One sour note...

[Michael Joseph Byrnes <mbyrnes@Stanford.EDU>]

Well, I didn't see tonight's game, but from the look of the box score the
Celtics made some very good progress from the team that gave away the
Bucks game.

Antoine isn't going to shoot 10-14 every night, but what impressed me more
was the fact that he rebounded the ball, picked up assists, and didn't
turn the ball over.  This was probably one of the most "efficient" games
he has ever had.

Pierce was good and didn't try to force his offense.

Johnson continues his emergence.  Though he didn't have a great shooting
night, he did score 17 points and add 10 boards, a couple of steals and
assists, and NO turnovers.

There really may be 3 scorers on the Celtics now.

What is starting to bother me, though, is Jim O'Brien's love affair with
veteran stiffs.  OK, maybe "stiffs" isn't fair in all cases, but consider
the following:

1) Joe Johnson has really emerged in the past two games.  Would he have
done so if not for Eric Williams' injury?  Johnson is so clearly a better
player than Williams, yet O'Brien chose Williams - a guy who won't carry
the C's across the street - as his starter.  Interesting question:  Will
Williams reclaim his starting spot (and starter minutes?) when he returns?
He shouldn't, but because OB loves his veterans, whether or not they can
play, he very well might.

2) Kedrick Brown.  OB went to him out of desperation in the third quarter
against the Bucks, with the game on the verge of becoming garbage time
(Celtics trailed by 11).  Brown didn't attempt a shot, but he moved the
ball well on offense and showed excellent quickness on defense.  While he
was in the game, the Bucks lead shrank from 15 to 4.  (That's a +11 for
those of you who keep track of such things.)  It wasn't "all Kedrick" by
any stretch of the imagination, but he certainly did not look lost on the
court, and he certainly helped the team more than he hurt it.  So,
Kedrick's reward?  A DNP-CD against the Bullets.  Kedrick was taken with
the 11th pick.  If he can at all handle it, he should have at least a
small role in the regular rotation.  It's not as if he's got Hall of
Famers playing ahead of him.  But, with EW set to return from his injury
soon, what little chance Kedrick had of actually getting to play will
evaporate.  Stupid.  He isn't going to become an NBA player by watching
other guys play.  If they don't want to bring him along, they shouldn't
have drafted him.

3) Joe Forte.  Stashed to the injured list so that the Celtics could make
room for Erick Strickland.  Strickland is a decent player, but, again, why
draft someone like Forte if you're going to bring in a Strickland.
Doesn't make sense.

If they Celtics didn't want to play 3 rookies, they should have dealt 1 or
2 of their picks.  Now that they have committeds to having the three
rookies on the team, they should also commit to using them.  We already
KNOW that the Walter McCartys and the EWs and the Randy Browns aren't
going to get it done, so why not take a look at the guys who might?

Michael