first game

[Kestas <Kestutis.Kveraga@dartmouth.edu>]

Well, that was a fairly competitive game. I  was pleasantly surprised with
Eric and Kenny in the first quarter. Kenny's play was reminiscent of his
first few games with the Celtics, with long looks up the floor and some
nifty feeds. His jumper is back, too. 

 Williams reverted to his rookie self for a while, which is a good thing
for him. If he were utilized in that capacity (the herky-jerky stuff down
low) on offense, he could be a useful bit player. I still don't think he's
that great a defender, although he tries very hard.

Pierce had a horrible turnover game, with 9 to his name, and missed some
early shots. He made them when it counted, though, and pulled down some
tough rebounds late in the game. 

I really liked Toine's attitude. He was dead serious, unselfish, a hawk on
defense (6 steals), going to the floor several times, made some beautiful
passes, while getting robbed of assists on blown layups or fouls. Also
pulled down his share of rebounds. His only problem was his usual problem -
poor decisions driving into a bunch of players, getting stripped, blocked,
shut down. Hence the 6 for 18 line. He did try to go to the hoop a lot, but
you have to consider that the Hornets have some pretty decent big men (PJ
Brown, Campbell, Coleman, even Magloire). I don't think he overdid the 3 -
some of his 6 attempts were heaves with the clock expiring. 

Of the big men, Pot and Blount were their usual selves. Battie showed why
his presence is critical to the Celtics' playoff aspirations. He's the only
one who can dominate on the boards when he chooses to, instead of playing
volleyball  like the rest of  his teammates. He can just go up and get it.

The rookies didn't do much tonight, although JJ contributed some. But they
didn't embarass themselves either. McCarty was his usual self, doing his
energizer bunny stuff well, and making a couple of heaves and committing a
couple of classic Walteresque boo-boos. 

Overall, not a bad outing, considering they beat a good team, albeit
playing without a key player (Mashburn). They did it mostly by hustling,
playing pretty good defense and running the fast break, for they didn't
execute in the halfcourt very well. They'll have to scrap to beat good
teams like Charlotte, but they can do it. 
Kestas