Re: Players fitting the system

[Way Of The Ray <wayray@ix.netcom.com>]

Ewing may have or may not have fit Pitino's system, but as a franchise
center he acted as a safety net for the Knicks, expecially on the
defensive end. There's no one like that here and it's a problem.
The C's deperately need a big man/shotblocker/defender and someone other
than Kenny running the team. 

I think we've seen enough of Kenny to know it ain't happening, so I'm 
inclined to go with Barros and Turner until something better comes
along,
which could be as soon as the trading deadline if things get desperate.
Ray   
    
> 
> Subject: Players fitting the system
> Date: Thu, 14 Oct 1999 02:08:28 EDT
> From: Alex Wang <awang@mit.edu>
> To: celtics@igtc.com
> 
> There's a lot of talk about how Pitino has added all these players that
> don't fit his system. The common idea seems to be that Pitino wants to
> have ten lean, long-limbed runners in his rotation, and the Celtics don't
> seem to be heading in that direction. However, I was thinking back to the
> days when he was coaching the Knicks, and it seems like a lot of his top
> players weren't types that you would think of as fitting his system either.
> Patrick Ewing and Charles Oakley don't seem like "Pitino players", and Mark
> Jackson was considered slow, yet the Knicks succeeded in playing Pitino
> ball. My guess is that Pitino is going to stick with his system even with
> the new players. He's going to employ the press to take advantage of the
> Celtics' conditioning and depth, and to mask their halfcourt defensive
> deficiencies. He'll also have the Celtics run even more with the rule
> changes (and also because of the additional depth).
> 
> On another note, I think that this is by far the most optimistic that Pitino
> has been since he's been here. He's not leaving himself any room for excuses.
> He's not complaining about how the salary cap has constrained his
> roster or left him with players he doesn't want, or the poor conditioning
> of the players, or the youth of his team, or lack of practice time. He's
> talking about how outstanding he thinks his team is going to be, he's
> guaranteeing playoffs, he's gushing about his new additions. It's really
> a striking difference.
> 
> Alex