Re: Magic game

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

> >>>The reason we may have looked good at times if because the Magic aren't
> >>>interested in defensive skills in pre season. WE ARE. At least we think we
> >>>are.

    If you watch the Magic last year, I don't think you'll find a team more
admirable in its defensive intensity. Doc Rivers coached that undertalented,
undersized, slowish team to the number one ranking in turnovers caused, a 5th
place ranking in steals and a 9th place ranking in FG% allowed at .445. The last
stat (FG%) is the most impressive one by far given their lack of any center
(Amaechi averaged a puny 3.3 rebounds and 0.43 blocks as the center and leading
scorer on the frontline).

    This wasn't a fluke or just misleading statistics, it was actually something
you could appreciate just by watching that team. No team in the NBA dives for
loose balls or overachieves on defense like the Magic do, as personified by guys
like Bo Outlaw and Darrell Armstrong.

    The main reason (maybe the only reason) the Magic dumped the rookie salary of
Corey Maggette (in theory, a massive offensive talent) and spent a fortune on a
similar athlete like McGrady is because Maggette was far less committed than his
teammates to executing good, well-coached, hustle defense. He wasn't, and isn't,
bad on offense, but he did not meet Doc's standards on defense. I think people
forget just how pathetic the talent level on that gutted team was at the start of
training camp last year. It was a bunch of CBA and retread headcases with random,
generic athletic types that would have driven Pitino to tears (from slow and
creaky like Doleac, Harpring, Garrity, Strong) to clutzy on offense (Ben Wallace
and Outlaw shot .474 and .506 from the FT line respectively) to overachievers
with non-NBA bodies like Amaechi, Armstrong and Atkins. These weren't the scrubs,
this was the rotation that played (along with Mercer and Maggette).

    If Pitino had that mishmash of athletes to work with last year, even I would
be helping to lead our chorus of excuses that it wasn't Pitino's fault the Boston
Celtics put such a pitiful defense on the floor. I also personally don't see why
not Doc Rivers couldn't  have worked with some of our unathletic, bigmen last
year like Vitaly. And when commentators criticize the coach for a lack of
development over three years in the inside-outside postup game (Heinsohn) or
about the regular double-teaming of scrubs down low according to system rules
(Maxwell) these constitute direct criticisms of a coaching system. It is a system
that takes clear precedence over individual player matchups (and mismatches) on
defense. And it is a system that competes with other NBA offenses that in the
mind of coaches/commentators (Heinsohn) have worked in the past.

    My take on the current debate is that everytime I've watched the Pitino-Lobel
Show (it's a shame if it was in fact cancelled) or Pitino in his postgame
interview, I am as impressed as anyone on this list at how knowledgeable he is,
how readily the relevant game stats jump out of his mouth (like he has a
photographic memory), and I even happen to like that he is so strong on positive
reinforcement and deflecting criticism away from his players. This is a guy who
works 18 hours a day at his job. You can see in his face during the postgame
interviews how much he cares.

    Now when you have a system that objectively isn't working (and even arguably
regressing despite an increase in player talent and experience with the system),
you either respond by replacing all your non "system athletes" and assuming that
"conditioning" was the real culprit these past years, or you move as an entire
organization away from the failed system. Pitino has made a clear and simple
choice and I think he's entitled to it. I really do.

    But I also think every individual has a perfect right to debate whether or
not it is appropriate to throw grease on the frypan rather than remove the frypan
from the flame. What last year a conditioning problem? Was it Fortson's fault?

    What is happening right now is akin to buying more shares in a stock you own
because it has just tanked to an attractively-priced all-time low. Sometimes this
works out for investors, but I also think it is only appropriate for people to
examine evidence from the past season's performance themselves rather than just
listen to what the CEO tells you should do with your money. If instead you base
your faith on listening in on the CEO conference call (the rough equivalent of
watching the "Pitino Show"), I believe it is just as easy to get seduced into
feeling management is more on top of things and has covered all the bases. You
end up thinking "hey these guys sound more articulate and professional as
managers than I expected and would never make myopic, tunnel-vision decisions,
and besides what could possibly give us the right or temerity to complain or
voice doubt?" Here I'm kind of echoing what Kestus said earlier. I agree with him
on this one.

    Like Alex I don't think I've EVER heard any coach criticize the coaching of a
peer, nor could I imagine how this could be in their interests. But there are
criticisms of the system out there, plain and simple. A system by nature means
forgoing or deemphasizing other possible solutions even if you are aware of them,
so it really  just doesn't work for me to hear that Pitino knows everything there
is to know about basketball and so we should all just quit whining and pretending
we could possibly know better. I may agree with Alex halfway on this issue
(absolutely, give Pitino another year), but I don't like being cowed into total
faith or criticized for, in essence, having the temerity to harbor my doubts.

    I don't know if there is a growing level of annoyance on this list with
critics of the system like me, Kestus, Forant and so on. There probably is.
Negativity sucks. But look, I was off in my prediction by 11 wins last year and
12 the year before and I guess my point is I really, really want Pitino to
succeed, but  I don't know how any of you guys can look at the final two or three
months of the last season (with an easy and home-heavy schedule and everyone
finally healthy) and not feel totally wrecked by the experience.

    Boston was just one game out of the playoffs on March 19.  Walker (contrary
to revisionist views) was playing the most unselfish and productive basketball of
his life (over the last 26 games he led Pierce and the team in steals with 1.96,
he led Kenny and the team in assists with 5.4 and of course he led the team in
rebounds with 8.8 while shooting .491 on two-point attempts and attempting fewer
shots than in the previous months or years). In the final month of the season,
Antoine further boosted his numbers to a Kevin Garnett-esque 6.2 assists and 2.1
steals per game. Quietly, he became perhaps the best (but still most hated in
Boston) forward in the NBA for the first time over such an extended stretch of
games. That's great. Meanwhile Pierce also played in all 26 games in that stretch
and solidified the future hopes for our dynamic duo (maybe the youngest combo in
the league to combine for a season average of 40 points per game or better).
Pierce poured in over 20 points per game and constributed 2.8 assists in March,
and he also shot a blistering .513 from the field in April.

    Do you remember when these two guys poured in a combined 68 points, 16
boards, 8 assists and 5 steals in the key game against Detroit (Potapenko chipped
in 14 rebounds), and yet our headless chickens STILL lost the game by giving up
56.3 FG% in the game? How can any fan not feel a little disillusioned with the
defensive gimmicks that have shortcircuited a great, even career, effort by our
franchise players?

    Despite the best efforts of the Celtics they still crashed and burned in the
final stretch thanks IMO to the Poultrino headless chicken defense. You're one
game out of the freaking playoffs, everyone is hungry and playing with a team
spirit with some genuine leadership from Antoine, and yet they went on a
deflating 5-11 record from that point on to close out the season (and most of
those wins came at the end after we eliminated ourselves). Half of those 16 games
were also at home and the toughest of ANY opponent in terms of won-loss
percentage was an injury-depleted Phoenix, so we as fans litterally went into
every game day believing it was "winnable".

    You had the same crash and burn the Spring before and the Spring before that.
Look, maybe one reason the NBA coaching fraternity doesn't criticize Pitino is
because they enjoy so much facing the Boston Celtics later in the season, and
also in the final two minutes of a game when well-coached NBA teams actually
execute their go to plays. Teams actually can do this. We just don't realize it,
because we've been watching nothing but Poultrino-ball for three years. All you
can mostly hope for is a sequence of three-point prayers from Walker or Pierce.

    I just wasted a whole lunch hour on this. Back to work. Sorry to rant.


Joe

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