Hawks-Celts; thoughts on lineups (long)

[Kestutis.Kveraga@dartmouth.edu (Kestutis Kveraga)]

--- You wrote:
I don't know of a more important time to have a terrible game than
last night.  I was getting worried about too many wins in pre-season. 
We needed a loss and, in fact, two are better than one.  We're not as
good as Orlando, yet, and we're capable of being beaten by the worst
team in the league, Atlanta.  Those are good lessons before the season
begins.
--- end of quote ---

My own (charitable) interpretation of last night's loss was that Pitino was looking (Phil  Jackson-style) to see how certain players would respond in crunch time. I really hope  he was, because some of the people he had on the floor at the time just didn't make sense to me, if one was going for the win (as Pitino had promised he would). 

Kenny - Mr. Stagnation. The only way he should be on the floor in the last 2 minutes of close games is when you have only Barros and Overton backing him up. We now have better options. This is going to be interesting to watch - will Pitino have the balls to sit his buddy down when we need to clinch a win? 

Vitaly - how can you play 18 minutes and not have a single rebound? If you have no talent, that's how. That's the worst part - it's not his fault. He tries really hard, fighting for nearly every rebound, but he just can't get it. The only way he gets a rebound is by clearing all other rebounders out of his area so it basically falls into his lap, or if the guys he's fighting are much shorter. He simply can not rebound in traffic; even if he lays his hands on the ball, the other guys just take it away from him. It's a combination of things - being "short" for a 6-10 guy, non-leaper, probably small hands, and certainly poor motor control of his arms, hands, and fingers. He could not catch a pass for a foul line jumper at the end of the game last night, and lost several rebounds anyone else in his position would've gotten. It's painful to watch, really, knowing that not much can be done about it. Contrast it with the amazing ease with which Moiso gets a rebound in a much more difficult rebounding position (7 rebs. in 12 minutes). Pot's only hope is to develop fabulous timing, and superb box-out skills. When these things fall in place and the conditions are right (no tall leapers), he can get us 8-10 rebounds. If only his work ethic could be married to Moiso's amazing physical abilities... 

McCarty - we all know what Wallah can do - launch the ball sideways, make stupid passes that get intercepted more often than not, and occasionally make a nice hustle play on defense. 

In any case, these aren't the guys you want out there when you really need good execution and to clean up on the boards. 

IMO, Kenny and Pot should both play with the second unit - they play off each other well, Vitaly would do better against opponent second units, and Kenny would get to call his own number a lot and dump it off to Pot for a J when he's closed down (although, in his mind, he can't be closed down). Moiso would fit in with them well for now, nicely compensating for the aforementioned weak points of Vitaly. Carr could provide some offense on the wings, and Williams can create his offense down low without a PG, which is what having Kenny  - a 2-guard in disguise - amounts to. Perhaps Kenny and Randy could play SG-PG occasionally, against smaller lineups, and switch on defense (if we weren't impersonating headless poultry at the time).

As for the first unit, beyond the obvious "locks" of Walker and Pierce, the following 5 should be rotated in depending on the matchups: Battie, Blount, Griffin, Brown, Herren. If we needed more size, Blount and Battie would play at C and PF - Walker is mostly playing SF nowadays anyway. If the opponent had a small, mobile lineup, or a star at SF, Griffin should be play SF. If more offense was needed, Herren should be preferred over Brown, and vice versa if more defense was needed at the PG spot. I believe these players, in proper combinations, would have a nice balance of offense, defense, rebounding and shotblocking. 

Stith should be closer to the second unit but might crack the first, depending on Pitino's idiosyncrasies and on whether he can show enough on offense to beat out Griffin. McCarty - IL, unless someone has a real injury. Anyway, these are my "ideal" units for now, given the state of the team. Pitino might have wildly different ideas - maybe the same small, defensively weak, unathletic first unit of Pot, Walker, Griffin, Pierce and Kenny, with McCarty playing a prominent role, and Moiso stashed on IL. I really hope that Moiso gets to play a lot, because he's literally more talented physically than anyone on the team, and needs to make his mistakes, and learn. If his basketball abilities ever catch up to his physical abilites, watch out!
Kestas