Re: [Celtic_Pride] The Truth about Cats and Pitinos

["Cecil Wright" <cecil@hfx.eastlink.ca>]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Berry, Mark S" <berrym@BATTELLE.ORG>
To: <Celtic_Pride@egroups.com>
Cc: "Boston Celtics" <celtics@igloo.igtc.com>
Sent: Wednesday, December 13, 2000 12:39 PM
Subject: RE: [Celtic_Pride] The Truth about Cats and Pitinos


> I've been quiet lately because no one likes to hear negativity (which is
all
> I really have for this team right now), but I have to ask you Cecil, where
> are you seeing progress?

I think we are seeing Toine develop into an outstanding young forward.  His
rebounding is pretty consistent this year, he has improved his free throw
shooting and his outside shooting and now his assist totals have been
impressive.  I don't think his versatility can be questioned.

Pierce, though he has struggled with his consistency and defense at times,
is on the verge of blooming into a potent offensive weapon.  There doesn't
seem to be any reason for him not going to the line 10 times per game.

Battie has emerged to play alot better than Joe's moniker would have you
believe :-)  His shotblocking has been steady and his overall game has
improved in my opinion.

The additions of Randy Brown and Dan's buddy, Bryant Stith, have added some
much needed veteran cool.  It's unfortunate that our 3 PGs have all suffered
various injuries because that has made it necessary to grab flotsam like
Overton, who had to play 40+ minutes in one game and Palacio/Brunson.  I
believe that if not for Kenny and Herren being injured simultaneously, we
would have a winning record, though I have no stats to bear this out.

They show flashes of being able to get the job done, at times, on defense,
ie the magnificent performance turned in by us in Cleveland.

But since we are still a very young team, we will still encounter the
growing pains like inconsistency, selfish play, defensive lapses,
concentration let-downs etc.


 We saw progress Pitino's first season (he had
> nowhere to go but up), but have stagnated since. If we had built on that
in
> Pitino Year 2, and built a little more last year--say to 40 wins--I think
> we'd all feel like progress was being made. And this season, even though
Ray
> can be incredibly grating, he's right. The schedule has been as easy as we
> could possibly imagine and the Celts blew it. I was looking at the
schedule
> the rest of the way and came up with 35 total wins. Is that progress?

Depends on the circumstances.  If we have no point guards due to injuries,
what can you possibly expect?

Now,
> maybe this team will come together like you say it will and surprise me
with
> a great second half, but I've seen no evidence of it. In fact, I think
it's
> much more likely the team goes the other way and completely disintegrates
as
> Pitino starts plotting his exit.
>

Anything is possible and I am not trying to convince you.  Just that I look
at things differently than you and obviously most others on this list.
Doesn't make anyone right or wrong.

> The worst thing about all this is Pitino seems determined to maintain this
> roster and let the next guy do what he wants. That just slows down the
> rebuilding process. Golden State gave up a high lottery pick at the
deadline
> last year for Larry Hughes. That's the kind of move the Celts need to
> explore--picking up draft picks, dumping salary, adding players with
> potential. In short, they need to build for the future.

Many folks have complained that we are young enough as it is.  I remember
people bashing him when he wanted Jermaine O'Neal earlier.  What is the
average age of Toine, Pierce, Herren, Battie, Vitaly?  Subtract Kenny, Randy
and Bryant and wouldn't we challenge for the youngest team in the league.
And by the way, the only defense Larry Hughes as ever played was on skates.

Instead, they're
> chasing windmills while Pitino plays out the string.
>
> Philly showed steady progress. Jordan's Bulls showed steady progress. The
> Celts have shown consistent mediocrity.
>
> Mark

I'm not sure you realize that over the past few years, Philly has brought in
George Lynch, Aaron McKie, Matt Geiger, Tyrone Hill, Eric Snow, Vernon
Maxwell, Theo Ratliff and Toni Kukoc.  They were not drafted by the
organization.  And I already noted that it took 6 years for the Bulls to
make it to the top of the heap.  I understand and empathize with your pain
Mark.  And I thank you for making your point without calling me names and
being condescending in your tone.  It is refreshing.

Cecil




>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Cecil Wright [mailto:cecil@hfx.eastlink.ca]
> Sent: Wednesday, December 13, 2000 7:29 PM
> To: Celtic_Pride@egroups.com
> Cc: Boston Celtics
> Subject: Re: [Celtic_Pride] The Truth about Cats and Pitinos
>
>
> Who is the we you are referring to?  I can't blame anyone for the injuries
> suffered by Kenny, Herren or Brown.  I think the team is quite fortunate
to
> have Pierce able to play at this level since, from initial reports, he may
> not have been able to play at all this year after his stabbing.
>
> The problem is that some of us (you know who you are) want this team to
come
> together suddenly and do not appear to be willing to wait for the team to
> become a cohesive unit.  If it were that easy, it would not have taken the
> Bulls into Jordan's 6th year to win.  Or the great Sixers teams of the
past.
> Some Celtic fans want instant gratification and anything less will not
whet
> their appetite.
>
> There are things about this team which need to be improved and there are
> some things they do very well.  But no amount of incessant whining, no
> matter how free the speech, is gonna help them win any faster.
>
> Either accept that gradual progress is being made or complain.
>
> Cecil
>
>
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "W" <titans@ihug.com.au>
> To: "Celtic Pride" <celtic_pride@egroups.com>
> Sent: Wednesday, December 13, 2000 8:40 AM
> Subject: [Celtic_Pride] The Truth about Cats and Pitinos
>
>
> > I'll let you all in on something.
> >
> > This team really blows.
> >
> > Our best ball handler is our power forward.
> >
> > Our best inside scorer is our small forward
> >
> > Our best defender is a bench scrub who consistently gets injured
> >
> > We consistently lose to teams with equal or better records
> >
> > We've had a very easy start to the season and yet we cant even break
> > .500
> >
> > We're a month into the season, yet we've already had SIX different
> > players play point guard (Anderson, Overton, Brown, Herren, Brunson,
> > Palacio).
> >
> > We're consistently swapping Potapenko and Battie from the starting
> > lineup hoping and praying they find that something extra.
> >
> > We're also hoping that a CBA player can come back to be among our top
> > four or five players and to get back to the level that he displayed for
> > exactly ONE month last season, a month in which he had to perform or
> > else most likely he wouldn't be in the league anymore.
> >
> > Our most likely second unit (Potapenko, Williams, Brown, Carr, McCarty)
> > combine for a pathetic 24.9ppg - and that includes the 18 total games in
> > which one of them has started (well, some may have started on the same
> > night)
> >
> > We also hope that our lottery pick, Jerome Moiso can gain some weight,
> > find a work ethic and most important of all actually learn to play the
> > game of basketball at a recreational league standard.
> >
> > We pray that Antoine Walker finally gets it, loses weight, stops being a
> > grade-one jerk and ballhog and becomes the captain that Poultrino
> > believes that he can be.
> >
> > We hope that our best player, Paul Pierce stops being a whiney little
> > brat and gets back on defense before the ball gets back to our offensive
> > end on the next offensive set play after yet again another poorly
> > executed headless chicken outbreak defensive play.
> >
> > We pray that our coach decides that enough is enough and walks outta
> > town.
> >
> > All of the above reasons is why this team blows and writing this has
> > made me feel like a certified journalist for one of the Boston
> > newspapers..
> >
> > Yours sincerely,
> >
> > I'm a Boston Basketball Journalist.
> >
> >
> >
> > To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
> > Celtic_Pride-unsubscribe@egroups.com
> >
> >
> >
>
>
>
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