Re: Bucks game

["Berry, Mark S" <berrym@BATTELLE.ORG>]

David wrote: "Pierce had a breakout game, scoring 34 points."

And how many did Glen Robinson score? 25, on just 17 shots (he made 12).
This is the kind of thinking that kills the Celtics. Pierce walks away
thinking "I scored 34, I did all I could do." But Robinson scored 25 points
on just 17 shots (and added 8 assists). Pierce didn't even slow him down.
Until Pierce decides to play defense, the Celtics are always going to have
trouble with teams like Milwaukee that have scorers at the SG and SF spots.
Bryant Stith can only guard one at a time, and he did a great job on Ray
Allen. The game stories talk about Pierce's 34 points, but Bryant Stith
outscored Ray Allen 14-11. Who was more valuable to the Celtics last night?

Don't get me wrong. Pierce's 34 points were great. But we have to stop
looking only at the offensive end when evaluating these guys. Pierce and
Robinson were a wash last night (neither guy played any defense). The
Celtics needed Pierce to win that matchup.

I shouldn't single out Pierce. Jason Caffey (!), Tim Thomas and Jerome
Kersey (!) combined for 13 for 19 shooting and 30 points from the power
forward spot (hmmm... ) So Walker and Pierce score 54, while their
counterparts at their positions combine for 55. The Celts aren't going to
win many games if Walker and Pierce don't beat the men they're matched up
against.

Mark