RE: Hawks-Celts; thoughts on lineups (long)

[OzerskyJA <OzerskyJA@cmog.org>]

This is an excellent lineup, the best I've seen so far.  Forward it to 
Pitino immediately!

Josh Ozersky	
Marketing Communications Specialist 
Corning Museum of Glass

> -----Original Message-----
> From:	Kestutis.Kveraga@dartmouth.edu [SMTP:Kestutis.Kveraga@dartmouth.edu]
> Sent:	Wednesday, October 25, 2000 11:36 AM
> To:	celtics@igtc.com
> Subject:	Hawks-Celts; thoughts on lineups (long)
> 
> --- 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