Re: My take of the first two games

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

    One of the local papers noted in passing that Walker got minutes at small
forward last night. The Pitino veteran McCarty has been in the starting lineup so
far and I think we can view him sort of as a 6-11 230 pound proxy who will have
to step aside for Moiso once the real games start. Walker/Moiso 2000 is a clear
upgrade over Walker/McCarty 1997, provided Walker's rebounding numbers don't
continue their yearly decline (we really need rebounds this year).

    Tim Duncan's quote about Moiso's game was obviously very, very positive news,
although Duncan might not grasp basketball the way our own Way Ray does. :-) In
any case, I'll again throw the question out there for those who watched the game:
was Moiso putting up those numbers against Duncan/Robinson or against Spanki
Walker and Danny Fairy, both of whom I noticed got a lot of minutes?

    One more thing. Pitino said in today's paper that Pierce's position on the
court would depend not on him but on who else wins the playing time. He
specifically said that if Eric Williams plays well, then Pierce will be a guard.
If Chris Carr plays well, then Pierce will play more forward. Sadly, no mention
at all of Adrian Griffin, our smartest Celtics player in years and the most
well-rounded and productive swingman in the East over the first two months of
last year. This nagging foot injury, more serious than previously reported, seems
to have turned him into a very ordinary basketball player with below average
speed or mobility. That would really be a big loss to this year's team (and team
chemistry) compared with last year.

----

DJessen33@aol.com wrote:

> With the play of Moiso, I have renewed hope for the Celtics. You see, Pitino
> looks at him as a small forward and will play him with Walker. Moiso brings
> alot of shotblocking and rebounding with a little bit of offense to the game.
> We can say he is playing the 3 spot but really it is Walker that is playing
> the 3 since Moiso is giving the output of a 4. This is something I have been
> begging for years--to put Walker at the 3 spot. Did you see how we came back
> in the second quarter when he had a lineup of Moiso, Walker and VP in there?
>
> Here is my lineup for the start of the season:
>
> Anderson  Brown  Herron
> Pierce      Stith     Carr
> Walker   Williams
> Moiso    Battie
> VP        Blount
>
> IJ  = Griffen, McCarty
>
> Other comments:
>
> Anderson looks really out of shape. He continues to only look for his own
> shot... Griffen also looks really slow... Carr looks terrible and out of
> shape.... Battie hasn't improved at all. I would play Blount instead of
> him...McCarty is as bad as he ever was...VP looks totally buffed and would be
> a great addition to the Heat or the Blazers. Unfortunately, the Celts don't
> know how to use him offensively....So far, Walker has been passing and his
> outside jumper may have improved... I am anxious to see my starting 5
> together or Brown playing instead of Anderson...
>
> DJessen33