Re: Dynamic Duo

["Dan Forant" <dforant1@nycap.rr.com>]

David,

Most creep before walking. Your right we won't be contenders till we get a
decent center and another point guard. KA won't last forever and shows signs
of aging. He is inspired however by our success to date. There's a lot of
parity at our level now, so we should if we get a player or two move up
quicker. I listened to the game and we had some problems at the end but
overcame it with Toine's big 3. This will happen in most NBA games near the
end. I don't want to overstate *it's a 5 minute game* but it's just that. We
used to lose those games, now we win. Another step up.

DanF
----- Original Message -----
From: "David A Wickerham" <aw623@bfn.org>
To: "Dan Forant" <dforant1@nycap.rr.com>
Cc: "Celtics Emai List" <Celtics@igtc.com>
Sent: Thursday, December 20, 2001 8:06 AM
Subject: Re: Dynamic Duo


> On Wed, 19 Dec 2001, Dan Forant wrote:
>
> > a win. Did the Celts get gun shy with the 3's?  Has to be the lowest
attempt
> >
>
> Just a case of matchups.  With Andre Miller guarding "Toine, posting up
> was the smart thing to do.  Despite the win and the record, there were
> come disturbing trends in the 4th quarter.  The C's made at least 3
> careless plays that cost them dearly.  First, Strickland knocked the ball
> out of Walkers hands on a rebound after a critical stop.  3 seconds later
> Stith his a 3 to give the Cavs life. After a crucial rebound by V, he
> tossed a careless outlet pass toward V that resulted in a quick layup
> score for the Cavs.  Finally,  Nursing a 5 point, V made a great offensive
> rebound, tipping the ball back to Kenny.  The Cs could have brought the
> clock under a minute, but Kenny fumbled the ball right to Miller, who made
> a quick driving layup to make it a one possession game.  If Abtoine hadn't
> hit a big three on the next possession, we might be singing a different
> tune this morning.
>
> It was also painfully obvious that we can't handle a big Center.
> Ilgauskas, injured and out of shape, still dominated the Boards in the 4th
> quarter.  I'm not comfortable with any of our point guards but Kenny at
> crunch time.  Joe Johnson lost focus several times in the 4th quarter, and
> still plays like a rookie at times.
>
> I'm not complaining. I'm enjoying the ride and looking forward to the
> playoffs.  Still, we won't be a serious contender unless we keep maturing
> and find a legitimate big man.  If Marc Jackson is that player, we should
> make a big run at him using Forte, draft picks, and any other spare parts.
>
> -----------------------------------------------------------------
>   Dave Wickerham
>   aw623@freenet.buffalo.edu
>   Saratoga Springs, NY