RE: another indictment

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

Josh, you're right that since Pitino left they are playing hard and better.
No question. I just don't think it's because of any great coaching genius
from Jim O'Brien. Like I said, he was smart to shorten the rotation, but
other than that, I think the only reason for the improvement is the players'
willingness to do it. The way they quit on Pitino and ran him out of town
disgusts me, and I'm not going to forgive and forget just because they've
decided to play hard now. What happens when they decide they don't like Jim
O'Brien? Or will O'Brien just be the next scapegoat when things don't go
well?

As I said, I think these players, especially the two "team leaders," exposed
their true character earlier this season. I don't think you can change that.
They worry about "touches" and quit on their coach. That's the bottom line.

I remember the Bird-Rodgers thing, too. There are two differences: 1. It was
Larry Bird, and he had earned a little input in the way he should be used;
and 2. he did what Rodgers wanted anyway, even though he didn't agree with
it.

Mark

-----Original Message-----
From: OzerskyJA [mailto:OzerskyJA@cmog.org]
Sent: Monday, January 22, 2001 2:02 PM
To: 'Berry, Mark S'; 'Kestutis.Kveraga@dartmouth.edu';
'celtics@igtc.com'
Subject: RE: another indictment


I don't know, Mark.  I remember none other than Larry Joe Bird
bitching about being used as a mere "point forward" by Jimmy Rodgers,
a power struggle that eventuated, predictably, in Rodgers' ouster.  I think
the difference between touches and shots is legit -- but no player should
sulk during a loss.  I don't know why you're so pessimistic about the team,
though -- they're playing hard and playing well on both ends of the floor,
although they do need to get other guys more involved on offense.  


Josh Ozersky	
Marketing Communications Specialist 
Corning Museum of Glass

> -----Original Message-----
> From:	Berry, Mark  S [SMTP:berrym@BATTELLE.ORG]
> Sent:	Monday, January 22, 2001 11:21 AM
> To:	'Kestutis.Kveraga@dartmouth.edu'; 'celtics@igtc.com'
> Subject:	Re: another indictment
> 
> Kestas wrote:
> 
> "How many players has Ricky screwed up like that over his coaching
> career?"
> 
> Judging by his overall record, I'd say not nearly as many as he made
> better
> than they otherwise would have been. To say Pitino "screwed up" Jerome
> Moiso
> is more than a little unfair, don't you think? For all the hulabaloo over
> O'Brien's "regular" use of Moiso, he's still averaging just six minutes
> per
> game and didn't play at all last night. I wonder how many minutes he'd be
> getting with a healthy Tony Battie in the rotation. Pitino is a convenient
> scapegoat for every Celtic who hasn't performed this season. They can
> point
> a finger at him instead of looking at themselves. 
> Look, I like the tightened rotation O'Brien is using, but the reason the
> Celtics are playing better is because Walker, Pierce and most of the rest
> of
> the roster accomplished their mission of getting rid of Pitino and now are
> playing harder. Let's see how long that lasts. It won't be long. They've
> shown their true character, and it will be exposed again in the long run.
> Finally, I can't believe a long-time, knowledgeable Celtics fan like Joe
> H.
> is actually making excuses for Antoine Walker pouting over not getting
> enough "touches." I guess I've seen it all. Spin that any way you want,
> but
> it's selfish. Period. It's the kind of comment any of us would find
> repugnant if uttered by Iverson, Vince Carter, Kobe Bryant or anyone else
> not wearing green.
> Mark
>