Re: Ye olde dark cloud.

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

At 22:58 10/16/2001 -0400, you wrote:
>   4. Joe Johnson and Vitaly need to be in the starting lineup.

Johnson, yes; Vitaly, no. At his best, he can be effective against second
units. He showed signs of life tonight. At least he always tries hard -
can't get mad at him, as bad as he is sometimes.  

>   O'Brien started Blount again. Same result. We were down by 15 and out
>rebounded 12-2, before the national anthem was over. He just has no clue. He
>can't pass, but he is asked to handle the ball on the perimeter. He doesn't
>rebound. He has no hands. What is he doing in there?

Maybe JOB is trying to revive him, this being the preseason and all. Right
now, he's not only  clueless, he's just not involved. The fire and
aggressiveness that he showed at Shaw's (yes, against NBA wannabees, but
still) is  gone. I just don't understand  why he doesn't get after it -
even if you're clueless, your'e still 7-feet tall, and in good shape, you
can make good things happen if you try hard. He seems to have contracted
Moisoitis, but without the talent. JOB needs to tell him - you go in there,
you go after every ball HARD, or you sit. 

>   For starters, Antoine takes himself out of the offense, except for the
>possibility of a drive into traffic, or a three point shot. The point guard
>is out of the offense. Pierce gets doubled down low. What becomes of our
>offensive set, is either a pass to Pierce in heavy traffic, a pass to
>Blount/V./Battie for a foul line jumper, or a pass to Eric Williams in the
>corner for a three. 

Yup. It's funny, but the halfcourt offense functioned best with the rookies
in there in the 4th. JJ and JF really know how to play the game. JJ creates
more good shots for his teammates in 5 minutes than Palacio does in 5 games. 

> Palacio cannot run an offense to save his life. He has no
>instincts and is really not a good passer. 

He did make one really good pass tonight, but it's a rarity.  He does 2
things well, maybe even 3: take it to the hoop, play D (although not this
preseason), and shoot the mid-range J (just starting to). I guess that's
all you can ask from a low-priced, 3rd-tier PG. 

> Forte may become a point guard,
>but it won't come fast enough.

I wouldn't bet against it, the way he's improving every game. The kid is
smart, fundamentally sound,  and has good court vision.  

>   Joe Johnson has all around skills. 

Yup, he's gonna be great for us. 

>Eric Williams is very limited. 

I keep watching his defense and I just don't see anything there. Players
he's guarding quite often go by him like he was a traffic cone. Is there
any tangible evidence that our defense is better when Eric is in? I doubt
it. He can draw fouls on offense, score in the paint   in the right
circumstances, and hit the occasional three, but that's it. I don't
understand why he's being guaranteed a starting job. 
Kestas