Philly

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

Is anyone else especially excited about tonight's game? You combine the
history between the franchises, the Celtics' unbelievable start, the Sixers'
status as defending Eastern Conference champs, and I'm positively pumped.
These are the games that make all the Bulls, Grizzlies, Nuggets, Cavs games
palatable. 

On paper, Philly actually seems stronger than last year's team. Coleman is
playing great, better than Ty Hill did. Harpring gives them a lot of George
Lynch-type things but adds scoring. They have Mutombo for the full season,
and McKie and Claxton give them two solid 1-2-3 guys off the bench. They're
probably a little thin up front after Mutombo and Coleman, but this really
is a strong team. Injuries have kept them from putting it all together, but
they're getting healthy. Great test for the Celts.

The wins over the Knicks and Hornets on the road have been awfully
convincing for me. Both of those teams were starting to play well. Over the
last few years, a road game on the second half of a back-to-back meant ugly
loss, each and every time. So Saturday's win showed some real mental
toughness.

I still grit my teeth through some of this team's play. Thirty 3-point
attempts drive me nuts. Watching Antoine be less than he can be drives me
nuts (although he has been an absolute force on the boards and has hit some
big, timely shots in the last couple of weeks). Watching Pierce settle for
jumpers when he should be getting to the line drives me nuts. Coming to the
realization that Kenny Anderson may actually be this team's MVP, and Eric
Williams actually helps the team... I think we've entered Bizarro World. But
watch the offense with/without Kenny. There's a real difference. And the
record with/without Williams is dumbfounding.

But what can you say about the results? This start is beyond my wildest
dreams. There surely will be some rough spots, maybe a four-game losing
streak somewhere along the line, but I believe they're a playoff team. And I
think with the right move, they could even be better than that. And I was
convinced that 40 wins was a long shot. I've been salivating over that
proposed Forte+expiring contracts for Oakley deal. Stick Oakley at center,
and what Eastern Conference big man can't he defend? I really think a deal
like that could make a huge difference. The East is really deep and one bad
streak could be the difference between a fourth seed and missing the
playoffs altogether. That's why I'd make a move like the Oakley deal.

Anyway, it's nice  I'm still going to criticize Antoine for shooting 38
percent and making himself easier to handle by hanging out 25 feet from the
basket. I'm still going to criticize the "braintrust" for passing on Tinsley
and Parker in favor of Forte and letting Haywood slip through their fingers.
But at the same time, I'm going to enjoy games like tonight's.

Mark