Thoughts from last night, looking ahead

["Berry, Mark S" <berrym@BATTELLE.ORG>]

I watched most of the first three quarters, until it was obvious it was
going to turn into extended garbage time. A few thoughts...

Pierce looked like the player of the month from last March. The Cavs simply
had no answer. He could have scored 40 without breaking a sweat.

Toine really controlled the boards and pushed the pace. Still took some
ill-advised shots, but the difference between last night's 6-for-20 and one
of his typical 6-for-20 efforts was the trips to the foul line. Nice game
for Toine.

The rest... really didn't matter, and I think that's going to be a theme for
this team. When Toine and Pierce both play well, they can beat anyone. When
one of them doesn't play their best, they'll struggle. Yes, Kenny was
better. Yes, Joe Johnson had a nice debut. But it's Toine and Pierce. The
team will live and die with them.

Overall, I'd say you can't really take away much from last night. It was one
of those nights when the Celts could do no wrong and the Cavs could do no
right. The Celts are the better team, but the stars were aligned last night.

Tonight should be a nice test. I flipped over to the second half of the
Nets-Pacers game last night and came away impressed with the Nets. They were
down big early and Jason Kidd took over. What a player. How good would the
Celts be with that guy at PG? I would guess the Nets would try to play
Kenyon Martin on Toine, with Van Horn on Eric Williams. Those should be
interesting matchups. Anyway, this is one of those early measuring-stick
games, because the Nets are going to make a move in the East, and figure to
be battling the Celts for that final playoff spot.

Did any scores from around the league last night pique anyone's interest?
For me, the Nets' win (is Jersey for real? Is Isiah at it again?), the
Bucks' win in Utah (Mason handled the Mailman), Denver's win in Phoenix (is
Marbury the anti-Kidd?), and Atlanta's OT loss at Houston (despite a
nightmare game for Terry and Kukoc).

Looking forward to tonight more than I did last night. I always enjoy these
kinds of games-good matchups against teams that figure to be fighting for
the same thing.

Mark