Re: CBW review: Celtics vs. Knicks

[snoopy1@xxxxxxx]

My responses follow the relevant passages of the previous post...

At 11:56 AM 12/7/02 -0500, Lance Jacobson wrote:
>Ah, Snoop, 'twas a good game for the C's, and a good report.  You'd be
>pleased to know that my buddy, Pierce, got robbed.  Obie should have left
>him in to get his triple double, for two reasons:
>
>1) Pierce started out with a reasonable hot hand, yet didn't force the
>offense and looked for passing opportunities and patiently fed the ball
>2) He played nearly flawless defense on Houston, which really confused the
>Knicks, forcing them into putting the ball in Sprewell's hands for every
>scoring opportunity.
>
>When Pierce plays like this, not driving into traffic (much) and using the
>spacing to force defenders to choose quickly whom to cover, he's a solid
>threat.  He even fed Baker for a dunk!  That must have come from Twan/Obie
>twisting his arm, but he didn't whine, and even took his seat on the bench
>in the fourth without making a scene.  Kudos to Pierce.

OK, who are you, and how did you get access to Lance's 
computer?  :>))))  Seriously, I agree with your comments here--I ought to, 
seeing as how you agree with mine!

>Baker got the offensive message somewhere.  Dawn breaks on Knucklehead.
>Catch, turn, finish.  Hesitate and all is lost.  Now, if he listens to
>Heinsohn about the push fouls, he'll last a lot longer.  That clean rebound
>that Snoop wrote about was preceeded by a slight hand-push that caught the
>refs eye.  Even with a slimmer butt, Baker's got to use it to move people.

Possibly, but I have to agree with Vin's postgame assessment that he's 
essentially being called like a rookie instead of a vet.  Truth is, there's 
a lot of players who do the same things as Baker and never get called.  In 
the specific case, I don't remember seeing the bump, but then, I use the 
"Johnny Most" prescription eyeglasses when I watch Celtics games. :>))

>There was a zero tonight, though, and his name was Shammond.  28 minutes,
>0-5, two rebounds, two assists isn't a strong line.  Good news was that he
>wasn't really needed and played good D on Eisley/Ward.  Still, not a ball
>handler/playmaker and I agree that he hesitates on his shot, but limiting
>himself to five attempts made sense in this game.

I didn't rate Shammond a zero because of his defense.  Because of Walker 
and Pierce--and now Delk--Shammond's not really out there for his offense 
in a major way right now, though I would like to see him score more 
consistently.

>Another zero was Sundov, but that doesn't factor in since he's got no
>responsibility on this squad to produce.  Obie put him in at center, and he
>picked a rebound at both ends, but his passing is sloppy and the location of
>the rim seems to have no bearing on his shot.

Sundov has played something like 15 minutes of game time all 
season.  There's been NO chance to work him into game shape.  Right now, 
I'm happy if he fills up the center.  He was only put in ther to get him 
the experience he desperately needs.

>Bremer doesn't impress at
>all; he's no spark, but at 1/3 the cost of Strickland he's not a liability.

Bremer is, at this point, a warm body to give one of the starters a 
rest.  With the return of Kedrick Brown, he can actually start practicing 
at his normal position.

>Battie had a nice game again, and I'm impressed with his willingness to play
>aggressively against the weak-centered teams.  I'm anxious to see him
>against the Pacers, Spurs, Clippers and Rockets,  long before he's tested
>against Shaq.  Will he play tough or disappear, as NCC used to wail, when
>someone of size and strength shows up.  He responded as a veteran to the
>first bashing by the Bulls, but frankly, even after 19 games, he's not had
>to face any offensive threats.

Tony seems to genuinely enjoy ripping the ball off the board, and to REALLY 
enjoy that two handed slam.  He's going to need all of that when he starts 
facing big men under the hoop.  But that's part of the beauty of his 
situation--there's precious few true big men left.  Granted, People like 
Nowitzki, Sabonis and Shaq will probably get the better of him--but then, 
they're better--and bigger--players.

His advantage is that with everyone watching Walker and Pierce, Battie has 
a field day inside.  His style of play seems to be rubbing off on Vin 
Baker, which would be great to see.

Snoopy the Celtics Beagle
Please visit the Celtics Beagle Website at
http://users.mfi.net/fluteaphrael/celticsbeagle/celtics.html