Re: hero to goat

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

At 10:59 11/1/2001 -0800, you wrote:
>anderson was having a sub par game.........turned hero to goat.  stole the
>ball was fouled was given two free throws to either tie the game or put us
>up by one......well we all know the story.  

What were you watching?! This is the best I've ever seen Kenny play, even
better than that Utah game he won for us a couple of years ago. Yes, he
missed the crucial 'throws. That was unfortunate. Yet if the rest of his
teammates had made more of theirs, or not come out in the 1st quarter
looking like they just consumed 240 Krispy Kreme donuts each, or not shot 6
for 29, or not gotten techincals wiggling their index fingers after a
block, or if the refs hadn't screwed us over... If if if...
Anyway, today is Wayray's lucky day, no doubt about it.

As disappointing as this was, you gotta look at the positives. Kenny is
alive and better than he's ever been for the Celtics (the question, of
course, is for how long). Pierce is a superstar, that much is clear. They
made a heroic effort to come back in the second half after being down by as
much as 25.  Kenny several times turned himself into a human missile -
literally - trying to prevent  Kidd from getting off his shot. Battie
rebounded well. Blount, I thought, played well in short minutes. JJ is
unflappable. Antoine...well,  let's just say he had a 3 and a tip-in  when
it mattered most. Palacio continued to shoot, rebound and defend well. 

Let's face it - the Nets aren't  the doormat of the league anymore. The
trade and the comeback of Martin and Kittles have transformed them into a
serious, talented team from a bunch of talented misfits they were with
Marbury at the helm.  We can't beat them when they're having a good night
and Antoine is shooting like he did tonight. 

To expound on that topic, I know they tell shooters to shoot themselves out
of a slump. But Antoine isn't a shooter, never has been. He HAS to cool it
when his shot just isn't going in, like it hasn't for most of the month,
and just not force any shots, unless he is completely open.  There are
others on the team now, besides Pierce, who can shoot  - Palacio, JJ,
Kenny, Forte if Obie would let him play...

Why DIDN'T Forte play? I know Kenny was fantastic and Palacio did a good
job, but how does he not get into the game at all? He's made a positive
contribution every time he's been on the court, so how does McCarty get
minutes over him? What need does McCarty answer that Forte couldn't?  Play
him at shooting guard, play him at small forward - I don't care, just get
him out there. He's that good and that smart, he'll find a way to
contribute. More than McCarty, anyway.

Eric again couldn't get his shot off against the towering front line of the
Nets. He coudn't stop them either, as hard as he tried. He's just too small
too play down low against most NBA teams, and not good enough a shooter to
play shooting guard. Why doesn't Forte get some of his minutes? Jimmy has
got the hots for Eric, so he doesn't see or acknowledge his obvious
limitations. Eric's got a role on this team, but it should be much more
limited.

This game again reminded me how stocked up on big guys the great majority
of NBA teams are, even the weaker ones. (The Nets: McCulloch, Van Horn,
Martin, Aaron Williams, Jason Collins). Yet we are completely content with
just 3 big guys, each of whom has a limitation or five. Our swingmen and
point guards expended a tremendous amount of energy trying to get rebounds
against much bigger players, and, unsurprisingly, got outrebounded. Our
inside game was shut down because of the size of the Nets' front line. Yet
we are ready to sign another 6-3 tweener guard, when the team's crying out
for help down low, and when Obie can't find minutes  for a very talented,
mature rookie at the very position Strickland plays. Somebody explain this
to me, please, 'cause it doesn't make any sense.  
Kestas