Playoffs

[Alex Wang <awang@mit.edu>]

It's exciting that we're having real Celtics coverage every day now.
Hopefully they'll keep it up as training camp progresses. The Herald
has two articles on the Celtics today, and encouragingly enough, 
Pitino has declared that everyone arrived in great shape, including
Antoine Walker and Kenny Anderson.

I must admit that if the Celtics don't make the playoffs, I'll be
sorely disappointed. The reason is because I remember back to Pitino's
first year when they won 36 games. I think that season was an
indication of what Pitino was capable of in a normal (non-lockout)
season. When I look at this roster vs. the 97-98 roster, I feel like
there's been an exceptional upgrade in talent. You have 
1. Potapenko as a significant upgrade over DeClercq.
2. Walker, Fortson, and Battie as your forwards as opposed to Walker 
   and McCarty. 
3. Pierce instead of Ron Mercer. 
4. A deep bench of Cheaney, Williams, Battie, Barros, and McCarty as 
   opposed to guys like Bowen, Travis Knight, and Tyus Edney.

I even feel optimistic that Kenny Anderson will be a better point 
guard than Billups was even though his last season was pretty lousy. 
Remember that this will be Kenny's first training camp with the
Celtics after his first true offseason with them. And I actually agree
with what he said about Mercer's departure improving his game, because
he really did have to sit on the perimeter and dribble a lot while
Mercer was running around screens. 

Actually, when I look back at the 97-98 team, I'm amazed that they 
actually won 36 games with their talent level, especially with the way
they got mauled inside.

Given the talent upgrade, I would expect them to win significantly more
games and make the playoffs, and not necessarily as the 8th seed.
I expect the roles to be well-defined with two top scorers on the first
unit, similar to the roles that Walker and Mercer played successfully
in 97-98, except that Pierce is really a superior offensive player than
Mercer with his ability to hit the three and get to the line. There will 
be a more uptempo offense with both units due to better conditioning; a 
good deal of pressing in opportune situations; toughness inside with 
Potapenko and Fortson. I am hoping for 50 wins.

Alex