Ye olde silver lining.

[JB <jbmetzea@yahoo.com>]

   It would seem that the loss to San Antonio has really taken the wind out
of the sails of most posters. In spite of the magnitude of the defeat, there
are still some bright spots.
       1.  Kenny Anderson did look to run. A healthy Kenny is better than no
Kenny at all. Does he seem bored at times, sure, but he's been through quite
a few seasons now and I won't write him off, until we've played 8-10 regular
season games. 
       2. Palacio, while still no distributor, is ready to take the open
shot, when it comes. He's more than an adequate defender and will be
valuable when Iverson or another quick point guard comes to town.
       3. Joe Forte has showed much more point guard skill, than most of us
had hoped for. He still has a lot to learn, but there is evidence, he will.
He is adept at creating space for his own offense and is looking for the
opening to pass. 
          4. Tony Battie has hustled and worked hard every minute he has
been on the court. He is the closest we have to a starting center and he
appears healthy and aggressive.
       5. Vitaly has been abysmal, just as he was at the beginning of last
season. Why? It's hard to tell, but it would seem that whatever he does in
the offseason is counterproductive. He improved last season as the season
wore on and I expect the same this time. If there was ever a player that
needed a personal trainer and special "big man" tutoring, Vitaly is he.
       6. Eric Williams has given the team a few good minutes each game. Do
we need more from him?
       7. Joe Johnson's game has translated to this level. He will help the
team whenever he is on the floor.
       8. Kedrick Brown has shown that he can score in the NBA.
       9.  Paul Pierce has played good defense, rebounded strongly and has
looked like the go-to guy we need, to close out games.
       10. Antoine, while shooting miserably, has turned to other phases of
his game; he has passed and rebounded very effectively, as his shot was not
falling and definitely is playing much more intently on defense.
           11. Jimmy O'Brien has a much better grasp of what the team is
doing than I imagined he would. Perhaps the input from Jack Ramsey has
helped, but he is trying to overcome weaknesses, by instituting a running
game and getting a team rebounding effort. The defensive intensity is also
noticeably higher. So far, I've liked his game management and has shown
signs he will not tolerate Kenny's lazy play or Antoine's impulsive
offensive barrages.
                    JB

                   

                   
Unchain My Heart!