Re: KA & KA Jr.

["Jim Meninno" <Jim_Meninno@hotmail.com>]

----- Original Message ----- From: Hironaka <j.hironaka@unesco.org>

> But if you've watched games last season and honestly saw Kenny regularly
 > passing
> up easy assist opportunities to jack up a jumpshot, or deliberately
slowing down
> a fast break opportunity, then as much as I'd like to believe that is true
I'd
> have to say you were watching from a different twilight zone. The Kenny I
saw
> had very few genuine assist opportunities and also very few turnovers.
Like I
> said, he was doing what it sounds like Brown was doing the other night,
and what
> Pitino demanded of him.

Hi Joe,

The other night in Atlanta the Celtics had a fast break which should be
completely routine.  It was a 2 on 1, where Antoine had the ball.  He drove
to the point where the defender comitted to him, then laid a bounce pass
down to Eric Williams, I think, who was filling the lane on the other side
of the floor.  It was not a great play, nor was it a difficult play, but it
was noteworthy because it is a play the Celtics haven't been making for
years.  Kenny Anderson doesn't make that play.  Kenny Anderson takes the
ball to the hole, possibly scores, possibly gets fouled, possibly Eric
scores on a putback, but the one thing that wouldn't happen is the thing
that should, and that's what happened the other night.  Does that mean that
replacing Kenny with Brown and Herren means that this team will be instantly
converted into a slick passing, fast breaking team?  Probably not, but I
think when you stop and think about it, it's absolutely outrageous that the
Boston Celtics' starting point guard does not make plays like that by
default.

I've been trying to digest what's gone on in the past few days around Kenny.
I've been considering what Pitino's motives were in saying what he said
about Kenny.  No doubt, Pitino often uses this kind of public commentary to
motivate players to play harder/smarter/better.  I'm sure there was an
element of this at work, but I still believe that Rick knows that this team
is more effective with a point guard who is more adept at creating
opportunities for others (I'll grant you that Kenny doesn't pass up assist
opportunities per se, but he doesn't exactly create them, either).  My only
explanation is that he knows how hard it would be to move Kenny, and how
ugly it could get if he were stuck here, on the bench, earning 7-9 million
dollars for the next three years.

Jim