FW: Give Jimmy an -A-.

[JB <JBMetzEA@AOL.com>]

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From: JB <jbmetzea@Yahoo.com>
Date: Wed, 10 Oct 2001 22:09:03 -0400
To: Celtic's Stuff <Celticsstuffgroup@yahoogroups.com>
Subject: Give Jimmy an -A-.


  
 My first observation was how much Kenny Anderson and Tony Battie were
missed last year, they really extend the rotation. When Vitaly got his
second foul, Tony came in and nothing was lost. If anything, the pace picked
up. Anderson is a true point guard and when he pushes the ball and finds the
open men, we are certainly a playoff caliber team.  Secondly, I was groaning
over the subjectivity of the foul calls. Eldon Campbell bulled his way into
the lane and Vitaly held his ground, only to get called. A minute or two
later, Battie stood still with one arm raised and another Hornet rammed him
on the way to the hoop. Of course the call was on Tony. I'm not saying fouls
were an issue in this game, but all I could think of was how easy it's going
to be for Jordan to get the Wizards into the playoffs, because  fouls are
not consistently defined. It's "in the eye of the beholder."
 I must say coach O'Brien did a masterful job. The players did not play
especially well, but I thought he used them to the best of their abilities
and never lost control of the game.
 If the first quarter was an example of the way he wants them to play, then
we are going to like this team. Anderson was moving the ball and the players
were running the floor. Eric Williams was the early offensive story, getting
to the lane before the defense was set, for some easy hoops and three quick
fouls on his defender. The offense was marked for the spreading out of the
shots. The ball was moving and it was quite a while before Antoine heaved a
three (1-6) or Paul forced the ball into traffic (9 turnovers). Defensively,
the team hustled and everyone crashed the boards.
 We built a sixteen point lead late in the second quarter that fell to
twelve at half time as O'Brien inserted Joe Forte (yes, he played the point
and guarded Baron Davis) and Kedrick Brown. Early in the third quarter,
Charlotte opened on fire, as the Celtics' hustling defense and the running
the floor stopped completely. Charlotte actually took a two point lead,
after only about three minutes. O'Brien inserted Palacio, Battie and Joe
Johnson to  pick up the pace and the defensive intensity, while turning the
offense over to Pierce. Both moves were successful, as the C's took back
control at that point and never lost the lead again.
 I was pleased with the center rotation. Battie and Vitaly got most of the
minutes, as they should. They both missed a few easy shots that will fall
most nights, but generally were quite effective. The whole team rebounded
well, but Tony was all over the boards (9 in 22 minutes). Battie played
during "crunch" time.
 Ah, yes, "crunch" time. Here is where O'Brien really earned his high score.
With five minutes left and Boston up by 6 or 7, Walker rushed a three and
drove into traffic, with Charlotte closing to three. Coach pulled Antoine
from the game for Vitaly and Walker sat for three minutes. Pierce took over
the offense and hit three big shots to get the lead back to 10. With two
minutes left, Walker came back in and Anderson who had little left was
replaced by Palacio. Walker preceded to pass the ball to Palacio who hit one
and then another, open jumper, to squash any hope for a Charlotte comeback.
When Antoine plays unselfishly, this team plays very well. O'Brien showed
signs of shortening Antoine's leash.
 The rookies really weren't much of a factor, but there were signs  that
Forte and Johnson, as they both handle the ball well, will gain confidence
and poise, to help keep the offensive flow going  as the season progresses.
This has been a major shortcoming in recent seasons. Brown did put down a
jam and made an impressive steal off of Baron Davis' dribble. If they can
push Eric Williams and Walter McCarty to 10-12 on the rotation, we may have
something here. 
 As far as I can remember Chris Herren was the only available player, not to
play, home crowd and all.
                 

                 JB

                   

                   
Unchain My Heart!