Very encouraging

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

Fantastic performance yesterday. Defense was great. Once they stopped
bailing out Iverson with the fouls, they controlled the game. Contrary to
many on the list, I really didn't feel the calls on Iverson were that bad
(with the exception of the Kenny block/foul). They were trying to challenge
his shots and were getting too close. They were legit fouls. But the Celts
adjusted and did a tremendous job the rest of the game.

Offensively, it was beautiful. The team was really moving the ball, finding
the open man, attacking the basket first and avoiding the quick threes. They
can be so good when they do that. Antoine set the tone in the first quarter
when he got a couple of hoops inside and made some nice interior passes. He
had trouble finishing in the second and third quarters (he seemed to be just
throwing the ball toward the hoop, instead of accepting the contact and
getting to the line), but he kept attacking the basket. His misses were more
than made up for by the threat he created and the passing lanes he opened by
posting up. He used the 3-pointer as a great weapon a couple of times.

What can you say about Pierce? He seemed to have some jitters when the game
started, but when he settled down, he put on a show. Inside, outside,
posting up, dribble driving... you name it. And he rebounded and blocked
shots and did everything you could want. Just a great performance.

Walter... What is it about Philly that wakes him up? Great game.

Unsung hero... Tony Battie. Did a nice job on the boards and kept Mutombo
from having one of those 18-rebound monster games he's capable of having.
I'd still like to see him run the floor. He should be whipping Mutombo down
the floor. Rogers did a couple of times (although the Celts missed him at
least once).

And, I can't believe I'm about to say this, but I love Kenny too. He's
playing great. Just fantastic. He even seems to be enjoying himself again.

Coaching... Hats off to Obie. I've been critical, but he had this team ready
to go. The interior passing neutralized Mutombo and the team seemed
strangely calm considering their lack of playoff experience. That's a credit
to Obie. I was a little concerned in the first quarter when they seemed to
be losing their composure-it can happen quickly in the playoffs-but Obie
settled them down and they controlled the game.

The worrier in me is scared to death of Thursday's game. You know Iverson is
going to bounce back at some point. The Celts did a great job defensively,
but Iverson has seen it all before. There's no magic bullet for guys like
him. His pride is going to motivate him to come out firing Thursday, and
he's capable of one of those 40-point explosions that even great defense
can't do much about. I'm also worried about the rebounding. The Celts did a
great job yesterday, but you know Larry Brown is going to spend the next
three days drilling his guys on hitting the offensive boards. I expect a
much more physical Philly team Thursday.

It's a pivotal game. The Celts have performed well when they have this kind
of practice time, so that's encouraging. Philly may be the toughest place to
play among the Eastern Conference playoff teams. Detroit isn't easy when the
Pistons are playing well, but Philly can be brutal. So it's important to go
there with that 2-0 cushion. If they can get by Philly, that second-round
series with Detroit is starting to feel an awful lot like those 87-88
classics when the winner was the Eastern Conference representative in the
Finals. I hate to get that far ahead, but this team is playing so well, it's
impossible not to think about how far they could go.

Excited, nervous, encouraged, worried, anxious...

Mark