Re: Expect Loss in Charlotte

[bird <birdw@mac.com>]

> From: Douglas342@AOL.com
>
>      Having joined Dan in his dire prediction re Charlotte, I have to ask 
> if
> this isn't going a bit overboard?  I do not expect the Celtics to win 82
> games.  No one on this list predicted that they would win 82 games.
> Therefore, most of us expected that they would lose several games.

I guess you can characterize it in this manner if you choose to, Doug, but 
that doesn't make it correct.  There's a huge difference, I think, in 
saying something like, "Going to be tough tonight with the back-to-back 
and Walker and Pierce playing big minutes the night before; they might 
lose" and "Expect a loss in Charlotte".  No, I won't expect a loss, thank 
you very much.  It's not as if the team losing is an unlikely scenario, 
nor is it "whitewashing their faults" by being annoyed by predictions of 
losing.

>     Now, if one looks at the factors going into Charlotte, was it 
> demented to
> think they might lose?  Was it beyond reality?  When the Cs had lost
> something like 8 of the last 11 against Charlotte?  When they're on the 
> road
> on a back to back?

Was it demented to think they might win?  Beyond reality?  When the team 
had won eight of nine?  *Even* on the road, back-to-back?  I guess, for 
some people, yes.  They were proved incorrect in their prediction.

>      So when someone says, "I think they'll lose tonight," take a look and
> find out what you think.  If you were a serious betting person, where 
> would
> YOUR money be?

If someone was a serious betting person, my sympathies go with them.  I'm 
a serious Boston Celtic fan though, and anyone who knows me knows I will 
take any bet, for any amount or creative stake on a Celts game.  And I'll 
*always* bet on the Celts.

>     Having said that, I watched the whole game last night and am delighted
> that I was wrong.  I don't think I am less of a fan because of it.

No, you're probably *more* of a fan because you were delighted.  If it was 
me, though, and I predicted a loss to a mediocre team I'd feel pretty bad 
about myself, as far as the spectrum of "good fandom" goes.

>     And on a side note, Baron Davis is fun to watch. He did an end-to-end
> against Strickland that should be in the year's highlight film.

Davis is a great talent, especially offensively.  But there was a stretch 
where he took every shot for the Bugs for about five straight trips down 
the court.  Never even let another player catch a whiff of the ball.  
Still, the guy can get to his spots on the court.

Bird
(The Celtic "Tird")