Big win

[Hironaka <j.hironaka@unesco.org>]

What a difference a day makes. That was a critical gut check, close win.
It is nice to see Stith back so soon (that guy must have countless aches
and pains), and the impact of Randy Brown back in the starting lineup (7
steals between them). The Celtics won key battles in rebounds, assists,
blocked shots, turnover points (+8), three pointers (+15 points), bench
scoring (+12), while overall the "Hooked on Sonics" were given some
serious remedial education to the tune of a 40.8 FG%. This was a
momentous stat from a psychological perspective, after Boston had gotten
spanked on the West Coast trip to the tune of .473 (255-539). It could
actually be coincidence, but Randy Brown played just 2 minutes on the
entire West Coast trip while Kenny Anderson started all 7 of those games
before getting stuck back on IR.

Obie went with an 8-man rotation the entire way, which actually meant
bringing only one guard (Palacio) off the bench. Herren and Carr got
dog-housed after getting a lot of playing time out West. Seattle went a
disgraceful 12-25 from the line, but that wasn't really the difference
since the Celts also missed 9 freethrows and hit just 59% from the line.
So its El Sweepo, and now bring on the Knicks. Obie will probably go
with the 8-man rotation again on two days rest, and as long as players 3
through 8 can play the same hulked up, floor burn defense we have a
chance for a victory. Defense really DOES win in the NBA, provided you
have just enough guys who can really score. That's the lesson of the
past month and a half...you can actually win consistently with just
Toine and Pierce provided the team as a whole plays effective defense.
Management should bear that in mind when evaluating the draft. BC's Troy
Bell is an excellent defender who could last late into the first round.
Notre Dame's Troy Murphy, a lottery pick if he enter, is a shaky
defender who has had his team mostly cover for his deficiency through
zone defenses.

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