Prediction

["Berry, Mark S" <berrym@BATTELLE.ORG>]

I predict the Celts will win... no, I'll wait until Monday or Tuesday. I
don't want to throw out a number, see Toine and Pierce blow out knees
against Orlando tonight and have to change my guess. Guessing now just
tempts fate.

I'm still inexplicably fascinated by how this roster will shake out.
Assuming no legit injuries happen between now and then (geez, I can't keep
from jinxing them), and that Herren will be ready to go, here are the locks:

PG: Kenny, Brown, Herren
SG: Pierce
SF: 
PF: Walker
C: Pot, Battie, Blount

That's it. I don't know whether it's a good sign that our depth allows us to
have a legitimate debate about players who could either start or end up
stashed on the injured list, or a really bad indication that we're going to
have a serious weak link in the starting lineup. For sanity's sake, let's
say it's good depth.

Here are the options for the two IL spots (along with Minor): McCarty,
Griffin, Carr, Williams, Stith, Moiso.

Some seem to think Williams has won the starting spot. I hope not. He's a
terrible rebounder and he's strictly a small forward. That puts Pierce at
2-guard exclusively and has to be the weakest rebounding team the Celts can
field, which is saying something, because they could play Pot, Battie,
Blount, Walker and Moiso together and not be a good rebounding team.

McCarty seems like an obvious IL candidate, but Pitino still likes him and
there was mention this week that McCarty may keep the spot warm while Moiso
matures on the IL. I hope not. I'll take a lost Moiso playing on natural
talent over McCarty. If I had my druthers, Williams and McCarty would be the
IL guys, but I expect one of them to make it as a "true" small forward.

Griffin may make one decision for them if he's still having ankle problems,
which the articles in today's papers seem to suggest. He's not 100 percent
physically or emotionally. If that's true, let him recover on the IL.

Carr has shown me something lately. He seems to be thriving as he learns the
system. He provides some offense off the bench. I hope he makes it.

I love Stith. Don't know exactly why, except I just love the way he plays.
Hard-nosed. Defends. Understands the game. I'd like to see him start
alongside Pierce at the 2/3 positions.

Which brings us to Moiso. I'm with Josh on letting this guy learn while
playing. Get him in there in small stretches, but get him in there. Plus,
he'll be our best rebounder when he gets more comfortable--something this
team really needs. I'm hoping for a Toine-Moiso forward pairing by
mid-season.

Mark

P.S. I know there are some Eric Williams fans on the list, so I'll explain
my dislike for his game: His one skill is facing up, driving around a slower
defender, and getting to the line through a series of pump fakes. If he
isn't doing that, he doesn't help the team. He doesn't defend, he doesn't
rebound (at all), and he stops ball movement because every time he touches
it, he faces up his defender and starts jab-stepping. Now, having said that,
if Pitino used him as a situational substitute to come in against bigger,
slower small forwards so he could drive around them and get to the line and
force a lineup change, I'd be all for it. Unfortunately, Pitino doesn't do
that and shows no signs of ever being the kind of coach who adjusts a
gameplan to certain matchups. (That's my biggest criticism of Pitino the
coach.) So, if Pitino isn't going to use him properly, I'd prefer he just go
on the IL.