Impressive win... thoughts

["Berry, Mark S" <berrym@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Last night was the best win of the season. It was the second night of a
back-to-back, on the road, against a conference opponent relatively close to
full strength and considered a contender in the East. Great win. A few
thoughts on the team at this point:

1.	They're doing this without top-notch performances from the captains.
Eric Williams, Tony Battie, Tony Delk and Shammond Williams have played
great.

2.	Pierce's continued struggles worry me. It's not just shot-selection
either (although that's part of it). He's going through long stretches where
the ball just looks funky coming out of his hand. You see it on free throws
sometimes. I think it's something to watch closely as the season goes along.
To Pierce's credit, he really has improved in terms of passing out of the
double team-his assist numbers prove that. He's also rebounding like a
madman.

3.	Antoine has turned into a very streaky offensive player. He can get
unbelievably hot and unbelievably cold. He's definitely the leader of the
team. His rebounding and assist numbers are off a little, but you have to
think those will pick up.

4.	I've come to realize that Jim O'Brien's handling of Vin Baker is
absolutely masterful. He realized right away that Vin wouldn't be much help.
So instead of trying to force it and giving the team a scapegoat for any
struggles, he made Vin a peripheral piece and made sure that Pierce, Walker,
Battie, Williams and Delk understood that the success or failure of the team
still rested on their shoulders. If he had made Vin a starter and tried to
feature him in any way, Vin inevitably would have flopped, just as he did in
Seattle, and the same bickering, negativity and bad chemistry could have
infected the Celtics. O'Brien didn't allow it because he made Vin a spare
part. Anything they get from him is a bonus.

5.	Of course, that just illustrates all the more what a disaster of a
trade that was. I'm sure Chris Wallace will spin it to say they're getting
everything they've asked from Vin, Shammond is playing great and things
couldn't be better. Bull. Shammond is a nice player, but he came with a $50
million albatross around his neck-one that will almost assuredly force
Shammond out of town at season's end. Really, this trade should cost Wallace
his job.

6.	I'm actually coming around on Obie. I hate the offense. I'll never
like the offense. But it's working. He has them playing good defense and
executing this ugly offense consistently well. And they're still one of the
toughest-minded teams in the NBA. His handling of Baker has been dead-on
perfect. He's getting more from Eric Williams than I ever imagined possible.
This team certainly is a legitimate contender in the East.

Anyway, lots of good stuff going on. Sorry this is a little long. I've been
very busy and haven't been able to post much. I'm kind of catching up.

Mark

P.S. Joe mentioned Lebron James a week or so ago... Well, the kid is coming
to ESPN2. Really, this is terrible. This kid is being ruined. Here's the
blurb about the televised high school basketball game-we all can see for
ourselves what the hype is about:

LeBron James is bringing high school basketball back to ESPN. 
The network's ESPN2 will televise the Dec. 12 game between the star senior's
team from St. Vincent-St. Mary High of Akron, Ohio, and Virginia's Oak Hill
Academy. 
It's ESPN's first regular-season prep game since 1989. 
James was Ohio's Mr. Basketball the last two seasons, and he's appeared on
the cover of Sports Illustrated. He is so highly regarded that he could be
the No. 1 overall choice in the next NBA draft if he decides to skip
college. 
Some St. Vincent-St. Mary's games already are being sold for up to $7 on
pay-per-view TV in northeast Ohio.