"The eye of the Tiger."

[JBMetzEA@aol.com]

    When you look into his eyes you see the determination and the craftiness. 
 Whether he was picking himself off the floor, after being knocked into the 
stanchion by a 275 pound opponent, after a drive to the hoop, or when he was 
hurled to the ground by an equally angered behemoth after boxing him out and 
pushing him into the stanchion.
    We saw Chris Herren's "A" game last night. Dish, drive to the hoop, drive 
and dish and the easy three point range when they backed off. Anderson played 
well last night, but the reason we won, were able to hold the lead, was when 
Kenny came out, there was no drop off. No loss in offensive flow. Herren 
scored when they gave him his spots or passed and found easy shots for our 
subs, early in the shot clock. For this reason we saw more perimeter
passing, finding the open man than I have seen in a long time.
    When we traded Pack there was some concern. We knew Pack had NBA talent, 
but didn't know about Herren. The concept was right. We didn't need three 
injury prone point guards, all at the same stage of their career; but a young 
one, who would sit comfortably for a year or two, until Anderson faded away, 
was worth taking a chance on. What was Dan Issel thinking? 
    Remember this was the Bulls. There was no Stephon Marbury or Sam Cassell 
here. Will Herren be quick enough to defend these guys? Not sure, but I have 
the feeling that if they blow by him, they will pay a price. A bloody nose? A 
blackened eye? He has that look. No one will take his lunch money in the 
school yard.
    Obviously; we, the fans, the Celtic faithful, will love this kid. Win or 
lose, Herren will put on a show for us every night. The surprising thing, is 
how his teammates beamed at his success. When he came off the floor after his 
run in the second quarter, hitting a couple of threes and finding easy shots 
for his teammates, they were all there to greet him. No one had a bigger 
smile that Antoine. When he came off after a timeout in the second half,
Kenny Anderson was smiling ear to ear, hugging him and taking him aside for 
some comments. 
    This team is tired of losing. I saw that tonight, Herren gave them the 
potential to break the bad habits of selfish play, instead of being jealous 
or worrying about their points and minutes, they embraced the kid's success 
and rallied around his toughness, to become a team. 
    Chris Herren is a leader. A real leader, by example. It won't take all 
that long for him.
JB
                                                         
    Unchain my heart!