Lots of Celtics notes from Sports Guy

["Berry, Mark S" <berrym@BATTELLE.ORG>]

The former Boston Sports Guy (Bill Simmons) had the following things to say
about the Celtics in his latest e-mail newsletter. Many of you probably
already get this, but thought I'd pass it along for those who don't.
Interesting stuff on Forte/Parker, Kedrick/JJ and Oakley. The point he makes
about Toine and Pierce getting along (and getting along with their
teammates) is a good one. I've definitely underrated that aspect of this
team and the importance it plays in their success. If they approach 48-50
wins, like BSG suggests, with getting little from the three draft picks and
no other personnel additions, I'll have to give up my
anti-Obie-the-Destroyer-of-Dayton rants. If that happens, he should be the
freakin' coach of the year.

Mark

Here's the stuff:


The Celts... very encouraging. The best thing about this team is that PP and
Antoine are good buddies and pull for one another - that goes a long way in
a league where star players usually dont get along (the alpha dog thing). PP
has shown an irritating knack for getting in foul trouble, which is hurting
them (he's almost too hyper). Antoine has been unbelievable (almost 12
boards a game!), even if he's launching 40 threes a game. Kenny's looked
pretty good (for him). Eric Williams has played well but needs to stop
bricking threes. Joe Johnson has shown potential but sucks beyond belief on
defense (he doesn't even play in 4th quarters any more). Battie's coming on.
V's been okay. The coaching staff loves Kedrick brown (no lie - he's a human
highlight film apparently), but he's a year away at least. 

I think they're making a mistake not playing {Palacio and Kenny together in
crunch-time in certain situations (like in NY last Tuesday) because of
Palacio's D and ability to hit the three. PP's 48-point game was
transcendent by all acounts, but he needs to bring it to the table EVERY
night before he steps into the TMac/Kobe class (and it's possible). I think
they could beat any Eastern team on the road on any given night, which is a
huge leap for them-all these close wins are giving them confidence They're
looking at 45-48 wins if everyone stays healthy, but we might curve that up
towards the 50-win range (no, I'm not drunk) if PP can make The Leap. He's
the best player we've had since Reggie.
Random trade note: Don't rule out Charles Oakley. They could easily bring
him in for cap fodder (McCarty, McLeod, etc.) and either a conditional #1 or
Joe Forte. He's only on the books for something like $7.5 million this
season. 
Dopey Celts note: The rallying cry this year has been "Fight Like Wolves,"
which was started by Twan and PP (there's a complicated story behind it
which I'm not sharing). That's why they've been doing that howling routine
after big plays (like after PP's monster dunk in NY) and that's why Twan has
used the phrase "Fight like wolves" in post-game interviews. It's one of
those dopey things that happens when a team gets along, and this team gets
along. Let's see if the howling thing catches on. Could be fun. 
Some of you emailed me asking why I flipped on the Forte pick. Here's the
deal (if you heard me mention this on the radio, pardon me for going over it
again)... back in June, I was being told that there were no quality PG's in
the draft, that Tinsley was a head case lots of rumors flying around about
him) and Parker was the next of a long line of French stiffs (Weis, Moiso,
St. jean. etc.) So Forte made sense - if there wasnt a good draft pick, why
not roll the dice with a good college player and try to convert him? The
problem was that they didn't scout Parker well enough. He's the REAL deal...
even in summer league, teams were trying to trade for him. They f'd up. 
Notice how Chris Wallace was immediately distancing himself from the Forte
pick even this summer, telling everyone "That was Red's pick." The reason
was because the front office/coaches/scouting dept were all leaning towards
Parker, but Red was adamant about Forte (he even wanted to take him at #10
or #11). And since they didn't feel that strongly about Parker, they threw
Red a bone and took Forte (because Pitino had stolen his presidency in '97 -
it was a ceremonial "we're sorry" move).  Well, it cost them a good player.
Whether Forte pans out or not, Parker's the starting PG for a top-five
contender and he's only 19. Big mistake.
As for me, how would I have known? Parker was from France! I didn't even
know what he looked like until July.
One more thing: The Celts may have screwed up with the way they handled the
10/11 picks. They made a deal with Brown and his agent (don't work out for
anyone, we'll take you at #11), never thinking that Joe Johnson would slip
to #10 (the plan was to take a bigger forward like Radmanovic or Murphy
there). So when Johnson slipped, they had to take him... then they had to
take Brown at #11, too. Now they don't have a capable power forward on the
roster other than Antoine, which could kill them this season if Twan ever
gets hurt.

The question remains, why make a deal with Kedrick? Let's say he looks great
in his pre-draft workouts... so what? he moves into the top ten and another
blue-chipper falls down, right? It made no sense to make that deal with him
unless they were CONVINCED that he was going to be one of the best players
from that draft. And apparently they still feel that way. We'll see. If he's
as good as they think, I will bet anything that Joe Johnson gets traded
within the next two years - there's no reason to have PP, brown and JJ on
the roster all at once. You only have so many minutes. Hell, I'd trade
Johnson right now if he could help land someone like Raef Lafrentz. JJ has
just enough Cal Cheaney in him that it makes me nervous, as much as I love
his game. He misses one jumper and loses his confidence. Not a good sign.
Still, a great pick at #10 - a friggin' steal. At the very least, he'll be a
solid contributor... and he has third banana potential down the road.