Re: how baker will fit in

["Cecil" <cecil@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Watched USA beat Germany last night and here are some brief observations:

1.  We should have kept Ben Wallace when we had the chance (DUH!!)
2.  Andre Miller will make some mistakes, but he sure is thrilling to watch.
3.  Nowitzki is capable of being an MVP in any league.
4.  Paul Pierce made several nice passes leading to easy baskets for his
teammates.
5.  Paul Pierce is an assassin.  I think he comes out this year looking to
make the finals at any cost.

Cecil



----- Original Message -----
From: <lancejacob@attbi.com>
To: <Tammo29@AOL.com>
Cc: <celtics@igtc.com>
Sent: Friday, August 30, 2002 6:04 PM
Subject: Re: how baker will fit in


> It does concern me that O'Brien doesn't seem any more
> thrilled about the Baker acquisition than Pierce or
> Walker.  He desperately wanted to keep Rogers.
> If Baker doesn't show an ability to dominate down low
> from the very first practice, will O'Brien even
> consider making him a featured part of the offense?
> I don't know.  He's never gone out of his way to make a
> big man a part of the offense before, unless you're
> talking about the pick and pop, which doesn't
> lend itself to Bakers strengths.>>Tammo
>
> Ah, yes, just another Ode to Paul, where we learn of
> his wondrous feats in Kansas, even though Roy Williams
> refused to let him control the ball and thus stifled
> Paul the Epistle from scoring 60 per night.
>
> Yeah, I saw PP last night, and those Romper Room kids
> they played against.  I'm surprised he didn't just
> shoot backward from the top of the key considering the
> boredom these guys felt against the Horror-atio Algiers.
>
> You call those assists?  I call them 3-on-1 attacks.
> Paul likes to shoot, then likes to play hero, but never
> works to draw defenders WITH the eye to free someone
> up.  Haven't seen it in two years.
>
> Meanwhile, did Obie regret losing Rogers?  Sure, who
> else would score 14 per night while taking shots only
> when deigned by the captains?  Don't think Baker will
> be happy receiving the ball with 4 seconds left as the
> last, rather than third option.  Unless Paul gets a
> dose of reality (or 12 reruns of the NJ series) he
> won't give up the rock, and I don't think Twan wants
> Vin to dictate the shots from the block.  This is
> Obie's biggest nightmare, that the captains don't run
> the offense from the top.  Stay tuned, and print up
> those "#34--"I Need to Have the Basketball" bumper
> stickers.  Just don't make them blue-on-white.
> > >I wonder.
> > >Generally, solid low-post scoring works best from the inside out --
that is,
> > when you >send the ball into the post, and a good scorer has the option
of
> > shooting or >passing. That means the offense starts with the postman.
Will
> > the Celtics regularly >feed Baker on the box?  It seems to me that most
of
> > the offense has consisted of >one-on-one stuff for Pierce and Walker,and
> > beyond that, the two-man game.  Other >guys get shots when Paul and
Antoine
> > are overdefended.  What with Paul and  >Antoine do when Baker is working
down
> > low?  They're both players who need to >dominate the ball; do they
become
> > spot-up three point shooters too? I'm just having >a problem figuring
what
> > the newoffense will look like.
> > >Josh
> >
> >
> >   The old "Chicken or the Egg ?".
> >    Is it the captains dominating the ball because that's the only way
they
> > know how to play?  Or is it the coach asking the captains to dominate
because
> > he feels that's their best chance to win?
> >   Yours seems to be the dominate theory with Celtics fans and one I've
argued
> > against more than once.
> >
> >   I can't speak as much for Antoine because I didn't watch him play
outside
> > the Celtics "system" very often.  I few college games.  A couple
all-star
> > games.  That's it.
> > But I can speak to Pierce.
> > He played in a college system that did indeed center on feeding the ball
into
> > the post.  The big man has always been the main focus in the
> > "Carolina-Kansas" system.
> > Those of us that have seen him play since high school knew he could hit
from
> > anywhere on the floor, yet it seemed like it was a surprise to most
Celtics
> > fans his rookie year.
> > Why?  Probably because he wasn't the main offensive focus in college so
> > unless you watched him every game it never stood out.  The big man was
the
> > centerpiece, almost to a fault.
> > He touched the ball on just about every possession.  And they had a true
> > distributing point guard.
> > But Pierce still flourished in that system.  We all knew what kind of a
> > talent he was.
> >
> > I know that he doesn't need to control the ball to be effective because
I've
> > seen it.
> > Not only in College, but in the few games he's played since being with
the
> > Celtics that Antoine has missed.
> > Just look at the World Chapionship game last night.  He not only led the
team
> > in points with 22, he also led them in assists with 6.  All in about 18
> > minutes. Less than half the game.
> > And you know that if George Karl had thought for a second he was being
the
> > least bit selfish he would have been sitting on the bench.  Instead he
was
> > the last player to be substituted for in the first half and played the
second
> > half until Karl called off the dogs  for good in the third quarter.
> > I honestly believe that the offense the Celtics have played the last few
> > years starts with O'Brien, not with the players.  Not only because of
what
> > I've said here, but because of what O'Brien has said himself. Over, and
over
> > and over again.
> > Even Steve Bulpett reported that he was present during the regular
season
> > when the coaches came to Pierce and told him he had to take more
> > responsibility for the offense, which meant more shots.  I know for a
fact
> > that they've had this conversation more than once. Isn't it possible
they've
> > had the same conversation with Walker?
> > I'm willing to give him the benifit of the doubt.
> >
> > Well, maybe now with a healthy, refreshed Baker (hopefully) O'Brien will
take
> > a new tact.
> > It does concern me that O'Brien doesn't seem any more thrilled about the
> > Baker acquisition than Pierce or Walker.  He desperately wanted to keep
> > Rogers.
> > If Baker doesn't show an ability to dominate down low from the very
first
> > practice, will O'Brien even consider making him a featured part of the
> > offense?
> > I don't know.  He's never gone out of his way to make a big man a part
of the
> > offense before, unless you're talking about the pick and pop, which
doesn't
> > lend itself to Bakers strengths.
> > Is this because of his offensive philosophy, or because of the talent he
had?
> > Once again, the Chicken or the Egg?
> > If nothing else, this should be interesting.