Re: Formidable front line

[JB <jimmetz@xxxxxxx>]

    Joe, you make compelling points on the irrelevance of our offense and
the emphasis on defensive intensity and strategies that led to the Celtics
rise.
    I'd like to point out though, that;* that, is just half the battle. We
were among the top three teams in a weak East, where the favored teams were
decimated with injuries. Detroit, NJ and Boston, were among the least
injured teams and they were the three that rose. Certainly, all three made
significant changes, which led to those improvements, but I believe that in
another season, those moves would not have had such dramatic effect.
    Interestingly, both teams that had home court advantage in the
respective divisions, were working with motion offenses. Fast breaks,
cutters and an emphasis on easy scores, before the zone defenses could set
in. 
    Of course, both teams fell to the Lakers, as a great big man equalizes
many other variables, but the greatest teams (uno who), had both a
dominating big man and a great point guard/offensive strategy.
    While we are hoping that our new coach, (forgot his name already) can
really coach post play and that we work on the offense this year, it's my
opinion that NJ is way ahead of us, in team development, because of Scott's
willingness to work on both areas of the game and by relying on the notion,
that; big man/post game or not, motion is the way to go.
    Having Jason Kidd to run that offense, while adding interior defense,
muscle, and playoff experience, through trade and signing, will propel NJ
into the true elite.
    Will the C's stay with them? I sure wish we could count on  the same
commitment to team play and unselfish leaderswhip that Kidd gives them.
    
     JB
        
* Irrelevant punctuation added for the titillation of our Mr. Bird.
*******************************
on 8/19/02 1:28 PM, hironaka@nomade.fr at hironaka@nomade.fr wrote:

>> ---------- Initial message -----------
>> I believe that the front line of Walker, Battie and
> Baker will be very
>> difficult to defend. I assume that Baker will play
> center, Battie will be a
>> power forward, which I believe he's better suited for,
> and Walker will
>> probably move to the small forward. How many centers in
> the East will be
>> able to deal with Baker? Ditto for Battie and any PF
> trying to guard him.
>> This may sound strange, but I believe that if Walker
> moves to the small
>> forward position, he'll probably utilize more of his
> inside game, as he'll
>> post up opposing small forwards (imagine someone like
> Spreewell or Grant
>> Hill trying to stop him down low).
>> 
>> -David
>> 
> 
> 
> Good points, but don't you think the issue is defense not
> offense?
> 
> One of the rote observations about our Boston Celtics
> last year vs. the season before is that the captains
> finally "matured" and that Antoine, in particular,
> started paying attention to "rebounding the ball
> more/again". 
> 
> In reality, as we all probably realize, Antoine averaged
> fewer rebounds last season than before (both compared to
> the previous seasons 8.9 and his career average).
> 
> He also slumped to his worst FG% year bar none as a pro
> (.394 is twenty points off his previous rookie low), he
> fell considerably in assists (5.5 to 5.0), he fell in
> steals (1.70 to 1.50), blocks etc. In case you are
> wondering, this was despite playing slightly more mpgs
> than the previous year.
> 
> So what gives? If it seems I'm bashing Antoine Walker (my
> favourite NBA player), wait until I get to the REST of
> the team. 
> 
> Sidebar: Antoine Walker IMO deservedly had what it took
> to be voted an All Star game starter (Garnett's the only
> other guy that can claim "20-10-and-5"), and Pierce
> deservedly made the US national team (he might even be
> the go-to scorer this month).
> 
> But ultimately the difference last year was defense
> (hence wins, hence the recognition).
> 
> So I reiterate my original point. We fans can talk all
> day long about offense or lack thereof, and of finally
> having that "third scorer", lowpost threat etc.
> 
> But Boston might have a greatly improved offense and
> still only win 35 games. Boston has added third scorers
> before (Mercer, Kenny).
> 
> Last years offensive statistics fail to support the
> thesis that offense made the difference. The won-loss
> difference (a more than 20+ jump in wins including the
> playoffs) was principally due to the use of an
> established NBA defense (in this case, Dick Harter's)even
> with the same personnel as before.
> 
> As counterintuitive as it can seem, all the evidence
> suggests Boston was successful on defense under
> Obie/Harter using a smaller, less traditional power
> forward/center lineup. And because Boston was more
> successful on defense, they became successful period.
> 
> With the exception of turnovers, both the Celtics team
> and individual offense regressed or treaded water
> compared to the team that finished more than 10 games
> under .500 the year before. It all starts with Pierce and
> Walker.
> 
> Because of Paul Pierces increased scoring, the Celtics
> captains upped their combined scoring punch by a
> supercharged 0.2 points per game (48.2 to 48.4).
> 
> At what cost in scoring efficiency did those 0.2 ppg
> come? In Bostons previous mediocre season, Pierce/Walker
> shot a good but not great .432 from the field combined.
> Last year, they shot .417 combined.
> 
> You all want to blame all that on Antoine Walker right? I
> know you do! ;-)  Well blame Pierce too. He fell off .012
> points in FG% last year, and thats not including
> shooting .403 in our successful 16-game playoff run.
> 
> As a unit, the 57-win Celtics team declined in both FG%
> (down .424 from .428) and 3-point FG% (also a decline
> of .004). Moreover, there was a zero improvement in
> offensive boards and a trivial increase in team assists
> (0.2 more). Check it out for yourselves.
> 
> Im not arguing against Battie and Baker starting
> together, with Walker at small forward. I hope Obie
> finally experiments with it, since hes never done it
> before. 
> 
> The reality is that Obie seems to love Battie as his
> pivot guy and Walker as his ultra-versatile power
> forward. He loves Eric playing defense at small forward,
> until Kedrick can step into that role.
> 
> And its been working. The Celts improved a
> remarkable .034 points on defense, including 0.28 on
> perimeter defense (3-point defense). They went from .470
> allowed under Coach Pitinochio, to .425 last year.
> Probably very few people thought we could play better
> than .450 defense with our non-traditional lineup,
> which had essentially the same personnel Pitino had at
> his disposal. And some of these guys had off-years
> (Walker, Tony Delk, Eric Williams and Strickland shot
> under .400).
> 
> Improved offense is not going to trump weakened defense.
> Remember the Nuggets and Hawks of the 80s?
> 
> The key for 2002-03 is how the three newcomers to
> Bostons 8-man rotation (Vin Baker, Sham and Kedrick
> Brown) can impact the teams defensive efficiency. I
> think well see a bit more versatility with guys playing
> multiple positions in every game. But if Kedrick/Eric
> give more to team defense than Walker/Baker/Battie, then
> the former will get the starting small forward minutes.
> 
> Joe H.
> 
> 
> (apologies for a long post)
> 
> 
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