Celtics News Notes Prophecies Predictions

[Way Of The Ray <wayray@ix.netcom.com>]

Here's what David DuPree of USA Today said of the Celtics off season
moves:

"Bottom line: Treading water again. They seem to be stockpiling role
players without anything to build around. Antoine Walker could be on the

trading block, too."

But Rick Pitino feels differently, as he tells the Boston Globe's Will
McDonough, that Walker's name has never come up in trade talks,
until only recently, when the Indiana Pacers mentioned it. The reason:
Walker's salary. McDonough mentions $12 million, but I think it's
much closer to $11 million.  11 or 12 who's counting. Walker the
Celtics veteran All Star deserves every penny of it for leading the
team to the playoffs for all four seasons he's been here.

Pitino also believes the Celtics may very well make the playoffs
this season:

"'If we play the way we are capable of playing, we should get to the
playoffs. Last year we played well at home and played tough against the
better teams. What killed us was playing poorly against the weaker
teams. If we win the games we should win, our record will be better.'''

In other news as BSG would say, a bus drove off a South American cliff
and Anne Heche was seen staggering outside a Hollywood nightclub.
But oh, I do love the petite way Anne can stagger...

- Kenny Anderson will suffer a major injury in the next two years
and no one will care. In fact, they'll be a better team without him.

- Confirming what Jackie MacMullan and I mentioned months back,
and what BskBall said recently, the Globe's McDonough says a
Boston businessman with previous interest in purchasing the club,
wants to put a group together to buy the Celtics and make LB the head of
operations, something Larry would love to do, as Bird addressing a
Foxwoods gathering told the group, he would run from Connecticut to
Boston  for that opportunity. We can only hope it happens, before that
lying weasel dog man Pitino screws up another draft or trade.
Jerome Moiso over Courtney Alexander: Aye Carumba.

Is it true you can get an autographed picture of Jerome
on your nearest milk carton? And is he still
attending the world's longest wedding? Stop throwing the
rice Jerome, get the doobie out of your mouth, and hop over
the big pond to training camp. As I told a knowledgeable Boston
media guy, taking Mosio over Alexander, will go down as one of
Pitino's worst moves. There's been so many of them however, so
who can keep a tally...

- How close was Ron Mercer to rejoining the Celtics this past
summer?  Very close apparently, as Pitino tells the ubiquitous
McDonough, that Ron had a verbal agreement with the Celtics,
but the Bulls offer was too hard to resist.

- In case you're wondering where the Celtics will finish in the
upcoming season, you should pencil in fifth or sixth in the
Atlantic Division. Fifth if the Knicks crash and burn, sixth if they
don't.

- And no, they will not be in the playoffs. Oh, can Pitino be anymore
delusional? Don't answer that, all do it for you.  Yes, he can.
He could trade Vitaly Potapenko for Marcus Camby, a deal
mentioned by respected Ohio newspaperman Mark Berry.
Imagine the constantly bitching, underachieving, and
always hurt Camby on a team with Kenny Anderson, the
always partying Tony Battie, and Jerome Moiso, who
apparently is wandering the French countryside in a daze.
How destructive will that be?  Very....

- The Widow Lewis is at it again. She was in court this past week
working on her latest appeal of the Lewis - Mudge case.

Draft Predictions: Look for the Celtics to finish somewhere between
5 and 10 in the draft; similar results for the Denver Nuggets. So the
Green Team in all probability, should have two nice picks
to work with in the upcoming lottery. Hopefully Bird not Pitino is
doing the choosing, and if the Celtics keep their third first
round pick -- I'm predicting it will be around 23 -- I would take
Yao Tao Ming, the 7-5, 20 year old Chinese center, even if he's not
allowed to come here for five years.

Parts of this report contained whimsy and sarcasm.
Ray