RE: Training camp

[OzerskyJA <OzerskyJA@cmog.org>]

I'm not entirely convinced that we are going to be that bad defensively.  I
mean, it's true, you give up a lot of shots with the press, but in that
first year we didn't have any kind of shotblocker to play the back of the
press; we didn't even have an enforcer in the lane -- just two hustling
bench players, one of whom may well be the weakest big man in the league.
By adding two athletic shot blockers to the linup (one of whom is also very
muscular) I think we will be discourage layup drills of the vintage 97-98
variety.  In addition, I have to think that Randy Brown will be a real
difference maker as the first man on the press; of all the guys that have
played that role on Pitino teams, the only one with any defensive ability is
Chauncey Billups, who got no respect at all from the referees, and who isn't
as good a defender as Brown in any case.  And all this is without saying
anything about a stepped-up game from Tony Battie, or defensive improvement
on the part of Pierce.  Lastly, don't forget the kind of defense Adrian
Griffin played last year before he got hurt, nor, whatever his offensive
failings, the kind of scramble Walter can put on when played in his natural
element.  All in all, I think the Celtics are going to be pretty good if
they stick to the plan.  

And as Jerome Moiso develops a right hand countermove, we are really going
to have something to look forward to...

Josh Ozersky	
Marketing Communications Specialist 
Corning Museum of Glass

> -----Original Message-----
> From:	Alexander Wang [SMTP:awang@MIT.EDU]
> Sent:	Thursday, September 28, 2000 2:59 PM
> To:	celtics@igloo.igtc.com
> Subject:	Training camp
> 
> Now that Pierce is out of the hospital and hopefully on the way to a quick
> recovery, my thoughts are moving to training camp which begins next week,
> and the preseason games a week afterwards. I'm really impressed by
> Pierce's
> statement that he wants to be at the beginning of camp, as unrealistic as
> that may be. The guy has obviously been excited about coming in this
> season
> and improving his play. Pitino's camps are notoriously grueling and I'd
> bet
> there are some players who wouldn't be rushing back to attend them after
> being stabbed.
> 
> This year is supposed to feature the return of the press. The press really
> has not been used much over the past two seasons, and when it has it's
> generally been with an untalented second unit. I believe that we're going
> to see it more like we did during the first season, when the starters
> would
> press also. What are some likely results? 
> 
> First, our shooting percentage allowed, already among the league's worst
> last year, may go up. In Pitino's first year the Celtics gave up a
> scorching 48% from the field, a percentage point worse than last year --
> and this was before they changed the rules to help the offense. When the
> press is broken, the opponents get more dunks, layups and open shots. Even
> when the defense gets back, it's frequently out of position and
> mismatched.
> Hopefully improved shotblocking from Battie, Moiso, and Blount will
> mitigate this. Second, our opponents are probably going to shoot more free
> throws. In Pitino's first year, opponents shot 2756 free throws. Last year
> they shot 2563 -- with new rules that increased foul calls. Third, we will
> force more turnovers. We ended up forcing two more turnovers than we gave
> up last year. I can't find stats on celtics.com for the turnovers in the
> first year, but it was significantly more.
> 
> So, will the press be a net positive? It could be, if a few things happen.
> Although we'll probably give up a pretty bad shooting percentage, it may
> not be much worse than what we'd do in a halfcourt defense, sad to say.
> Similarly, although we'll foul more, we already foul an awful lot just
> from
> being a poor defensive team and it may not be that much different. On the
> other hand, it's possible that we could force a lot more turnovers, get
> easy baskets, and wear out opponents with our depth. It would mean
> conceding the areas that we are already weak and trying to take advantage
> of our potential strengths. I think it's worth a shot because the one year
> we were completely into pressing, we probably outperformed our talent
> level.
> 
> Another important issue is the fate of Robert Pack. I hope that the trade
> for Herren goes through because it seems to make sense for everyone.
> Denver
> was willing to deal Herren earlier this summer and doesn't seem to feel
> that he can be their backup point right now. Pack doesn't want to play for
> the Celtics and we don't have the minutes for him, while we could use a
> developmental point guard behind our two thirtysomething point guards.
> He's
> the right size, right age to develop with our other young players, and has
> a passing mentality -- he could be a good fit a few years down the road.
> Of
> course, if Pack regains his form he could be better than Brown or even
> Anderson but I don't see that happening with the Celtics.
> 
> If Pierce is out, what will the lineup be? I don't see Antoine moving to
> small forward because of this. We only have five big men, including
> Walker,
> a rookie (Moiso), and a project (Blount). Moving Walker would make us
> really thin in that area, which needs depth due to the fact that big men
> foul a lot. Even without Pierce we have five guys at the 2/3 position --
> Griffin, Williams, Carr, McCarty, Cheaney. I think we'll plug two of those
> guys into the starting lineup, and I think Carr has a good shot because he
> was explicitly described as "Pierce insurance."
> 
> I'm excited about Moiso also. It's still not clear what position he's
> going
> to be playing but backup power forward seems the most likely right now. Of
> course, small forward is a possibility. He supposedly can shoot the
> outside
> shot so I don't see why he can't play the same role that McCarty did two
> years ago. Pitino always makes cautious statements about his first-round
> rookies but all of them have played significant roles so far. It seems
> like
> he may have been picked more for down-the-road potential than guys like
> Mercer or Pierce though.
> 
> Alex