Re: 2-2

[Josh Ozersky <josh_ozersky@yahoo.com>]

I watched last night's game, and while I appreciate
the goodwill, this was more like a loss from my point
of view than a win.  We played Utah without Karl
Malone, John Stockton (mostly), Jeff Hornacek, Greg
Ostertag, or Shandon Anderson.  And it still required
overtime to beat the various stiffs and 12th men who
populate the Jazz's bench.  How many dunks and
offensive rebounds did we give up?  How did we turn
Pete Chillcut into World B. Free?  Or Jacques Vaughn
into Kevin Johnson?  Meanwhile, the offensive was
seriously stagnant, and everybody's shooting was poor.
 The only thing that went right was the low post moves
of mssrs. Williams, Pierce, and Walker.  Kenny's
3-pointer bounced around the rim something like five
times before going in, and his defense is almost as
bad as Ray says.  I hope some rest and practice
improves our play -- admittedly, it's hard for a  team
fresh out of the offseason to play back to back
overtime games.  But this one shouldn't have been an
overtime game.  We should have won it by thirty.

--- D Parker <danp@town.ipswich.ma.us> wrote:
> Nice to see two solid efforts in a row.  The Celtics
> had their ups and
> downs but there were lots of signs that this year
> will be a lot different
> than last year.
> 
> They are so much better at pushing the ball up the
> court.  Everyone looks
> for the outlet pass after getting a rebound and guys
> streak up the floor.
> They got a beautiful fast break layup towards the
> end of regulation that
> was prettier than anything they did last year.
> 
> Walker, Pierce, Potapenko, Anderson, and Cheaney
> started the game.  The
> pace started out in favor of the Jazz as the Celtics
> didn't run much,
> though they had a lot of motion in their half-court
> offense.  Coming off
> the bench, Dana Barros had a rough time shooting as
> he clanked up a number
> of shots.  The C's were down 20-23 at the end of the
> first quarter.
> 
> Pierce heated up in the second quarter and knocked
> down several shots in a
> row.  The C's started to get a little momentum and
> led at the half by a
> point, 45-44.
> 
> At the start of the second half, the lid was on the
> basket, and the C's
> sputtered to 10 points in 9 minutes of playing time.
>  Then is a complete
> turnaround (one of the many hills and valleys I'm
> sure we'll see this
> year) they blitzed the Jazz for 15 points in the
> last three minutes.  They
> trailed by two, 72-70.
> 
> The C's made up the two point deficit in the 4th
> (Kenny Anderson hit
> the tying jumper) and it was on to overtime for the
> second night in a row.
> 
> Not content with saving the C's in regulation,
> Anderson hit a big three
> pointer towards the end of overtime that forced the
> Jazz to foul.  Walker
> looked like Larry Bird at the line knocking down all
> of his free throws
> and the C's held on for the win.
> 
> Battie and Turner sat out for the second game in a
> row.
> 
> Pierce:  Look like he was on cruise control in the
> second quarter and
> started knocking down everything in sight.  Also had
> a nice block, though
> he got burned a couple of times on defense by
> Russell.  Team has started
> to look for him more when they need a basket. 
> Unfortunately he hasn't
> been knocking down the shots at the end of games. 
> Last night against
> Charlotte and tonight he tossed up his share of
> bricks towards the end of
> the games.
> 
> Walker:  Looking a lot better than the first two
> pre-season games, but not
> quite All-Star form yet.  He's knocking down the
> free throws, even late in
> the game.  Made a huge play and pumped his fist
> instead of wiggling --
> maybe it finally sunk in that the wiggle wasn't such
> a hot idea.  Still
> threw up some junk including some rushed post-up
> moves and a bad three
> pointer, but he sure looks better than he did a week
> ago.
> 
> Potapenko:  Hmm, I don't remember him doing much. 
> He did grab some
> rebounds and did his usual job of clearing out space
> in the paint.  It
> looks like the new rule changes aren't going to turn
> him into a foul
> machine, as some suggested they might.
> 
> Anderson:  Looking pretty good.  Opposing guards
> have no trouble getting
> around him, but he's passing the ball much better
> and pushing it up the
> floor.  Knocking down the game-tying shot and a big
> three pointer in
> overtime didn't hurt either.
> 
> Cheaney:  Some good plays, but still looks lost some
> of the time.  It's
> going to take a few weeks before he gets really
> comfortable.  Still, he
> looks like a good addition.  He should be a solid
> contributor this year.
> 
> This team is so different from last year.  They are
> going to make a lot of
> pundits look foolish.
> 
> Dan
> 
> 


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