Re: A Win?

["Cecil Wright" <cecil@hfx.eastlink.ca>]

Just to add a few comments:

I REALLY liked the fact that Antoine was used to clear a path to the hoop
for Paul on the final play.  And the childlike glee the entire team
exhibited when the buzzer went off was great to watch.

Regardless of the ugliness of it all, this was an important game for them to
win.  It won't always go their way but a win like this will give them cause
to believe that they can overcome obstacles.  Any playoff team has to win
games when they do not have it clicking on all cylinders.  Last night was
one of those games.

Someone mentioned that Toine's assists have gone down of late.  What are his
passing options other than Pierce?  Blount, Battie, VP?  Sometimes it's
everything they can do to hang onto a bounce pass.  Kenny?  We won't even
talk about his FG% right now.  Milt?  Has hit a few shots.  Strickland?
Let's hope he can be consistent.  Johnson?  Not right now.  Williams?  Can
he stay healthy?

Is it any wonder why he and Paul are bombing away?  It's selfish if they
have other options.  But do they really have any?

Cecil





----- Original Message -----
From: "bird" <birdwl@earthlink.net>
To: <Celtics@igtc.com>
Sent: Wednesday, November 28, 2001 4:49 PM
Subject: Re: A Win?


> >  From: "Jim Meninno" <jam@london.com>
> >
> > I'm really surprised by the List's reaction to this game.  I felt like
> > both
> > teams played pretty well and Miami certainly didn't play like a 2-10
team.
> > Despite any objections one might have to strategy (trapping defense,
> > isolation offense), I thought the team _executed_ (there's that word
> > again)
> > far better than they have in the last couple of weeks.
>
> Yes, they did execute much better than they have been.  I'm not as sure as
> to the quality of play (for both teams) as you, though, Jim.  Zo anchored
> Miami to a better performance than they had been used to, and Eddie Jones
> got his scoring on, as usual, but to me, the Heat didn't play all that
> well.  And, while Pierce and Walker had excellent scoring games, their
> floor games weren't up to snuff.  However, for all the worrisome trapping
> on defense, the team did play good halfcourt D.  And, as you mentioned,
> they team looked to run, which was gratifying.
>
> I might be just a bit too on edge after the losing skid.  I just saw
> things that, if continued over the course of the season, might not work
> out all that well.  Like I said, I'm not so sure why we need to bother the
> guy with the ball on the pick and roll such that we leave people open,
but,
>   if the players on the court rotate well, this mitigates any damage that
> may result.  Maybe they just need to get better at it.
>
> As for the offense, I do think that Pierce and Walker need to take a lot
> of shots.  They are the only guys on the team with the capability to
> create their own shots right now.  However, the team needs two things
> (other than to quit trying to make Tony Battie, Vitaly Potatpenko, and the
> ersatz Mark Blount into UCLA high post passers) that I can see: guys under
> the boards when the shot is taken to grab the offensive rebound, or at
> least delay the other team's fast break, and a better all-around
> distribution of shots, eventually.  I mean, they just may not be able to
> get away with that just yet, but they ought to work on that in the long
> run.  Of course, when the other players are as cold as ice (like last
> night), well, then, you've got to play to your strengths (P & W).  Oh, and
> maybe they need to work on taking advantage of match-ups and getting
> better looking shots (as Obie mentioned in a recent Herald article,
> letting that flying defender go past you when you're spotted up beyond tha
> arc is an excellent start).
>
> > When Pierce did operate in isolation, he was absolutely deadly at it.
>
> Paul Pierce really is the Truth.  And as soon as he figures out the best
> way for him to deal with the soft "zone" and double- or triple-teaming the
> other teams in the league are throwing at him, he will be even deadlier.
> He can get to just about any spot on the court he wants to shoot from, and
> that's key.  Then, he usually has the athleticism to get his shot off in
> traffic.  He should work on the ball handling, though, as he likes to
> tease the defenders with it.  At any rate, other teams are generally
> giving him the respect that top-notch scorers in the league get.  And, to
> be sure, what can you say about the final layup?  No hesitation in the
> drive, then layed it up over Zo high off the glass.  It really was
> beautiful.  You're right, that was probably the best look at the end of
> the game that the team has had for years.  I thought we'd settle for the
> jumper again, too, but thankfully Pierce saw the opening and went for it.
> All-Star?  I'll say.  If the team in even near .500 he's got to make the
> team.  And frankly, I don't see Walker lagging all that far behind in the
> voting, either.  We really do have two extraordinarily talented (if also
> flawed) players on the team.  What we need is consistent contributions
> from players 3-8 (or 9).  This is definitely foreseeable.
>
> > The other play of Paul's that got my attention was when he was fouled on
> > a
> > drive and seemed to abort his finish, with the ball down by his waist.
> > The
> > next thing I knew he had brought the ball back up and was jamming it in
> > over
> > Mourning with the hand furthest from the hoop.
>
> That play was just sick.
>
> > It's really nice to
> > see him continually adding dimensions to his game offensively.
>
> It's also good to see him displaying emotion on the court.  Not for it's
> own sake, really, because that doesn't matter, but the knock on Pierce out
> of college was that he "drifted" and the like.  He really seems to be
> working hard on offensive aspects of the game.  This would be welcome
> defensively, as well.  For all the talk of "egos" on the list, I also like
> the fact the Pierce and Walker really seem to get along.  I really don't
> think any problems the team has are a result on the egos involved.
>
> > I know a
> > lot of people are shouting to see more of all of these rookies, but I
> > think
> > it's best for their development if they are brought along as slowly as
> > possible.  I don't think you do a young player any favors by making him
a
> > starter before he's really ready for it.
>
> Yeah, well, starter I don't know about, but once the team is on a more
> even keel, I'd like to see a couple of minutes a game for the rooks.
Hell,
>   if Walter McCarty could pick up a few here and there, they sure could.
> While Kedrick Brown *did* look uncomfortable offensively last night, I
> thought the Way of Obie centered around the defense a player could play?
> Then again, the Way of Obie also stresses veterans over rookies, too, so
> that probably explains it.  Of course, if that's the case, then why have
> Joe Johnson inbound the ball during crunch time?  I notice that Eric (and
> it *is* "Eric", not "Erik") Williams did the honors last night.  And
> speaking of EWill, the aforementioned jolt he gave to the team early was
> good.  Perhaps he's best suited for coming off the bench, though?  Right
> now, I might start Strickland, have JJ back him up, and give Williams
> Pierce's backup minutes.  Clearly, though, I'm less infatuated with
> Williams than the coach is.  If I were Sharon O'Brien, I'd be a little
> jealous, myself.
>
> > If I had one criticism of the coaching last night, it would be that OB
> > left
> > Kenny in on defense with Miami looking for one shot to win.  I was
> > thinking
> > it as I saw him come out of the huddle.  I mean, that's simply exactly
the
> > spot you don't want to use Kenny, isn't it?
>
> Yup.  Not that the coach needs to be consistent, but this doesn't jibe
> with the whole defense thing, either.  Kenny, for all his better defense
> and 10th-in-the-league-in-steals credentials, wasn't the guy we wanted out
> there at that time.  I don't fault him for the foul, though, as he was
> going hard for the bound.  Unfortunate, but it all worked out.  (Sorry, W,
>   can't see it being sound tactically -- even if you *did* want to give
the
> other team a high-percentage shot at taking the lead in the closing
minute,
>   wouldn't you want to foul with more time on the clock so you can set up
a
> better last-second shot for yourself?)
>
> > Looking forward to
> > Thursday and hoping that Cousy's there for that game, too.  I think he
> > really adds something to the games and, with all three guys there, Tommy
> > doesn't have to do the play-by-play like he used to when he teamed up
with
> > Cous.
>
> I just hope us NBA League Pass'ers get the hometown team on the broadcast
> Thursday.  I hate having to listen to the other guys, though it is
> sometimes interesting to get other sides of the story.  For instance,
> other team's broadcasters are usually much more complimentary to our stars
> than say, this list normally is.  A lot of times, though, they just parrot
> back what they've read in the papers or even online.  I like listening to
> Gorman and Heinsohn (and the Cous when he's around).  At least they're
> rooting for the right team.  Hearing Tommy Gun reminds me of the glory
> days of the 80's, when you could virtually count on seeing the Celtics on
> national TV every week, and Tommy was unapologetic in his Celtic bias when
> doing the games.  This annoyed others no end (as it did me when it was the
> Bulls and Costas, Rashad, ad nauseum), but who cares?  Ours is the Way and
> the Light; if other fans can't see that, then screw 'em.
>
> Bird,
> (The Celtic "Tird")