Re: The door is open for the MAN

[Hironaka <j.hironaka@unesco.org>]

Neal R Hoffman wrote:

> I am a huge Pitino supporter, but as of this morning will finally face the
> fact that he will be gone in a few months and the team may be better for
> it.
>
> The question is, does Pitino walking leave room for Larry to come and
> scoop the team up from Gaston?  Would he consider coaching?  The way
> things are headed be could have 2 picks in the top 10 next year.  Maybe
> that and some motivation could get is to the middle of the awful eastern
> pack. (next year)
>
> I just wanted to offically start the Bird watch, things could get
> interesting.
>

Hi Neal:

Pitino could very well dispute or spin the scoop that McDonough made this
morning. McDonough has blown scoops before, such as the news that Red was
leaving to join the Knicks in the late 70s. Maybe Pitino just "threatened" to
quit to get a rise out of Antoine and the boys.

But IF Pitino said and meant what was reported, truly it seems to me he should
be credited for leaving the team in healthier cap shape and with three
first-rounders gift-wrapped on the doorstep for the next guy to come in. It
was the moves that got us those future picks, and Pitino's basic optimism,
that made me think for sure he would stay at least another year before calling
it quits.

He still might back out of the pledge if the Celtics start winning, which to
me is a plausible enough scenario (the Celtics winning), and if no good job
vacancies coincide with his leaving the pro ranks this Spring. I do feel
really bad for him. But I do think the Celtics will profit from going in a new
direction with a veteran NBA coach and GM. The Celts shouldn't be quite this
ineffective on defense, given their personnel in terms of athleticism/age
(which I would describe conservatively as just around "average" meaning maybe
somewhere near the top 15 teams, rather than near dead last every year). It's
a big handicap to overcome each night, giving up so many easy points every
night.

But FWIW Houston is actually almost as bad at defense right now as Boston,
giving up an ugly .461FG%. Maybe the Celtics can break out of their shooting
slump tonight. Olajuwon looks to be nearing the end of the road. In my mind he
was just a spectacular lowpost player back in his prime. I've never seen
anyone that deadly in terms of technique and power, like a combo McHale/Shaq,
and he's so intelligent as well. Steve Francis is turnover prone and not yet
an ideal point guard, although he should stick to it obviously. His numbers
this year look better to me than Iverson's. Rhode Island star Cuttino Mobley
is quietly developing into a borderline All Star. We've had a couple of game
where our backcourt has been overwhelmed by our opponents. On paper, this
could be one of those nights, although Stith's home game numbers are really
awesome and Herren has the fans behind him too. The Celtics have a nice pair
of bookend forwards when they are on. Moiso will be back tonight BTW.

Go Celts!

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