Mark, you probably know my feelings about Rick Pitino, but my immediate reaction to that ESPN article was that it was distractingly tasteless and unfunny. The author Frank Hughes could have made the same arguments without resorting to mean-spirited cheap shots and the constant "Little Ricky" jibes. I mean who the heck is Frank Hughes?
I would imagine that the hardest thing in the world for a public figure like Rick Pitino is to admit failure. I say this with sympathy. I feel he should be permitted to leave without losing face. He works very hard and he understands what the Celtics tradition is all about. Nevertheless, he should not postpone resigning for reasons of pride or ego etc.
In my opinion, Pitino fully realizes deep down that the Celts' league worst .473FG% symbolizes the failure of his system rather than his players. This statistic points more directly to the growing comfort level of opposing NBA teams who have faced Pitinoball over the past three seasons than to some problem with the hustle, talent and experience of the current Celts roster compared to the one of two seasons ago.
The system has failed the players, not vice-versa. Making the halfcourt traps work in the NBA probably requires a far superior level of team athleticism than what is feasible. I think there aren't any teams out there with the athletic superiority and stamina to make the Pitino system work at the NBA level as it was intended (even Portland or the Lakers would suffer if they used it). Dirk Nowitzki is just the latest example of a player wondering out loud why he was so "wide open" to take the three-point daggers that beat us. I don't think our Celts were dogging it at the end.
These wide-open open perimeter shots the Celts give up as the ball rotates would not be solved by adding a shot blocker. I think NBA players overall are just too good at handling and passing the ball to panic in the face of the halfcourt traps. It just hasn't worked. Pitino has already stopped blaming conditioning, weightrooms etc. The writing is on the wall.
Meanwhile our offense seems to remain both unsophisticated and inconsistent. The players aren't improving their communication and chemistry with one another at all as the season advances.
My interpretation is that there is too much information and preparation overload which muddles any focused effort to master the basics of team chemistry (eg fill the fast break lanes, learn where your teammates like to have the ball, repeat and refine the plays that work best for you etc.).
This is how Larry Bird plays and now coaches basketball. These are the types of things that develop over a season (or three seasons in our case) for most teams, but has not happened at all in the case of the Celtics.
Incidentally, I agree with the person (Bentz perhaps) who said that we list-members know about as much about basketball as exists in Pitino's pinkie nail. I'm merely stating my opinion as a basketball fan....not someone who has ever coached. I definitely don't agree, however, that another coach wouldn't (immediately) do a better job with this team. I'm convinced of this. The question is how to get Pitino to exit the stage gracefully and with the respect of Boston fans for all his efforts, which IMO he definitely deserves.
Joe
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Mark Estepp wrote:
The following 2 clips are from the ESPN article...
Pitino's bad situation deserves no sympathy
By Frank Hughes
Special to ESPN.com\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
Not that Little Ricky would bring a much better hairdo, considering he is hiding that bald spot about as well as Dick Versace used to. But he certainly would like to try.And Gaston does not want to do this pompous man any favors. He knows that Little Ricky is stewing in his own bile, knowing that his reputation as a basketball messiah is disappearing with every stupid shimmy dance by Antoine Walker, who for some reason thinks that making the All-Star game once in your career is akin to being Bill Russell.
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\Tactless and tasteless comments like this prove the article is not worth serious consideration. The hair comment is just stupid, and this guy obviously has not seen Walker play this season, or he would know the "shimmy" disappeared long ago. Pretty silly writing for a major sports magazine.