"Let us count the ways."

[JB <jbmetzea@yahoo.com>]

   What has happened to this team? What are the differences from the Pitino
era and what may we credit to O'Brien?
   1. Eric Williams has moved back inside. Used primarily as a three point
shooter(description, "shooter" used kindly) , under Pitino. Was it O'Brien's
acumen that brought Eric Williams back to the planet of productive NBA
veterans?  
   2. Kenny Anderson has been exhumed. A lot was written  (scoffed at,
mostly,-except by Lance), of the meeting last spring between O'Brien and
Anderson, as having possible impact on Kenny's play/attitude. Well, he came
into camp in shape, sat back and waited for his opening and as his shot
started to fall, has taken over the offense. He did whine a bit at the
beginning of the trip about the offense; calling for him (and everyone else)
to sit at the three point line, as bailouts, in case Walker or Pierce were
thwarted in one-on-one efforts. But guess what? He was right. The team does
play better with him creating. Pitino always backed Walker on this aspect.
Could it be that O'Bie listened?
   3. He benched Blount. "Nuff said." Palacio can't be far behind.
   4. Defense. O'Brien didn't profess to be an expert in anything. He
brought in Harter (and listened to anyone willing to talk). Pitino
stubbornly insisted on a defense, that for whatever reason, his team, just
as stubbornly, refused to play. Whether it wasn't suited for the players he
had and because they were embarrassed by the easy lay ups that it produced,
or they just didn't want to work hard enough, may still be open to debate,
but the bottom line is, Pitino did a Queeg.
   4. He has been quietly persistent, offering that bombing threes at the
beginning of a possession, was not his idea of an offense and reminding the
team that defense and rebounding require hard work and if they wanted to be
more than dog meat for their opponents, they had to work harder. Guess what?
The team started moving without the ball, a bit, cut down on threes and were
working a lot harder on defense and under the boards. Under Pitino, the team
often showed well at the start of the season and then egos ruled and they
went into the sewer. We started to see the same thing last week, but
something happened. Does O'Brien get credit?
   Could it be that Pierce decided, on his own, to go to the hoop at the
ends of games? That Walker just decided to let Anderson control the tempo
and create the offensive flow? Was it Eric Williams conception to return to
the paint and lead cheers on defense? Did Anderson get religion and come
into camp in shape and humble? We may never know the answer to these
questions, but at least O'Bie is letting them do it.
   

              JB
                   
     
                   

                           Unchain My Heart!