Re: Great Celtics analysis from BSG

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

--- "Berry, Mark  S" wrote:
Don't agree with everything he says (I like Blount more than him and Battie
less), but most of it is right-on, especially the Bryant Stith evaluation
(and his reasoning for not bringing Stith back next season) and Antoine's
evaluation (both good and bad). Please, please check it out. I've also
pasted the Stith and Walker parts below.
--- end of quote ---

I read it and agree that it's a great analysis overall. Unlike Mark, I think
he's spot on with Battie's and especially Blount's evaluations. I do think that
he's a little too high on Herren - I've never seen more than the obvious pass
from Herren, and he's not going to be able to guard the more explosive PGs
because he's 6 feet tall and not a great athlete. I also have a glimmer of hope
that Moiso will "unleash the poodle". All that talent...And I'm not sure about
Walker's alleged problem with Pierce's being the #1 guy - while Antoine's not
the scorer and defender (efficiency- and ability-wise) that Pierce is, he's
unquestionably the leader of the team and its MVP (as opposed to Pierce, who's
the secondary leader and the team's *best* player - does that make sense?).
Antoine *might* be content with that, and at least his public statements seem
to support that. They seem to be good friends, which should help. The
Jordan/Pippen comparison that BSG makes is not quite valid because Jordan was
the best player, MVP, and the unquestionable leader of the Bulls, and Pierce
just isn't that for the Celtics. He's like a Reggie Lewis deluxe. But maybe BSG
sees/knows more of the situation since he attends home games and seems to have
inside sources. 

I've decided that I'm not unhappy with having Obie as coach next season. I
think Jim Meninno made some valid points about Obie's handling of Walker's
position situation. Hopefully, this SF/PF business will be resolved next
season. BSG is right, of course - player support is paramount in the NBA, and
it's not like I can think of another coach who's available and would be so much
better than Obie that it's worth the risk of pissing off the players. 

Kestas

PS If I read it right, NBC will neither show the Celtics-Nets game this Sunday
nor allow anyone else to show it? Is that right? God, how I hate NBC...