Re: 1st post

[Dan Forant <dforant1@nycap.rr.com>]

Said eloquently, and with the proof to back up the words. You voice the
opinions of 
all sides in this mail group. I also believe it will take another draft and
trades and or a combination of the two before things start to happen.
Welcome to the mail group.

At 10:18 AM 1/15/00 -0600, you wrote:
>since the season started.
>
>I would like to offer up a few observations which may or may not provide
>fodder for further discussion.  I will preface these observations by
>stating that I've only watched on tv 3 or 4 games, the most recent being
>the TWolves game on 1/13/00. I have, however, listened to several others
>on internet radio and follow fairly closely the discussions on this
>list. I am a long time Celtics fan with roots as a young kid to the mid
>60s end of the Russell dynasty era with fond memories of his last 4
>championships. To me the Celtic pantheon is the most hallowed in team
>sports with close competition from the Yankees.  In my book Red Auerbach
>gets the head chair at the table closely followed by Russell, Bird,
>Cousy, and Havlicek.  Everyone else fits in there somewhere.  Just so
>you know my perspective and my bias.
>
>Ownership/Management/Coaching:  It all starts here with leadership,
>philosophy and organizational tone.  What does the organization stand
>for?  How does it go about achieving its goals?  How does it deal with
>crisis?  And so on.  It appears that the current goal of this team is to
>make the playoffs.  This is the wrong goal.  It may be fine for the
>Hawks or Pistons or Cavaliers but not for the Celtics.  It should be the
>stated, publicized, and often repeated goal of this team to win the NBA
>championship.  With Pitino's "playoffs in 3 years" statement you almost
>get the feeling that if he does that he'll be satisfied and that perhaps
>he doesn't think he can win the title.  I  think the "and contending for
>the title in 5" was added on to sound good. At the time of his hiring I
>was confident yet cautious.  I was happy that the organization took the
>step to bring in a respected, well paid president/coach to run the
>team.  This sent a message to everyone that the Celtics meant business.
>I liked the fact that there was one person ultimately responsible for
>the performance of the team. That was nearly 3 years ago. Now, in
>hindsight, a lot is made of the Tim Duncan disappointment, and a big one
>it was but, it can't be used as an excuse because excuses don't mean
>sh*t.  The Celtics still had 2 picks in the first 6.  Looking over the
>list of picks maybe they did the best they could but maybe they could
>have packaged those picks in a trade.  I know that hindsight is
>generally 20/20 but my point is that Pitino has to take responsibility
>for his decisions. The current roster aside from Pervis and Barros is
>the result of his decisions.  This leads my discussion to the talent.
>
>Talent: This is the area in which much of the list discussion is
>focused.  Do we have the "right" players?  Who should get the playing
>time?  What positions should Antoine be playing? Who should we trade?
>Etc. The problem in this area stems from leadership.  I get the
>impression from the games and list discussions that the team doesn't
>really know its roles.  Granted Fortson started out the year on IR and
>Pierce was out for awhile and now Griffin is down.  Injuries are part of
>the game in every sport.  One could make the case that our injuries have
>had a larger impact on the season because this was a team with so many
>new faces. Still, players must know their role and what's expected of
>them and I don't think this is true with this current squad.  I think
>that Pitino needs to tell each player exactly what is expected of him,
>what he needs to do to help the team win,  how much pt to expect and so
>on.  I am not the coach or involved in the operation of the team but I
>want to see how this team looks when we see extended minutes from
>different combinations of players such as: Walker, Potapenko & Fortson;
>Walker, Battie, & Fortson; Williams, Battie, & Potapenko, etc.  How do
>these combinations work best and in what situations?  What exactly do we
>want from Walker?  Should he post up most of the time, when should he
>step outside for jumpers, etc? and the same for the all the other
>players.  I personally don't think we have the overall talent to win a
>title.  We may have a few pieces but right now I liken the current
>situation to one in which a jigsaw puzzle is opened and most of the
>pieces are still mixed up.   I agree with those who preach patience,
>afterall no young team is going to gel in one season, but it's easier to
>be patient when progress is being made and I don't see progress.  My
>overall impression of the talent is that we've got to move some people
>out and bring in at least one topline player.  It may mean overpaying
>from our perspective but we have no superstars on this team, none.  I
>still hold out hope for Walker and Pierece but... the clock is ticking.
>We need one bona fide big man like a KG, Duncan, Shaq, Wallace to build
>around-it doesn't have to be a center but it needs to be a big guy who
>can get it done-rebounding, defense, points. (It could even be a combo
>of 2 big guys and that's why we need to decide if any of our big men
>combos work.) Rick has to determine who that guy will be and then figure
>out a way to get him.  Surround him with some solid players some of whom
>are probably already on the team, and a  key veteran presence and let's
>make a run in 2000-01 and 01-02.  The future is now.  I guess that means
>trading Walker, picks and whoever else gets dealt. (Ideally we go for
>Duncan and keep Pierce or Walker if possible but we may end up dealing
>both!)  Kenny can man the point for now if we can bring in someone to
>tutor and back him up.  There's got to be a way to get who we need.
>(We've done it in the past and it needs to get done now. It's Pitino's
>job to figure out who to get and how to get him.)
>
>The System: Keep It Simple, Stupid.  Simple works best.  Set plays that
>become routine, automatic.  In the final seconds of the 7th game you
>need to know that Bird (or S Jones, or Havlicek, or JoJo) will hit that
>jumper off the screen or McHale will get the up and under for 2 and 1.
>We do not have a go to guy(s) and we do not have go to plays.  The lack
>of a go to guy is the lack of talent.  It is possible that Pierce or
>even Walker could become a go to guy, but the coach needs to develop
>them into one.  He has to say, "look, here's your best moves, let's
>figure out how to get you in the position to use those moves to get
>points in crunch time." The lack of go to plays is the result of
>coaching. What plays do we run over and over that will get us good looks
>and good opportunities to score?  Defense and rebounding are what win it
>all.  Everyone knows it--Russell said it first.  It's fine to have a
>variety of defenses to throw at an opponent from time to time but team
>defense works best and it starts with a presence in the middle.  Same
>with rebounding.  Everybody rebounds, everybody defends.  That's our
>mantra. Basketball is not that difficult, it is the repetition of a
>limited number of successful plays on offense and  a commitment to
>defense and rebounding.  The coach needs to define and teach: this is
>what  we want to do, this is how we do it.  The team executes the
>coach's instruction.  If a player won't do it, he sits.  If he can't do
>it, he goes.  It's that simple.  Talent wins, but it's well coached
>talent that wins.
>
>Conclusion: I will continue to be a Celtics fan.  There is no chance of
>me jumping ship.  My loyalty requires a commitment. If Pitino/Gaston
>can't get it done and show me some solid progress over the next season
>and a half ( maybe less for Pitino ) I say get the hell out and sell to
>someone who knows what he's doing.  Can someone spell Jordan?  Yeah I
>know many will say what?!? the hell is this guy talking about !?!? It
>won't happen in Boston, BUT if MJ buys into the Wizzards how long do you
>think it will be before they're in the Finals? I say 5 years.  Ok, I've
>been long winded and rambling and I don't have many answers but I was
>downright depressed after the TWolves game.  Things have got to change.
>It may mean sinking even lower (how much lower can we sink?) before we
>rise again but I believe the Celtics will win another string of
>championships and at least one more before Red passes. I hope to god
>he's got another ace up his sleeve and another 20 years to live.
>
>Bob
>
>
>