Re: Thoughts after the game (long)

[David A Wickerham <aw623@freenet.buffalo.edu>]

Good post, Mark.  I watched the game, too, and I came away with a more
positive feeling about Randy brown.  On the first play of the game, he
drove the lane, brought 3 defenders to himself, and made a beautiful
wraparound pass to Antoine for a bunny.  That set the tone, and until
Miskihi came in, the Cs were in total control of the game.  He and Antoine
seem to have a real feel for each other's game, and at least 3 of Walker's
assists came from passes to an open Brown out of a double team.  

The Hawks had 8 illegal defense calls against them, and Gorman pointed out
that Brown took advantage of defenders lack of understanding about the
rule to continually get the call.  I like a guy who makes those little
contributions to a victory.  

Randy had a ton of deflections, many of which led to Celtic steals.  On
one notable play he deflected the ball and then he and Stith dived on the
floor to cause a jump ball.  Sadly, Battie who was also near the play
never left his feet.  Brown certainly brought intensity.

Vitaly missed the first try of a 2 shoy foul in the first quarter.
Instead of giving him a hand slap, Randy got right in Vs face and
presumably told him that he was too good of a shooter to not concentrate
on the free throw.  Whatever he said, it worked, as V canned the 2nd shot.

Brown may not be able to give us more than 25 minutes a game, but I
thought he was fantastic while he was in there.

Antoine still trys to bull through 3 defenders too often, but he's really
trying to get everyone involved and has developed a much better mid range
jumper.  Also, his free throws looked real solid, and I could easily see
him top .750 in that category.

One last positive note...  In the 3rd quarter, Elliot thropugh a long pass
to Walker in the deep forecourt, and walker dropped it behind his back to
a hustling Vitaly I haven't seen that play since the late 80's.

It was just an exhibition game, but these Celtics were almost fun to
watch.

****dave

On Tue, 17 Oct 2000, Berry, Mark  S wrote:

> Very sloppy performance by both teams last night. A lot of new, young
> players on both sides. Toine clearly was the best player on the floor.
> 
> It's clear Pitino is sticking to his pledge to evaluate players in the first
> four games, which is smart. 
> 
> A few observations:
> 
> Toine really played well. He ran the floor, played under control most of the
> time and was thinking pass. He was the primary ballhandler and brought the
> ball up the floor when Randy Brown was in at the point. I like this for a
> number of reasons--it forces Toine to think about initiating the offense,
> forces him to give up the ball early and then move to incorporate himself
> back into the offense, and it takes some pressure off of Brown, who isn't a
> classic, natural point. I hope this is the way we see Toine play this
> season.
> 
> Randy Brown showed exactly what kind of player he is. He missed some open
> jumpers, and he isn't a gifted ballhandler like Kenny. We knew that. We also
> knew he would defend hard, think pass first and do all the dirty work good
> players do. He did all those things. Since the Celtics are blessed with a
> talented ballhandler at the forward spot in Toine, Brown's limitations don't
> seem so glaring (same as when he was with Pippen in Chicago). The guy is a
> much better complement to this team than Kenny, but he won't be able to
> handle much more than 25 mpg over the course of the season. Which brings us
> to...
> 
> Chris Herren. OK, the numbers aren't pretty (1 point, 5 turnovers), but a
> few of those TOs weren't his fault. He drove the lane twice on
> pick-and-rolls with Battie and twice laid the ball back for a rolling Battie
> and Tony was still standing at the foul line. Tommy H. made the point that
> the Celtics big men aren't used to getting the ball on those plays (zing
> Kenny) and once they realize Herren will make that pass, you'll see them
> rolling hard to the hoop. Of course, that implies active brain waves in Tony
> Battie's noggin... Anyway, even with a so-so debut last night, Herren
> convinced me he's good enough to make Kenny expendable. I believe I heard
> Mike Gorman say a knowledgeable basketball source told him that Herren has
> the best point guard instincts on the team, and that's true. The guy pushes
> the ball hard, passes upcourt and thinks pass first every time. He had a
> beautiful touch lob pass to Battie from the top of the key that Tony fumbled
> (surprise) before retrieving and laying it in. I'm sold on Herren. Let the
> guy learn his teammates and he could be a legit starting point guard.
> 
> Bryant Stith looks like he will send Chris Carr to the injured list. The guy
> defends hard and, unlike Calbert Cheaney, isn't afraid to take an open shot.
> He didn't always connect last night, but he's willing to shoot. If he can
> shake some rust off and stay healthy, he will play a lot.
> 
> Jerome Moiso didn't play much and didn't do a lot when he did play. He
> grabbed some tough rebounds and blocked at least one shot, although I don't
> know if he was credited for it. His only basket was a beauty. He faced up
> his defender at the top of the key, faked left, took one dribble to the
> right and pulled up for an 18-footer that he drained. I'll take that from a
> 7-footer any day. Plus, the guy just looks like he belongs out there.
> Remember Chauncey, when he came in and gave you that nagging feeling that
> he's just in over his head? Well Moiso isn't in over his head. I think we'll
> see him play some small forward this year.
> 
> Tony Battie actually was more active than usual, which isn't saying much.
> Still, if he just played like he did last night he'd have some value. Of
> course, we won't hear from him for two weeks.
> 
> Vitaly was solid, as usual. Nothing else really to say. He doesn't have good
> hands, so he isn't as effective as he should be on the pick and roll.
> 
> Eric Williams, if used properly, actually could fill a role on this team. If
> Pitino just inserted him to take advantage of a matchup against a slower
> small forward (Chris Crawford qualified last night), Williams would be fine.
> Isolate him and let him drive the lane and get to the line. But that's all
> he contributes. He has no idea how to move the ball. It stops when it
> reaches him so he can face up, jab step two or three times, drive and shoot
> or draw a foul. That's fine if you're isolating him in a mismatch, but too
> often he just cripples crisp ball movement. Anyway, he'd be a situational
> bench player in my rotation.
> 
> Pitino actually played that new point guard quite a bit last night (he's
> terrible). If I was the suspicious sort, I'd say the Celts were looking for
> a third-string point guard because they are planning to trade their
> incumbent starter. I mean, I think it's great foresight to have these guys
> in camp and let them learn the system in case they're needed because of an
> injury, but it seems odd that they'd take away preseason minutes from guys
> who will be here when the games count.
> 
> Mark Blount didn't play, and I didn't hear anyone say why.
> 
> Opposition player of note: Lorenzen Wright is much better than I thought. I
> had him pegged as a lumberer, but he's a big, solid guy who gets up and down
> the floor pretty well. If the Kenny-Lorenzen trade rumor has any validity at
> all, he would be a nice pickup and not just a way to dump Kenny.
> 
> Finally, I thought the press was effective tonight. Not sure how many
> turnovers they forced, but there were a few, and several times it forced
> Atlanta into rushing bad shots from players who shouldn't be shooting.
> That's as important as anything when evaluating the press.
> 
> To wrap up this ridiculously long post, I'd say I came away thrilled with
> the outcome of the Herren/Stith trade. That was the one thing I took away
> from last night's game. Encouraged by good Toine, and hoping his evil twin
> is locked away somewhere. Still a long way to go, but Pitino seems to know
> what he's doing in getting this team ready during the preseason.
> 
> Mark
> 
> 

-----------------------------------------------------------------
	  Dave Wickerham
	  aw623@freenet.buffalo.edu
	  Saratoga Springs, NY