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Re: Good-bye draft picks - and future?



Thomas Murphy wrote: 

"I know that NBA players play throughinjuries all the time but I can't help
wondering if perhaps our players arepressured a bit much to come back too
quickly - in particular Anderson,Pierce and Griffin this season."

Are you kidding? If anything, it seems like Pierce takes longer than he
should to come back. I mean, players sprain ankles in this league all the
time, but not many take two weeks off and then come back and complain about
not being 100 percent for the next month. And Griffin, well, it looks like
his ankle sprain may be career-ending.

No, I think Pitino and the Celtics have been more than patient when it comes
to these injuries that would be "nagging" for most players but are crippling
for Pierce and Griffin. We have a team of soft-minded players with skills
(Pierce, Battie, Anderson, Cheaney) or tough-minded players without
(Fortson, Vitaly, McCarty, Williams). Then we have Toine, who is
tough-minded with skills, but not an ounce of basketball sense in his body.

What a group. I'm just glad we won't see it again next year.

One more thing: The one problem with Pitino's Philly/Toronto comparison is
the small fact that we don't have an Iverson or Vince Carter to build
around. Were Carter and Pierce really that close in the rookie of the year
race? You'd never know it now. Carter has developed into one of those
take-over-a-game types. Iverson is too. Pierce is too soft for that, and
either he, Antoine or both are gone after this season.

Mark