Some thoughts

[Tammo29@xxxxxxx]

   Tony had a huge game.  Nice to see him out on the court again.  I've 
always liked Tony and have defended him many times in the past.  However I 
have to agree with Joe.  There is no possible way he kicked that ball at the 
ref unintentionally.  He stared right at the guy and then angled the ball 
directly at him.
Hopefully Tony has learned his lesson and won't lose his head like that 
again.  We need him on the court.

  Antoine spent most of the night guarding absolutely no one.  More than once 
his man was on the opposite side of the court.  He was almost like a free 
safety out there.  I'm not sure if this was intentional or not, but what does 
that say for the Cav's forwards (Boozer, Diop & Hill)?

  Speaking of Hill, he never did come back after fouling Pierce on a drive 
and taking the brunt of the punishment.  If you stop and think of how many 
players have missed games after run ins with Pierce, both opponents and his 
own teammates...yet Pierce always seems to pick himself up and keep on going. 
 Just goes to show how tough he really is.

  Speaking of tough, I was surprised O'Brien didn't use Piece on Davis more 
than he did.  There was one period in the second quarter when Pierce shut him 
down four times in a row, after Davis had had his way with Eric up to that 
point.  Paul played with and against Davis a lot this summer and I'm sure he 
picked up a few tricks on how to guard him along the way.  
I know Paul was very impressed by him and even brought him to the attention 
of the Celtics management knowing Davis was unhappy in Cleveland.  But I 
don't know if the Celtics ever seriously considered him.  He does have an 
attitude that needs adjusting.  Still, he is a talent.
Back to defense, Paul also did a good job on Miles even though Miles has a 
height and quickness advantage.  So I couldn't understand why O'Brien had him 
on Parker and Palacio so much of the night.  Was he afraid of foul trouble? 
Or did he want to use him more for help defense?  Hard to tell what he was 
thinking.

  Delk did a good job on Wagner but this game just goes to prove something 
I've felt about Duajan for some time.  When the kids shot is off he really 
can't do much else to help you.  He doesn't rebound, he doesn't play all that 
well on defense, and he doesn't pass the ball very well either.  I know he's 
young and can improve but right now he's a scorer and nothing else.  Normally 
I would say he needed a couple more years of college ball.  But watching the 
way Calapari just let him do whatever he wanted on the floor, I'm not sure 
more time under Calapari would have helped.

  Finally, Kedrick still looks lost.  I know a lot of people have been 
frustrated with his lack of playing time but he's been no help on the floor 
on either end.  I can understand O'Brien's reluctance to use him up to this 
point.

  TAM