A night out.

[Jim Metz <JBMetzEA@AOL.com>]

Title: A night out.

Milt apparently dominated Speedy tonight; 6 TO's for Claxton. El-Amin appears to have gotten the best of your boy Pepe Sanchez as well. 

Looks like JJ more than did his part tonight, too. 21 points, 8 boards, 5 assists and Jumaine Jones was only 3-11 for 11 points. 

By the way, was Kedrick Brown guarding Raja Bell? And one last question, it looks like Blount dominated Alvin Jones. I know that some on the board wanted the C's to consider Jones. What was your opinion of that matchup?

CeltsSteve
 >>
    There really were no matchups per say. Everyone took turns guarding Claxton. Palacio, El-Amin and Forte. Jumaine Jones never got it going. Moiso, Johnson and Brown all had turns with him. In fact, Philly never was in the game. Either the Celtics defense was smothering or Philly was sluggish, or uninspired, or all three.
    The C's played Palacio and El-Amin together a good part of the game. This was an effective combination and they really pushed the ball, creating some exciting fast breaks. Both Forte and Johnson also pushed the ball and made some efficient passes. Kedrick Brown also showed he can find the open man and gave up a shot or two, to give an easier one. 
    I was interested in Forte particularly, since we could have drafted Jamaal Tinsley in that spot and Jamaal may wind up starting for Indiana. Joe was a bit tentative early on, but especially when El-Amine was in the game, he seemed to get into the flow. He plays very tight defense and makes all the right passes. He created several wide open looks for himself, but the shots wouldn't drop. I like his bearing, for what it's worth; he moves like a player. It's an aura or something, but I think he'll be of value, even this season.
    El-Amin is another story. He looks just like John Bagley with the beard and pudgy physique, but is a better point guard than John was. He assumes control like a 10 year veteran, barking orders and rewarding the cutters and the runners. He even got fancy a few times late in the game, with spins, misdirection fakes and behind the back passes, without looking careless. If we sign him, he becomes our starting point guard immediately, unless Kenny Anderson has spent the summer meditating with the Dalai Llama.
    Our interior defense was strong. Blount gave up nothing. Mark got in early foul trouble and Moiso played a lot of center. He did all right. He can jump out of the building and when he stayed focused, it was hard to score on him. On offense he made two very good passes into the post (one was dropped by Blount) hit a nice spinning jump hook and almost put in a one handed rebound, tomahawk slam, that bounced out of the rim, almost to the ceiling, he had such force on it. Of course he also bobbled a couple of passes and wondered what to do, instead of holding ground on his picks. Could he be smoking something? Charles Oakley is many things, but not a liar.
    Kedrick Brown is a basketball player. Don't worry. He can score in a shitstorm. For now, he may be a one-on one player, but he plays defense and didn't pout when Joe Johnson and Palacio were getting the bulk of the scoring chances. I don't know if he'll get many minutes, but they will be exciting minutes and he will put-up scoring and rebounding numbers.
    I do think that Alvin Jones was a steal. He can sky, is strong underneath and has a very soft stroke for a big, strong, player, who is not supposed to have any offense. He swished two fouls shots and a nice baseline jumper, in the only times, I remember him shooting, away from the basket. While he was in there against Blount, he fought for everything and had one nice block. I'd rate him higher than McCullough and perhaps Mohammed. I think B2 will be very pleased.
    I thought Sanchez played better than Claxton. Was in control of the offense and made some very creative passes, even though the Sixer players were mostly standing around. He is no threat to score though.
    One surprise, was Mike Mardesich. He's listed at 7'0" 255 lbs., but didn't quite look that big. He is very agile though. He made what might have been the play of the game, coming over from the weak side to block an alley-oop. It looked clean as a whistle, as he did it with one hand and angled his body sideways to avoid contact. Of course the ref thought otherwise, but I don't think I've ever seen a block like that before. He'd make a nice, back up, power forward, if we had a roster spot open.  
    Everyone is right about Joe Johnson. He has a complete game. It's hard to believe that there were 9 better players drafted. Because of his ball handling abilities (I do think he can play the point, right now, a whole lot better than Antoine) he is ahead of Pierce, when he came into the league. When he was on the floor, with Palacio, he was in control of the offense.
    Leo Papille told me that Johnson was going to get big minutes (35 per game) this year, was the best player in the league, at Shaw's and was a future all-star.
    Speaking of Papille; Egg would love this guy. He hung around the gym in a cut off sweatshirt, with his goatee and wavy, dirty blond hair brushed back over his ears and down over his neck, like some biker or refugee from the WWF. He's six feet tall and probably 245 pounds with large muscular arms. He's certainly not a "button down type." His appearance was so menacing, in fact, I was reluctant to approach him. When I finally caught his eye, after the game, he immediately reached out with his hammy mit and a wide smile. He was very enthusiastic and loved to talk hoops. He is sky high on Blount. I told him we enjoyed his "Shaq of the Shaw's" quote and that it received a lot of mileage on the net. He raved about his hops and how he could hardly get off the ground a year ago, compared to his abilities now. 
    I asked him if they were going to sign El-Amin. He said they were trying, but there was competition. I then inquired if they would consider
Jacques Vaughn, if they couldn't get Khalid. He said that Amine was a "special player" and the 15th roster spot was "precious." I hyped Vaughn a bit, comparing him to Kevin Johnson, who needed several years in the league to show his skills. When I started on about Utah liking Stith and the prospects for a sign and trade with the Jazz; Leo gave me that look, like he knew he was being hustled. He did say that the C's were trying to be an up-tempo team and he agreed that Vaughn liked that style and was being held back in Utah.
    On the way into the gym, I ran into Jimmy O'brien. Jimmy is a diminutive, ferret type, who was dressed in neat preppy style. He was cordial, but seemed a bit arrogant. I introduced myself, told him I was a fan of point guard play and wondered what he thought of Vaughn. He impatiently snapped at me, that the C's had 3 point guard and 14 players already under contract. I held my ground, let him know he couldn't get away with such curt responses, by telling him that Anderson and Brown combined for about 40 games last season and if they thought Palacio could run the offense, it was going to be a long season. He softened a bit realizing I couldn't be put off and told me that they were trying to sign El-Amin. I asked him to compare El-Amin and Vaughn and he said Khalid was just as quick and a better shooter, but that Vaughn was a better defender. 
    I wished him luck and congratulated him on creating the fan interest, that led to all the sellouts at Shaw's. Last summer, it wasn't even half full. He gave me a big smile and said: "let's see if we can sell out the Fleet.' 

-JB-

                                                                                 

                                                                                                                                Unchain My Heart!