Father BSG Administers Last Rights

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

BSG beat me to the punch regarding trading Bryant Stith. They should
definitely move him out before the trading deadline. Pot and Stith
for....

http://home.digitalcity.com/boston/sportsguy/main.dci?page=3celts01


CELTICS CHRONICLES
(updated 12/14)



This sucks and it stinks and it SUCKS.

With one-fourth of the season gone, our beloved Celtics are sitting at
9-12... and the odds of them appearing in the playoffs for the first time in
six years are growing longer by the day. Some feel-good stats for you:

* Fourteen of Boston's first 21 games were at home -- fourteen! -- and ten
of those games were against teams with losing records.

* Even though they haven't faced a road trip of more than two games, this
team is currently 1-6 on the road... with five road trips of three-plus
games remaining on the schedule.

* They haven't faced a stretch of four games in five nights yet -- the
biggest killer on an NBA schedule -- but three of those stretches are
looming down the road.

* They still have 24 games remaining against West Coast teams (including 14
on the road), which warrants mentioning because the Western teams are far
superior this season (especially the top six).

* After the 12/20 home game against the Nets, 20 of their next 31 games will
be on the road, including a killer West Coast swing (7 games, 11 nights) at
the tail end which could become Rick Pitino's swan song.

Here's the point: Realistically, the Celtics needed to be sitting at 12-9 or
13-8 after 21 games to even think about making a playoff run. And they know
it.

Just for the hell of it, here are four wins that got away:

11/10, New York -- The one game where Kenny Anderson's broken jaw really
hurt them. The Celts had to play Rick Brunson at crunch-time because Randy
Brown was injured (WATFO!) and the game slipped away. It also would have
helped if somebody on the team could have guarded Allan Houston (37 points).
And why wasn't Antoine playing point?

11/26, Vancouver -- Inexcusable no-show on the Sunday after Thanksgiving.
Doug Overton played 42 minutes, which should never happen under any
circumstances that don't involve the acronyms "CBA" or "IBL." And why wasn't
Antoine playing point?

12/5, Orlando -- Pitino cost them the game by subbing for Pierce and Walker
at the beginning of the fourth, which propelled Orlando on a 9-0 run before
he finally removed his head from his ass and re-inserted them in the game.
Keep in mind, they didn't have another game for three days... if there was
ever a time for those guys to play 48 minutes, this was the game. They
needed that one.

12/13, Chicago -- The Celts get whupped by a 2-19 team at home. Would you
like fries with that, Coach P?

You probably noticed a common theme in those four losses... the
Fifty-Million Dollar Man, Rick Pitino. Forget about his foolish "Either you
start playing D or I'm quitting" tirade after the 11/20 Philly game, which
may have been the dumbest career move since Sherry Stringfield left "ER"
(more on this later). Pitino has shown little feel for the NBA game in three
ways:

#1. The Mistake
Not playing Antoine Walker at point? Unfathomable. I've been whining about
this on the BSG site for three-plus years -- against certain teams, you can
get away with playing Walker at the point and creating matchup problems for
your opponents. The offense usually runs through Antoine anyway; he even
brings the ball up over midcourt sometimes. And as I've mentioned many
times, Antoine thrives at point guard because he enjoys running the offense
and he always plays under control with the added responsibility. I'm not
even arguing about this because it's such a no-brainer.

Yes, it doesn't work for 48 minutes against any team with a penetrating
point guard (like Washington, Indiana, Minnesota, Milwaukee or Orlando). But
for God's sake, when you're playing a team like the Knicks, wouldn't you
rather have Walker playing point over Rick Brunson or Doug Overton? And was
it a coincidence that Boston'ss only road victory happened in Cleveland on a
night when Antoine started at point?

It all comes back to the time-worn NBA adage: PLAY YOUR BEST GUYS. Notice
how Baron Davis and David Wesley play together in Charlotte even though
they're both point guards? It happened because Paul Silas knows the league
and he knows you need to play your best players together, regardless of
"positions" or any other crap. In fact, the Hornets start two point guards,
two power forwards and one shooter... and they're 14-9. As for Boston, with
Anderson sidelined, their best five guys have been Walker, Pierce, Battie,
Stith and Eric Williams for most of the season. So Pitino's goal as coach
should have been to play those five guys as much as possible, especially
when he knew that Randy Brown's paper mache body couldn't handle more than
20 minutes a game.

In my opinion, Pitino cost them four games and almost cost them six (the OT
wins over Orlando and Denver) by giving Brunson, Overton and Palacio so many
minutes and refusing to spot Walker at the point. Why not roll the dice
there? What did this team have to lose?

#2. The Press
It doesn't work.

It doesn't work.

It doesn't work.

It doesn't work.

Just STOP it. What are the possible benefits here? Pressing leads to easy
baskets for the other team, it rarely causes turnovers at this level and it
tires out the players (especially the guys in the frontcourt). In games this
season against quality teams with top-notch ballhandlers -- like Philly and
Indiana -- Boston's press broke open the game and led to a non-stop lay-up
drill... for the opponents. It's suicide. Even during last night's stinkbomb
against the Bulls -- a dreadful halfcourt team offensively -- Chicago
expanded its lead in the third quarter with a variety of dunks, layups and
open threes, thanks to the Boston press.

In college, the press works because you play 10-12 guys and create a
frenetic pace which will (hopefully) break the other team, especially when
most college teams only have 1-2 players who can handle the ball. In the
pros, everyone can handle the ball. It doesn't work. IT DOESN'T WORK! That
the Celts would ever try to press a team like Indiana -- who plays Travis
Best, Jalen Rose and Reggie Miller at the same time -- tells me that Rick
Pitino is either 1) shortsighted and somewhat idiotic or 2) trying to
intentionally lose games so he can get himself fired.

The press only worked here one time, during the first half of the '97
season, when everyone had bought into Pitino's act and certain players on
that roster were perfect for the press -- Chauncey Billups, Ron Mercer,
Andrew DeClercq, Dee Brown, Greg Minor, Bruce Bowen, even Walter McCarty
(back when he had his mojo). And you could see it working against the right
teams and you could see it wearing down opponents; they forced 20 turnovers
or more in 33 of the first 50 games. Maybe they weren't as talented as most
of their opponents, but the press allowed them to hang around most of the
time and occasionally eke out a win. Unfortunately, that team eventually
wore down from all that extra effort... they lost 16 of 22 games before the
Anderson-Billups trade.

Since then, the press hasn't been effective at all, especially with slower
players like Anderson, Walker and Potapenko involved. If anything, sticking
with it caused more damage than anything. Why not try a half-court trap
instead? Why not try ANYTHING else?

#3. The Speech
I had the misfortune of attending that fatal 11/20 home game against Philly
that spurred Pitino's "If you guys don't start playing defense, I quit!"
speech -- many of the problems came about because of the press and the fact
the Allen Iverson and Eric Snow inhaled it for dinner. Whatever. We'll cut
Coach P some slack because his guys slapped a collective stamp on that game
from the first quarter on. But to threaten them with quitting... what was he
thinking? These guys aren't playing that hard for him to begin with; for
every game they give 100%, there's a game like last night's grenade where
everyone takes the night off. They don't play all that well together, nobody
seems to be on the same page, they're not consistent and they don't even
seem like they like each other.

So for him to "threaten" them with quitting... well, how does that make
sense? It doesn't seem like they wanted him coaching them in the first
place. And as Rick Brunson said two weeks later -- after he had been
waived -- many of the players felt as if Pitino was quitting on them and
that he wanted to leave. Which he probably does.

So I ask you, why would these guys play hard for him? Would you? If you were
making guaranteed money and you knew that your boss was probably leaving
soon and you knoew you could coast without repercussions, would you give
110% every night? I sure wouldn't. If I played for this team, I'd light up
fatties and order groupie sandwiches and play the PlayStation until 4:00 AM
every night. So what? Coach is leaving anyway. Why should I care anymore?

Out of all the shortsighted things involving Pitino over the past three-plus
years, that speech after the Philly game takes the cake. Did he honestly
think that a team that just took a collective dump in front of 15,000 people
would care if he was leaving or not? What is he, insane? This team isn't
that good defensively no matter HOW hard they're playing; out of everyone on
the roster, Stith might be the only player you would consider
"above-average." And since that speech, nothing has changed... except the
players were given an "out" from this mess because they know the coach is
leaving after the season.

To sum up...

Problems? Many.

Solutions? Few.

Future? Bleak.

Paul Pierce said it best last night: ''I don't know why we talk about the
playoffs all the time. We talk about all these different things and we can't
even beat a team that's 2-19 in our own house. This is an average team, man.
We don't have enough toughness to even go anywhere. We're just an average
team. It's a team full of talent, but not really a good team."

(PS: Tickets are still available!)


*****



Onto a quick report card:

RICK PITINO -- F
See above.

TONY BATTIE -- C-plus
For the most part, the effort's been there... and that's what scares me.
Check out his career stats:

Year    Min   FG%  FT%  RB  BLK PTS
97-98  23.2  .446  .702   5.4   1.1   8.4
98-99  22.4  .519  .672   6.0   1.4   6.7
99-00  18.4  .477  .675   5.0   0.9   6.6
00-01  26.4  .544  .619   7.3   2.0   8.3

Shouldn't we be seeing a little more improvement from Year One to Year Four?
... the Battman just hasn't been consistent enough with the extra minutes;
you wonder if he's better suited in that "Flying around for 15-20 minutes a
game off the bench role" ... defensively he's been active in the paint,
challenging everything ... he doesn't score unless it's off the offensive
glass or on the break ... he doesn't even have a reliable jump hook ... only
five double-figure rebound games all season ... seems like he could benefit
from a summer of sessions with a "big man" coach who could teach him some
moves ... gets into foul trouble against any low-post scorer of substance
(watch him on Chris Webber tomorrow night) ... seems like a good guy and a
good teammate, which is a plus ... these next 61 games are crucial for him
if he wants to fulfill his "Antonio Davis/Theo Ratliff" potential.

KENNY ANDERSON -- Incomplete
Who would have thought that we'd actually miss him? I sure didn't ... after
three weeks of watching two stiffs (Overton & Brunson) and two injured guys
(Herren and Brown), Kenny started looking reeeeeeeeeeeeal good by the end of
November ... they missed his 18-footer, especially in fourth quarters, and
they missed his presence on the fast break -- I think his absence cost them
at least three games last month, which is saying something ... forget his
salary, his defensive lapses and the fact that he's completely and utterly
untradeable; Kenny is still average at worst, which puts him leaps and
bounds above anyone else who played point for the C's this season ... I'd
still rather have a healthy Chris Herren over anybody.

BRYANT STITH -- A-minus
A godsend ... there's a difference between giving 100% and giving 110%, and
he's the only player on the team who realizes it ... if only Pierce had his
work ethic ... averaging 12 points per game, shooting 40% for threes and 88%
from the line ... he's also the only above-average defender on the team ...
dangerous shooter from three-point land if he's open and his feet are set
... why don't they post him up more down low? ... remember, he's missed at
least 30 games in every season since 1996, so don't get TOO excited ... it's
terrifying to imagine this team without him for some reason.

(One thing to chew on for the trading deadline now that he's revived his
career: Stith is in the final year of his contract and could really help a
contender like the Lakers, Spurs, Jazz or Hornets. If the Celts ever want to
move a salary albatross like Anderson or Potapenko, Stith could help once
they're out of the playoff picture in February, assuming he's still healthy.
Check out www.realgm.com to make up trades like "Stith and Potapenko for Tom
Gugliotta. Back to the card...)

MILT PALACIO -- D-plus
Bonus points for Milt because I convinced my stepmom that his name was "Milt
Fellatio" for about 30 seconds during the Indiana game last week ... the
only NBA point guard I've seen this season who can't dribble the ball to
halfcourt if he's getting pressured ... his appearance in the Indiana game
brought back memories of Ollie in the state semifinals from Hoosiers ...
can't shoot either ... defensively, he's pretty good with those long arms
... should be gone within the next week.

(More bonus points for Milt: He inadvertently spawned the radio highlight of
the year when Kenny Anderson couldn't remember his name during the post-game
interview after the Denver game, calling him "Um, my sub, that guy, um...
number nine...")

WALTER MCCARTY -- D-minus
His confidence is pretty much battered at this point ... and so is ours ...
he looked poised to become a Bo Outlaw-type three years ago ...  not sure
why the wheels came off, but they did ... playing his way out of the league
... maybe he should concentrate on his jumpshot instead of his music.

PAUL PIERCE -- C
How long can we keep giving the Peep a free ride after the stabbing
incident? ... what happened to the guy who played so passionately and made
so many good things happen on the boards and on the defensive end? ... I
tackled all of the problems with Pierce in my last Celtics column and
nothing's really changed since ... he's also averaging 3.9 turnovers a game,
thanks to an inexplicable loss of ballhandling skills from time to time
(especially in traffic) ... on the bright side, he improved his scoring
(23.2 a night, 44% from three-point land) and finally tossed together a few
quality offensive games on the road ... Pitino clearly isn't pushing the
right buttons here ... not to sound harsh, but if the after-effects from
that incident at the Buzz Club caused the ballhogging, apathetic play,
shoddy defense and general pouting we've seen this season, then get this guy
to a therapist ... he's a splendid offensive talent and a potentially superb
two-way player ... it's up to him.

(Interesting point raised by my Dad today: "Maybe we're finally seeing the
real reasons why Pierce slipped to #10 in the draft.")

ERIC WILLIAMS -- C
Maybe the most frustrating player on the team ... you wonder why 1) they're
not posting him up down low and 2) he seems content to drift around the
perimeter shooting threes ... the only player on the bench with some
offensive pop (double figures in 7 of the past 12 games) ... I still think
he seems Cornbread-esque at times with those herky-jerky moves ... always
gives 100% defensively but gets lost in the press ... shaky ballhandler,
which makes it impossible to play him at guard ... an enigma.

ADRIAN GRIFFIN -- D-minus
Another mystery... he looked great during those first two months of last
season...

        G   MIN  FG% FT%  3P%  RB  AS  STL   PTS
Nov.  14  35.2  .541  .681  .429   7.9  3.9  2.4  11.4
Dec.  14   31.1 .450  .769   .222   7.6  3.3  1.6   8.7

...and somehow became abducted by aliens like Bert from "Soap" ... he's
apparently suffering from back problems, which would answer a lot of
questions if that's the reason he looks so
slow/plodding/ineffective/washed-up on the court this season ... they could
really use him for the second unit if he ever returns from the spaceship.

(Note: If AG turns out to be a Daubachian flash-in-the-pan -- contrary to
what I argued last season -- he'll be the third NBA player I was dead-wrong
about it in the past ten years. The other two? Miles Simon and Bo Kimble.
These 6-foot-5 guys always deceive me for some reason.)

JEROME MOISO -- D-minus
In retrospect, my column about him being such a bust may have been unfair,
for one reason: the 2000-1 rookie class was probably the least talented
group in recent memory ... it's not just him; everyone sucks ... with that
said, he really hurt the C's this season because he just wasn't ready to
play any meaningful minutes, which meant Twan had to log 40-44 minutes a
night ... you can see why scouts liked him because he jumps out of the gym
... if they can just get him to the point where he's not hurting them, they
can throw Moiso out for 3-4 minute stints in Walter's place and provide him
with some experience ... I still don't sense a rudimentary level of
basketball awareness from him -- he just runs around ... at least two years
away from being a meaningful contributor to this team, if ever.

DOUG OVERTON, RICK BRUNSON -- F
You almost felt bad for them watching them struggle out there with those
extra minutes. It was painful. I'm still waitinhg for Topps to come out with
that special edition "Crappy Celtics Backup Point Guards" set with the
limited edition gold-plated Dirk Minnefeld card in every 30,000 packs.

VITALY POTAPENKO -- F
Sometimes centers inexplicably lose it -- we saw it with Montross in '96 and
we're seeing it now. Check out these stats for V's career in Boston:

Year    G    Min   FG%  FT%   RB   PTS
98-99   33  28.1  .521  .547    7.2  10.8
99-00   79  22.7  .499  .681    6.3   9.2
00-01   21  19.8  .450  .605    5.1   6.9

What happened to this guy? He hasn't been the same player since he missed
those five free throws down the stretch of that 3/22 home game against the
T-Wolves -- a game which probably killed Boston's playoff hopes and helped
start that infamous 10-game losing streak. I'm telling you, it's been all
downhill since that game. He went from being an effective banger with a nice
jumper to being the Russian Joe Kleine. And if you think it's good that a
25-year-old center's stats have declined each year for the past three
years... well, you're wrong.

(And let's not even rehash that whole Cleveland trade again... let's just
move on... before I start banging my head against the desk...)

(I mean, we could have had Shawn Marion!)

(Uh-oh... I feel a seizure coming on...)

(Oh no...)

(ErrrrrrrrrrARGGGGGGGHHHHH! AHHHHHHHHHHHH! AHHHHHHHHH! ERGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!
AHHHHHHHH! AHHHHHHHHHHH!)

(ERRGGGGGHHHHHH!!!)

CHRIS HERREN -- Incomplete
Played a nice home game against the Wizards, helped the Celts to a W, hurt
his shoulder in practice the next day, struggled with it for two weeks and
finally called it quits last week. Now he's probably out for 2-3 months. Too
bad. He really could have given this team a spark with his shooting and
passing. To be continued. If you see him out on the town, don't buy him a
drink.

RANDY BROWN -- C-minus
He's already suffered 29 different nagging injuries in six weeks, and you
get the feeling he'll have 87 more before the season's over ... I'd almost
rather not have a player at all than have one of those guys who plays for
two weeks and disappears for two weeks ... once Kenny gets healthy, Brown
shouldn't play more than 15 minutes a game (to keep him healthy) ...
shockingly effective shooter this season (50%) ... hasn't helped the fast
break like we expected ... inspired defensive player when he's healthy,
which isn't often ... "healthy" is a recurring theme here ... one of the
worst ballhandlers this side of Milt Palacio, which doesn't matter because
Antoine brings the ball up anyway ... on the bright side, he's given the C's
leadership and charisma and you can see it when you attend the games.

(One Brown note: When he's bringing the ball up and getting pressured, he
goes to the behind-the-back dribble EVERY time. Seriously. Check it out.)

ANTOINE WALKER -- A-minus
Playing hard, playing well and logging huge minutes every night ... it's
hard to imagine how he doesn't make the All-Star team this season ...
averaged an astonishing 43.9 minutes a game in the six-game stretch before
the Bulls loss ... few players in the league do more for their team ...
submits 20-25 points and 9-10 rebounds almost every night ... practically
unstoppable if he's making that 18-footer ... still prone to taking dumb
shots and making those ill-advised highlight reel passes off the basket
support, but everyone has their faults ...he's only taken two games off all
season (last night's stinkbomb against the Bulls and the 11/7 game in
Toronto) ... it should be interesting to see how he adapts when Boston
starts playing the West Coast teams (and all those big power forwards) next
month ... I have to admit, just from the standpoint of being a fan, it's
been rewarding to watch Twan mature into a quality basketball player over
the past few years.

Until next time...