Re: Thoughts on the disappointing Celtics

[opi@unesco.org]

Alex Wang wrote:

> A note on one of the more common criticisms. There have been
> quite a few people who believe that fronting the post is a bad
> coaching decision. In fact, the Miami Heat who have great inside
> defenders in Mourning and PJ Brown front the post (and subsequently
> trap) almost always, according to Hubie Brown and Jack Ramsay, as
> well as what I've seen of the Heat on TNT/TBS. It's not some sort
> of weird Pitino innovation, it's really a standard defensive move.

Oh c'mon Alex. Mourning and PJ are uncommonly mobile and quick athletes -
two the quickest pound for pound. They are the exact opposite of
Potapenko, who carries at least 30 extra pounds of muscle than those
guys. If you make Potapenko switch and trap, he will look at his very
worst and he'll continue to give up those 8-10 or 15-20 games to the
Shaqs and Mournings of the world. But if you ask Vitaly to try to use
leverage to body up and deny ideal position in the paint (without
reaching in or grabbing too much), at least he can say "yeah coach, I can
do that!" and have a fighting chance. In this sense, Potapenko is not in
the right system presently.

One reason the Celts are not on pace to match the on-paper less talented
36-win Celts team is that this year's club has fewer "outbreak" defenders
at key positions like McCarty and Chauncey, not to mention three veterans
of the Pitino-system from Kentucky. A lot of our present players were
necessary additions to an NBA team but don't necessarily belong on a
Pitino-coached NBA team. As hard and as sincerely as they still play (and
as little as they gripe), they are making fools of themselves and can see
with their own eyes that they are routinely mismatched, out of position,
and giving up easy or open baskets. Although the Celts are still holding
very steady in 28th place in opposing FG% allowed (.470), you can make
the case that the only team still worse than us (Vancouver) will
eventually catch up under their new coach.

Having a dominant defensive center would certainly help, but this
inarguably wasn't necessary for the vast majority of NBA championship
teams since 1986. Some of the blame has to go to the Pitino (and Hubie
Brown) system and his lack of flexibility as a coach compared to Pat
Riley.

My sense is that Pitino is not going to leave town without having
"finished the job" and that Gaston will help him by refusing to forfeit
such a huge loss on his original investment. So I suggest that it will be
the players who get the axe. Get ready for a return to rebuilding mode
next year with more monkey outbreak style runners and more monkey
business.

Things with only turnaround if Pitino shows more flexibility and less
dogma. The reason V was having a career game against was because that is
team is a certifiably weak defensive team. But when he picked up his
third foul early in the third period, Pitino's apparent reaction was
"Yikes! He's surpassed his 23 minute per game quota!!!" Hence Pots ended
up rusting on the bench nearly 13 minutes during what turned out to be a
15-point swing in favor of Vancouver. With just three fouls, Pitino could
have at least started Vitaly at the beginning of the fourth quarter
instead of waiting until there were 8 minutes left in the game.

****