Catching Up

[Dan Parker <danp@town.ipswich.ma.us>]

Lots of good comments lately.  Went into a cut 'n' paste frenzy here:

>From: Josh Ozersky <josh_ozersky@yahoo.com>
>Subject: Re: Kenny Anderson
>
>And of course on offense, Kenny's ball-pounding,
>walk-it-up, don't give up the ball unless you have to
>style has completely stagnated the offense.  It's so
>frustrating because he's one of the most talented
>passers in the game.  If only played with the same
>attitude as Tyus Edney.

I agree completely.  Kenny is really weird.  He says all the right
things off the court and seems to like the Boston area, but his
on-court play totally contradicts him.  Unless Pitino is yelling in
his ear to pound the ball into the floor and look for his own shot
before others, then Kenny is just deluding himself.

Tyus Edney is the best point the C's have had the past three years and
would probably be 1/10th the cost of Kenny.  Heck, I'd rather have
Billups at this point.  I don't think Chauncy could possibly have
directed this team to a worse record than what they've put up the past
two years.  The only time Anderson looked like "The Answer" was for
the first five or six games after joining the C's.


>From: Thomas Murphy <tfmiii@worldnet.att.net>
>Subject: RE:  Poll:  Embry /Cowens or Pitino/Pitino
>
>The mention of Cowens' name brings to mind the championships from the '70s.
>Who was our shot-blocking "inside presence" in those years? Yet we still
>managed to win with tenacious rebounding, hustle and smart play. I'm
>convinced that the current Cs suffer more from a lack perimeter defense
>(allowing penetration) than the lack of shotblocking. At least the former
>should be more easily rectified. I'd love to see V and Fortson on the floor
>for an extended period of time, but it doesn't look as if it will ever
>happen.

How many people realize the 1973-74 team beat the Milwaukee Bucks
which had a young Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Lew Alcindor at the time) at
center?  With 6'9" Dave Cowens at center.  I'm sure that team would
have loved a shot blocking center but rather than whining about not
having one or playing like they did and getting killed, they tailored
their style to meet their strengths.

I think that's what I've hated the most about the Celtics of the past
two years.  They won't commit to *any* style, let alone one that suits
their strengths, and they've just been treading water as a result.
Pitino seems to think he still has Patrick Ewing under the basket to
clean up defensive mistakes.


>From: Bos3332@aol.com
>Subject: Sportsline: Anderson Annoyed with Pitino
>
>Celtics team report 
>Updated 2:37 PM ET April 14, 2000 
>SportsLine.com Report
>April 14, 2000 
>
>The latest stirring of the pot comes from point guard Kenny Anderson,
>who isn't even among the top 20 assist leaders in the NBA. Anderson, who
>entered the season averaging 7.3 assists a game in his eight seasons in
>the league, is disgusted with his slide down to about five dimes a game.
>He says he knows why it's happening. 
>
>"That's obvious,'' he told USA Today. "I don't initiate plays in our
>offense. I don't dominate the ball. That's Rick Pitino's decision. I
>wish I had the ball more. That's not a knock on anyone. It's just the
>system, the makeup of the team.'' 
>
>[Snippage]
>
>Now, Anderson's asking why Pitino hasn't asked more. 
>
>"There should be no doubt that I am a pass-first guy. I'm just hoping I
>can get back to being me this fall," Anderson said. <snips>

Well, this leads some serious weight to the "Kenny is delusional"
argument.  "I am a pass-first guy?"  "I don't dominate the ball?"


>From: David <dajubo@earthlink.net>
>Subject: Radical Lineup
>
>Pitino has said that Walker has Magic Johnson-like skills, so why 

I was flabbergasted when Pitino said that.  Magic Johnson-like skills,
but he can't play small forward?  Why don't reporters ever call him on
this kind of BS?


>From: damekmo@teleport.com
>Subject: A few thoughts.
>
>How about they trade Pierce and the pick or Pierce and somebody else for a
>real point guard. That way the 6'9" pf wouldn't be the only legitimate
>point guard on the team, and Pierce, as someone on-list wrote, "could be a
>better player without Walker." Yeah....just like Ron Mercer. And speaking

[Snippy]

>has. How many times have we read something similar to the following from
>Bill Cooper this year:"Pierce: as usual, had big problems applying pressure
>to Jones on the perimeter....Pierce shot the ball poorly himself at 4-14,
>but made up at least part of the deficit by going 9-13 on free throws." Has
>Pierce passed the ball well at all this year? Where's his outside shot?
>Where's his defense? It's a joke to call Pierce the team's "best player",

>than Pierce. Pierce simply isn't tough enough, tough-minded enough, or
>determined enough to lead a team to anything substantial. He's no Allen
>Iverson, to say the least...not even close. The bottom-line I think, if you
>have to trade one of Walker or Pierce, trade Pierce before the league finds
>out he's a regressing fraud and his first year was a fluke. I'm not saying
>he doesn't have the talent. Paul Pierce doesn't have the "heart." His trade
>value will never be higher.

Although I wouldn't have put it quite as harshly, I think there's a
lot going for the idea of trading Pierce.  Like Ron Mercer, he had an
outstanding rookie season and had everyone crossing their fingers that
he would develop further in Year Two.  I don't think all of the league
has realized how far his game has slid, as it's been masked by a
reasonably impressive scoring average (and maybe steals/game).  His
defense is atrocious and he's always going at one speed: half-assed.
He talks junk to other players, probably moreso than Antoine at this
point (though Walker still has him beat when jawing with the refs) and
isn't very far from having the Boston fans turn on him.  If you threw
a $71 million contract in his lap he would have heard the boos
already.

Pierce would likely bring something nifty.  It's the type of trade
gamble that could give the C's a big push forward.

Dan