Re: Celtics "defense"

[opi@unesco.org]

Roy Enrile wrote:

> You listed V's jumpshot and Fortson's weakside offensive rebounding as an
> advantage them being starters, but the problem is defense not offense.
> Danny has not been allowed to play alongside V all year for good reason.
> They'd be slow, foulprone, and bad as a defensive tandem.
>
> It would be smart to have either Battie or Pervis in the lineup with
> one of the bruisers at all times.  Locking up with interior D would have
> easily gotten the C's past recent scrub teams.  The Knicks for example are
> not more talented than the C's but when it's money time, they have Camby
> to start their gritty D.
>
> Besides no shotblocking threat among the regulars, the other problem that
> isn't being talked about is the loss of AG.  The Celts can stay close to
> most teams till the end, but many times Griffin is the difference, with
> stops and boards in the final minutes.  Since Kenny has more of a scorer's
> mentality than Chauncey ever did, the team looks smoother with Adrian
> on the floor.

That may well be true Roy, but in my own opinion the Celts could effectively
start two bruisers of a near Laimbeer/Mahorn caliber in Vito and Fort,
provided they play straight, basically gimmick-free defense.

Again you may be right, but I don't see why the Celts shouldn't at least try
it (with Griffin temporarily out of the picture anyway). I'd love to see our
starters set an aggressive and distinct tone for our team (read: "think twice
on those easy layups" and "you better not miss because we are going to box you
out and get to that board"). This way, we can have nothing but roadrunners on
the second outbreak unit (anchored by the shotblocking Battie/Pervis duo or
Battie alone), instead of including one dilluting "weak" athletic link in
either Fortson or Vitaly. Two basic units to prepare for, each posing a
distinct threat. It's like preparing for both a fastball and a changeup.

Personally Vitaly doesn't strike me as particularly slow for a true center
(compared to say Pervis or Kevin Willis or Ewing etc) unless you direct him
out in open spaces trying to switch and trap instead of guarding just one man.
He's relatively pale-faced, so I guess that's part of where the bias lies. I
guess you'd have to see their 40-yard sprint times to know more. Olajuwon in
his prime had the quickest footwork I'd ever seen.

I guess Fortson may well be a step slower than Silas, Oakley, Mailman or Brand
(the types of players I'd like him to model himself after). I don't know,
because I've never seen ANY of those guys actually sprint. Again, I'm not
really convinced you need to. There's only 92 feet to cover.

Go Y2K Celts! (Let's get some payback tonight)

Joe

p.s. to whom it might interest, here's a picture of me discussing a favorite
subject (the Celts) during "story time" with my son.
http://members.xoom.com/_XMCM/Hironaka/lololola.htm

****