griffin things." Four of
my favorites:
* When an opponent grabs a defensive rebound, holds the ball up, waits
for everyone to start running downcourt, relaxes and brings the ball
down... Griffin will sneak in from behind like a cat and poke the ball
loose. It's a lost art. In fact, I can't think of anyone else in the
NBA who does that anymore now that Jordan's gone.
* Sometimes when Griffin drives baseline from the left side, he'll
actually keep going until he's almost under the hoop... then he'll
dish it to the opposite corner (usually to Pierce) for an open three.
Along those same lines, he loves driving into the middle and exploding
towards the basket to draw the opposing big man over... then he'll
neatly wrap the ball around the defender to his suddenly-open teammate
(usually Potapenko or Walker). You just don't see NBA players looking
for their teammates like that anymore. It's almost jolting.
* I love when teams try to isolate their one-on-one players against
Griffin and he ends up pulling a DJ and picking their pockets --
already this season he's gotten Eddie Jones and Allan Houston for the
big plays in the Knicks/Hornets wins; he also undressed Vince Carter
and Jerry Stackhouse this season. Pretty impressive list.
* Finally, have you ever noticed that Griffin always ends up with
loose balls? Watch for it over the next few games... if the ball's
loose, Griffin's always lurking. It's uncanny. He's like a free
safety.
Hey, I'm not saying Griffin should be immediately added to the 2000
Dream Team, but he's been perfect for us. When you think about it,
losing Mercer and adding Griffin, Fortson, Williams, a future #1 and
some much-needed cap space might have been the best move Rick Pitino
has made in three years.
Then again, that's probably not saying much.
***** ***** ***** ***** *****
Even thought the C's have gotten off to a pretty decent start -- 4-3,
including a vomit-inducing giveaway in Chicago last Saturday -- people
keep forgetting how important Danny Fortson will be when he returns
next month. Consider the following things that happen when Fort comes
back:
--1. Walker finally gets to move to the 3-spot and start destroying
small forwards.
--2. This team will never get pounded on the boards again like it did
in the Detroit game.
--3. They'll finally have someone to bang bodies with those
widebody/low-post scorers like Larry Johnson (he hurt them last
Friday).
--4a. Griffin can start coming off the bench and give the second unit
a real boost. Or...
--4b. Coach P can keep Griffin in the lineup and make Pierce the sixth
man, which would give the Celtics an unparalled scoring boost. Or...
--4c. Walker could become the sixth man and give the C's a number of
options off the bench.
(Note: This is such an intriguing debate that I added a vote at the
bottom of this column... try to hold back your excitement...)
Moving Pierce to that 6th man role makes the most sense, but Griffin
will inevitably end up getting demoted because Pitino seems stuck on
this "two units" thing. In theory, it makes sense -- you wear the
opponent down with your starting five, then you bring in your bench
guys to quicken the pace and cause some general chaos for a few
minutes. Unfortunately, Boston's bench has been playing like crap --
Tony Battie's been disappointing, Cal Cheaney's been hurt, Walter
McCarty's been horrible and Dana Barros been even worse than that. So
all bets are off for now.
When Fortson does come back, I think the Celts would be much better
off going to an eight-man rotation -- Potapenko, Fortson, Walker,
Griffin and Anderson as the starters, with Pierce as the sixth man,
Battie subbing for the big guys, and Barros giving Anderson an
occasional rest -- but I guess that would make too much sense. Why
keep your best guys on the floor as much as possible when you can get
20-minute doses of Walter McCarty, Eric Williams and Cal Cheaney
running around like chickens with their heads cut off?
The press is a nice gimmick for a team that's trying to steal a few
wins, but this team seems to have too much talent to screw around with
a hit-and-miss press. Griffin's emergence and Anderson's resurgence
have changed the equation here -- from a talent standpoint, this team
can compete with anybody in the East (a conference which S-U-C-K-S, in
case you haven't noticed). The less we see of McCarty and Cheaney, the
better off this team will be... and the better it will be for my
health.
***** ***** ***** ***** *****
* There's only one player that the Celtics could not afford to lose
for an extended stretch of time... and would you believe it's Kenny
Anderson? It seems like he has his legs back after two years of
limping and hobbling around; more importantly, he's pushing the ball
upcourt, he's looking for his teammates, he's banging home open
jumpers, he's playing inspired defense and he's even coming through in
crunch-time. In his wildest dreams, Pitino couldn't have imagined that
Anderson would play like this.
So what happened? We all know that he worked out with a track coach
all summer to get his legs back, but I think his head's finally clear
-- he was going through a nasty divorce last winter with his
gold-digging wife (you might remember her as Tami from "The Real
World: Los Angeles") and he never really seemed to be in shape.
Personally, I thought he was done -- once your wheels go as a guard,
you don't usually get them back -- but Anderson seems to be skipping
along and doing whatever he wants on the court these days. It's
amazing, especially when you remember that Pitino was trying to give
him away all summer.
Just goes to show you: In the NBA, you never know.
Some other quick thoughts about the C's through seven games...
* Antoine's been playing hard and playing well, but he's been
surprisingly non-existent during crunch time, hasn't he? Either Twan
or Pierce should be stepping up at the end of games... but Anderson
and Griffin have been the "step-up" guys over the first two weeks.
* The Fleet Center finally went overboard this season and started
playing sound effects DURING the game action, which drives me crazy.
Damn them. Damn them to hell. God forbid we watch a basketball game
without people telling us how to react and how to cheer.
* Potapenko is hit or miss. Usually you know within the first few
minutes whether he'll be effective that night -- as long as he's
outplaying the crappy centers in the league and holding the good ones
somewhat in check, he's fine.
(Question: When will the Fleet Center fans start screaming
"Veeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!" after Potapenko does something good, the same
way they shouted "Cheeeeeeeeeef!!!!!" for Robert Parish in the old
days? Not only would it get V fired up, it's just fun to yell,
"Veeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!" I think it's a no-brainer.)
* Battie's been very, very disappointing -- only one good outing in
seven games (18 pts and 9 rebs against Charlotte) and it doesn't seem
like his low-post offense has improved at all from last season. We
know the Battman is a "hit or miss" guy, but he's reached the point in
his career when he should be batting better than .133, even if he has
been playing out of position at center for most of the season. The
Celts need him to bat at least .600 (six good games out of every
ten)... but they'd probably settle for .400 (four out of every ten).
Anything less than that doesn't cut it.
* Pierce has been pretty good, but he hasn't been taking over at
crunch time like we thought he would. For instance, the Chicago game
was infuriating -- how was Pierce not killing Fred Hoiberg down the
stretch? He needs to step it up.
* McCarty scored 20 points and buried six three-pointers in 17 minutes
on Opening Night against Toronto... and this team has been paying for
it ever since. In the next six games, McCarty went 5-for-22 from the
field and scored 14 points total in 82 minutes of play, heaving up a
variety of ugly threes (2 for 10 overall) and bricks and driving me
generally insane. If they did a plus-minus rating for the NBA,
McCarty's would be somewhere around -50 right now.
* Did they find Wayne Turner's body yet? That was classic Coach P...
"Hey Wayne, we loved what you did for us and we want you to be our
point man in Las Vegas... now get in the car with Clemenza..."
* Posse highlight of the season: When Antoine was sulking during the
fourth quarter of the Knicks game because Coach P wouldn't put him
back in with five fouls, he exchanged long, disgruntled looks with his
Cyber Posse in Section One during one timeout, prompting one flunkie
to stand up and scream at Pitino, "Yo, put Walker in!!!!"
(Man, Cyber Twan makes it tough to root for him sometimes, even if he
is playing hard.)
* Washed-up alert: When Barros comes in for Anderson these days, the
Celts stop running and everyone starts standing around offensively.
It's a fact.
(There are a probably a bunch of teams that Barros could help around
the NBA given that he does one thing well -- drain open jumpers -- but
the Celts aren't one of them. Toronto would be a good fit... how 'bout
bringing Dee Brown back for him? Or what about San Antonio?)
* According to the Sports Dad, last Friday's Hornets-Celts crowd was
the best crowd he's seen since the C's moved to the Fleet. Strong
praise from a man who feel asleep standing up during the Red Auerback
halftime ceremony two weeks ago (no joke... you had to see it).
* Speaking of the halftime ceremony, before Dad konked out and before
we realized that they had made a special second banner for Red, I
noticed the ropes at midcourt that were being used to pull up Red's
50th anniversary banner and asked my Dad, "What are those ropes for?
Are they raising a new banner?" So Dad said, "No, they're not raising
a new banner... they're raising Red." High comedy from Pops,
especially with the ancient Auerbach standing 20 feet away and looking
like he was ready for Bill Russell to start spoonfeeding him tapioca.
* The best test for the Y2K C's will come this Saturday in Miami --
they should be able to compete with the Heat because their skill
position guys (Walker, Pierce and Anderson) match up well with Miami's
skill position guys (Tim Hardaway, Jamal Mashburn and Voshon Lenard).
But Potapenko and Battie need to prove that they can keep Alonzo
Mourning out of the paint and stay out of foul trouble. Easier said
than done.
Whatever the case, we'll know more about this team after this week.
Right now I'd describe my emotional state as "cautious optimism"
crossed with "tempered excitement." Stay tuned...