Re: Toine at point guard and other things.....

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

> ** Original Subject: RE: Toine at point guard and other things...
> ** Original Sender: "Berry, Mark  S" <berrym@BATTELLE.ORG>

>
> What does everyone think of the Toine at PG experiment? I'm cautiously

> optimistic, although his "I'll still be guarding the power forward"
comment
> disturbed me.

I thought O'Brien said that. Maybe they both stated it. Either way,
it's not a good thing. C's need a real good defensive power forward or
someone
who can develop into such. That ain't Toine, even if he's helped out by
zone
defenses.

 Just another sign that the current regime sees PF as the only
> position Toine can defend, even though he can't defend it at all and
it's
> killing us. But that aside, Toine probably is better than any of the
current
> PGs on the roster, and you could keep Palacio and Herren around as
> change-of-pace backups. My biggest complaint about Toine at PG is the
fact
> that in the two games O'Brien has tried it, it has meant lots of court
time
> for Eric Williams and Walter McCarty. Ugh. There isn't another team in
the
> NBA that would start those two guys together (Walter's 27 points
aside). I'm
> all for Toine at PG, but not if Williams and McCarty are the best we
can do
> at the forward spots.

They can find someone better than those two via their $4 million
exception.
Charlotte's Eddie Robinson would be a slam dunk over McCarty and
Williams.


>
> That brings us to Moiso. We're willing to try Toine at PG, but
unwilling to
> give Moiso extended minutes??

Moiso is so catatonic, that Max and Howard were severely goofing on him.

The coaching staff isn't using him, because he has no fire. Maybe if
they
change the music in the Fleet Center to Skaa and Reggae and offer him
nickle bag for every rebound, they'll reach him. It worked for JR Rider.

 Maybe he's the kind of guy who needs some
> consistent playing time to get comfortable and confident. He looked
like a
> different player in the summer leagues, when he was playing long
stretches
> at a time (granted against lousy competition, but I thought he
compared
> favorably to Blount).

He had one good game, the rest average, in a venue that he should have
dominated.
The knock on him was that he was a drifter (only mentioned by me about
100
times) and damn if that isn't true in a big time way.

 What do we know about Moiso today that we didn't know
> when he was drafted? Answer: Nothing.

We know a lot actually. He's Mr. Super Mellow Don't Worry Be
Happy. And he's very happy, because he's being paid over a million
dollars
a year, feeling no pressure, doing no heavy lifting. Cause that's a
guaranteed contract
he signed. Soon the season will be over and he can hang out with his
friends
once again in Guadaloupe and Paris. Life is beautiful and sunny.


 It really has been a wasted year for
> him. This team desperately needs a player like Jerome Moiso (a tall,
> athletic PF), but the Celts have done nothing to prepare him to be a
factor
> next season. Why not whet his appetite a little in these final two
games and
> try to make him understand that an opportunity is there for him if he
takes
> it this summer?

A) They never should have drafted him. Courtney, Courtney, Courtney.
B) They should have encouraged him to go to Europe to develop his game.
Maybe riding buses and having fans throw things at you would have been
an awakening experience for him.

>
> The draft... Here's hoping Wallace (or whoever) is smarter than Peter
May or
> Antoine when it comes to the draft. Both have been quoted as saying
the team
> doesn't need anymore youth... they can't afford to wait...

However, I do agree with May that the C's need a point guard. Now, if
that
can be Antoine, then all the better, because he ain't a power forward,
that's
for certain.

 I swear,
> sometimes I think people are retarded. The scenario when it benefits a
team
> to take the best player for "today" is so rare--a team moving into its

> "championship window" that needs a polished player for two or three
years
> during that title run. A team at any other stage of development in
today's
> NBA has to take the best player for "tomorrow." Trades are so
difficult,
> free agency is a non-factor for most teams, and rookies are locked in
with
> the team that drafts them for so long that it would be crazy to pass
up a
> superior young talent for an inferior mature one. You do that and you
end up
> with Ron Mercer instead of Tracy McGrady. The Celtics absolutely can't
worry
> about what their draft pick will do next season. They have to think
about
> the season after, and the one after that. Don't pass up for example, a

> Dasagna Diop--a potential franchise center--

Dasagana Diop, oh lordy, bad example. Kwame Brown, now you're talking.

for a Jamaal Tinsley or Shane
> Battier just because those guys will contribute next year.

A better example: Don't pass up Zacky for Battier, because Zacky has a
chance
to be an impact player, while Shane will just be the anti-Moiso solid
player.

 If the Celtics do
> that this year, I'm jumping out the window. It's absolutely painful to
watch
> players like McGrady, Kobe and O'Neal develop into major talents when
all
> were there for the taking if the Celts had just had any foresight and
> patience. Will we ever learn???
>

Not as long as clueless CFO Richard Pond is running the show. C's need a
legit
GM, a little difficult to do, when you've got Pond looking over your
shoulder and
they've already chosen the coach for you.

> Ray's list of free agents has a few interesting names that might be
> available for the mid-level exception--Mohammed, Eddie Robinson and
Laettner
> chief among them. Mohammed could be that center with bulk the team is
> lacking, Laettner could be a power forward option that allows Antoine
to
> move full-time to PG of SF, and Eddie Robinson is one of those
athletic
> swingmen the rest of the teams in the NBA always seem to have, but
never the
> Celts. He has Vince or T-Mac athleticism, and could develop into a
nice
> player.
>
> Mark

Eddie Robinson is my choice as the guy to sign, especially if Toine's
the PG.
Mohammed is Walker's pal, so maybe you can do a sign and trade. Pot/
Battie/ Blount & draft pick/whatever for
Mohammed. C's certainly don't need three backup centers,  so
why not trade one of them for a more legitimate big man.
Ray