Re: change, change, change

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

Thank you Venkat.  Sheesh.  I don't know how that conclusion could be drawn
by Mark without mentioning us but I'll agree with his assessment save for
the trade proposition.

Cecil

----- Original Message -----
From: Sampath, Venkatesh <Venkatesh.Sampath@microcell.ca>
To: 'Berry, Mark S' <berrym@BATTELLE.ORG>; <celtics@igtc.com>
Sent: Monday, January 31, 2000 6:34 PM
Subject: RE: change, change, change


> At the risk of stealing Cecil's thunder from him, may I point out that he
and I beg to differ when you say that "we're all being impatient." Neither
Cecil nor I have had any hesitation in counselling patience - to the point
where we've probably lost whatever credibility we had as Celtics fans.
>
> If the solution to every problem a player on the current Celtics' roster
has is to trade him for one that doesn't have that particular problem; then,
by mere trading, we should be able to win the Championships. Team-building,
getting players to learn one another's strengths and weaknesses (in short,
to get the players to jel) are of no account then.
>
> Yes, this is a young and immature team. Yes, there will be swings - 3 or 4
winning streaks followed by 5 or 6 losing streaks - especially on the road.
Yes, there will be occasions when, on the road, we blow 20 point leads and
lose the game in the fourth quarter. Only by sheer dint of experience will
this bunch of youngsters learn that there is no substitute for showing up
night after night, ready to play.
>
> But what keeps me coming back to this bunch even after the worst losses?
The fact that there is talent in this crop. Pierce, Anderson, Griffin,
Walker and Potapenko - sounds a lot better than Todd Day, Billups, Mercer,
Dino Radja, DeClerq, Montross, Acie Earl ........
>
> venkat
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Berry, Mark S [mailto:berrym@BATTELLE.ORG]
> Sent: 31 January 2000 13:40
> To: 'celtics@igtc.com'
> Subject: change, change, change
>
>
> Took some time to really think about the Celtics this weekend and came to

> the conclusion that we're all being impatient. We keep pointing to all the
> thing that are wrong with this team, but the truth is, the one real
problem
> is we can't win on the road. No, we don't play great defense or always
take
> good shots, but we're pretty damn good at home. We're terrible on the
road.
>
> What does that tell us? I think it says we're young and immature. Maybe
our
> guys don't take care of their bodies quite as well as they should. They
> certainly could stand to be more professional. But those problems aren't
> solved by drastic changes in personnel or coaching. Those are solved with
> experience. Next year, if we play this way at home and improve to say a
.400
> winning percentage on the road, we'll be the talk of the league.
>
> I'm all for a little tinkering if it will make us better now or in the
long
> run (a Fortson trade, maybe), but I hope we don't give up on Toine now.
> We're close to putting this together. This team is learning some hard
> lessons right now away from home. It's taking longer than we'd all like,
but
> it will sink in. When it does, we're on our way.
>
> Mark
>
> P.S. Anyone else think the talk of Walker to Indy for Rose and Harrington
> might be Pitino's way of bringing in our PG of the future? That's where
Rose
> wants to play (and where I think he's best). I hope it doesn't happen, but
> it wouldn't shock me.
>