Faith Creeps In -- Ray, Please Creep Out

[Michael Gooen <callmebogie@yahoo.com>]

Way wrote:

[a bunch of ludicrous, misspelled crap using typically tortured syntax]

Cecil wrote:

<<Way promised never to post again if the C's didn't draft his man, Ernie
Brown.>>

To be fair, Cecil, Ray (Way?  Kai?  Mr. Ghost?  I presume we doesn't have
to call him Johnson) only promised not to post until 1/1/2001.  Obviously
I'm not the only one who's guilty of wishful thinking.  I actually went
back to the archive and checked.  Maybe we can convince him to ban himself
from the list if the Cs make the playoffs this year.

I'm not sure whether I'm more touched by Way's faith in Ilgauskas or his
bold statement that Miami has righted the ship.  Apparently, the fate of
Eric Williams' knees is much more critical than that of Alonzo Mourning's
kidneys.

Leaving aside the ramblings of our resident idiot non-savant, I'm not
entirely sold on this team as a "contender", but one has to be encouraged
by a number of factors:

1) Increased commitment to team defense, especially in clutch situations. 
The two overtime performances against NJ and NY were nothing short of
spectacular.

2) Better play out of Battie and Potapenko -- ever since O'Brien benched
Blount, T and V have looked virtually serviceable.  They've certainly
brought a lot of energy.  And despite Battie's need to do a lot more work
in the low post (he should've made that 6 footer last night), his pick was
as responsible for getting the Cs to OT as Antoine's shot.

3) Kenny's back from the dead.  

4) Different players are getting it done every night, which will only
increase Antoine's and Paul's faith in their teammates.

5) The schedule hasn't been _that_ easy.  Granted, they haven't had to
take on the Lakers, Spurs or T'wolves yet, but I'm not sneezing the wins
they've had -- including some big road wins against important division
opponents.  Obviously the Charlotte and Philly games will be interesting
tests.

6) With all due respect to Rick Carlisle's coaching ability, I think a
Detroit collapse is far more likely than a Miami, Cleveland or Atlanta
resurgence this season, and the Knicks are another Camby foot injury away
from Lottoland. 

I still cringe at the shot selection -- and not just Antoine's (Strickland
has heaved up some of the most ill-advised garbage I've ever seen, and
Williams isn't far behind him).  The FT% must improve.  I, too, want to
see KBrown and Forte get some time, though I think it'll be at least 3-4
years before we can judge them as draft picks.  And I'm still stubbornly
clinging to the notion that a real power forward would help this team (and
if we can't get one in a trade, I'd love to see Antoine out there with
Tony and Vitaly for 5-7 minutes a game).  

But this is a good, young team.  And I think they'll be making the
playoffs this year.

Michael Gooen
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