"They've got the mason, we've got the bricklayer"

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

Our first place Boston Celtics travel to the land of processed cheese 
spread tonight to face down the undefeated Milwaukee Bucks.

The Bucks added a fourth All Star this fall in Anthony Mason, one of the 
best ballhandling and rebounding power forwards in the game last year for 
Pat Riley. In his career he has averaged as high as 11.4 boards and 5.7 
assists. And he may be a "Mason" but he's no bricklayer (career .512FG%). 
If he has a weakness at his position, it is his blocks (career 0.28) and 
steals (career 0.76). Plus he makes Derrick Coleman seem like a coach's 
pet. Pat "Crisco Systems" Riley got the maximum out of Mason during their 
one year together, but of course he has shown the ability to coach an All 
Star-type year out of next to nothing (e.g. Ike Austin).  It tells you 
something that Mason wasn't re-signed on such a well-oiled team.

Its become axiomatic that the 2002 Bucks are what Boston aspires to be in 
three years when the rookies turn Pierce's age. Milwaukee feature four 
super scorers in Ray Allen (over 30 points a game right now), Big Dog, Sam 
Cassell and Tim Thomas. None of them can be consistently counted on to 
rebound or play defense, but the Bucks can match up with 60-win teams at 
almost every position. Like Boston they are weaker at the center position, 
with Ervin "Magicmarker" Johnson, Jason "Tea or" Caffey and Mark "Great 
White" Pope getting the most minutes so far this year.

Last night the Celtics used Kenny & Milt for all 48 minutes, which implies 
that Obiewon went with a 6-3 shooting guard (Strickland) and 6-6 power 
forward (Williams) for at least a few minutes of the Bulls game. I'm a 
little confused by that. This forced Walker to play nearly the entire Bulls 
game ahead of tonight's B2B, in no small part because the team doesn't have 
a backup who can guard, rebound or shoot over anyone. Is there a more 
glaring weakness on the team? I'm wicked unhappy.

Since beggers can't be choosers, I personally think Waltah is a better 
defensive energy PF sub than Eric...he can dribble and shoot a little, and 
he covers a lot more vertical territory. But maybe Eric will be able to 
score off his pet moves tonight against non-shot blockers like Mason, 
Caffey and Darvin "Green Eggs &" Ham. We lose unless someone can spell 
Walker with effective minutes.

Here's the thing...Boston doesn't play again until Wednesday night, so 
tonight they need to go out there like warriors, dig deep and lay it all on 
the line for the full 48 minutes, "Celtic Pride" style. Boston can't let up 
defensively against the Bucks on the road, unless they want to get blown 
out and have to live with that memory during the four-day layover. The 
Celtics bench has to play well enough for both Pierce and Walker to get 
three or four well-timed breathers from Obie during the game to recharge 
their batteries, before going back to war against Ray Allen and the Dog. 
This is also the third huge challenge in four nights for Kenny Anderson and 
Milt. They've got to continue stepping up against the highest level of 
point guard competition.

Go Celts!

Joe

Not surprisingly, the SI scouting report makes Milwaukee sound like a 
mirror image of Boston:

-I would give the edge to the 76ers and the Magic over Milwaukee. The Bucks 
have to do a better job of defending, rebounding and getting to the line, 
and I don't see their players being able to improve in those areas. They 
are what they are: a perimeter-shooting team.

-Glenn Robinson was sick of losing, and he did something about it last 
year. He was able to improve a little bit -- just a little bit -- in his 
all-around play.

-Ray Allen is one of the elite players in the East. He rises very quickly, 
and even if you're right there with him, he can still beat you. If he were 
with a coach who really drilled him in man-to-man, he could be a great 
defensive player as well.

-It will be interesting to see how Sam Cassell 's unhappiness with his 
contract plays out. He loves the game. You can see it in his face. At times 
he might appear to be out of control emotionally, but he's not -- he's a 
leader who knows how to win.

-Last year the Bucks tried to play solid man-to-man, but with the new rules 
they'll sometimes try a soft trap in the backcourt and then fall into some 
kind of zone.

-They have no bona fide starters at the four and the five. You can't win 
the conference with Scott Williams , Jason Caffey , Darvin Ham and Mark 
Pope at power forward, and Ervin Johnson or Joel Przybilla at center.

-I don't know if Anthony Mason would solve their problems. P.J. Brown 
proved that Mason can be shut down in the playoffs by someone with size. 
But G.M. Ernie Grunfeld knows Mason as well as anybody from their five 
years with the Knicks."