RE: Kenny

[OzerskyJA <OzerskyJA@cmog.org>]

One thing that could help Kenny is that the Celtics are now a halfcourt
team for the most part, which is clearly the environment he feels most
comfortable in.  (He must be the only half-court playground legend
in history.)  I would put up with his defensive deficiencies if he would 
distribute the ball and get easy shots for teammates, but he doesn't do
that.  Even last year, he only averaged 5.5 assists in starter's minutes.
I will say that there are a lot of point guards who don't seem to have
the real passing instinct either; even some of the top guys.  But if you
compare Kenny to Mark Jackson or even a youngster like Steve Nash,
you see the difference in what he does for his teammates.  Kenny has 
such amazing passing and dribbling talents, too, that he should be able
to set guys up. And yet he doesn't.  I'm not ashamed to admit that I don't
understand it at all.  Maybe it has to do with sharing the ball as much as 
he does; but shouldn't that be something a point guard can deal with?

Josh Ozersky	
Marketing Communications Specialist 
Corning Museum of Glass

> -----Original Message-----
> From:	Hironaka [SMTP:j.hironaka@unesco.org]
> Sent:	Tuesday, March 20, 2001 10:00 AM
> To:	celtics@igtc.com
> Subject:	Re:Kenny
> 
> > > it comes down to needing the skills that they are, or at least once
> > > were,capable of giving: Anderson: protect the ball, hit the slasher
> > > going to thehoop, hit the open jumper, protect the ball.
> >
> > There's a huge difference between what Kenny is *capable* of giving and
> what he actually gives his team, healthy or not. That's why he's one of
> the most untradeable players in the NBA, and hated/disliked by many fans.
> Even if he were playing up to his cap
> > abilities on offense, we get killed at the other end by the opposing PG
> when Kenny's playing. I'd rather watch Palacio develop as a player.
> > Battie we could use, but I doubt he'll be able to return to form this
> season. We'll be lucky if he's completely free of the effects of that
> sprain by the start of next season.
> > sKestas
> 
> That's somewhat harsh in my view IMO even if I know where the general
> frustration coming from etc. KA had some legitimate stretches last year
> against one top point guard after another, and he's also had legitimate
> injuries even if they happen too frequently
> for our taste. He's a rah rah team guy in his quotes to the media and from
> what I can see is in every way quite likeable off the court and with
> teammates A lot of people now see a rapid decline in his game since the
> Portland-Toronto trade, but he did play all
> 82 last year (who else did that?) and was a good system player who had one
> of his best years in terms of FG% (44%) and steals (1.70).  His turnovers
> (1.59) last year also compare favorably to his career average of 2.33.
> 
> We're still talking about a Celts situation where our leading season
> scorer at pointguard among healthy players (Miracle Milt) is averaging all
> of 2.2 assists and 4.5 points. He sports a 2:1 assist-to-turnover ratio,
> compared to Kenny's career 3:1 ratio or
> Herren's 2.6:1 ratio.
> 
> The Celts are much more serious about defense now than before his injury,
> and I do wonder if he'll bring chemisty to the lineup. But this is a
> pretty proficient basketball player, and it isn't necessarily fair IMO to
> pass Kenny off as a slacker or a
> dislikable guy. He's not the ideal fit in Boston and he's a real cap
> anchor until 2002, that much is for sure.
> 
> ---