-Little Jimmy O'Brien? In first place?

[JB <jimmetz@xxxxxxx>]

	Last night, with N.J. losing to Indiana, the Celtics moved into first 
place in their division. A meaningless landmark, this early in  the 
season, but one we will be watching closely, as the very important home 
court advantage, in the first two rounds of the playoffs, hangs on this 
balance.
	In the other division of the Eastern conference; the Pacers have 
outperformed their rivals; N.O. and Detroit, as well as being two full 
games ahead of the C's.


Atlantic 		W   L    PCT    GB    Home       Away    Conf    Streak
Boston       16  7    .696     ---  10-4       6-3      13-5    Won 2
New Jersey   16 8     .667    1/2   12-1       4-7       8-4    Lost 1
Philadelphia 15 9     .625  1 1/2   10-2       5-7      12-5    Lost 5


Central      WL       PCT    GB     Home       Away    Conf    Streak
Indiana     18 5     .783    ---    11-1       7-4      11-2    Won 3
Detroit     16 7     .696   2       10-2       6-5       9-4    Won 4
New Orleans 17 8     .680   2       11-1       6-7      10-6    Lost 1

	I can't remember when the last time the Celtics were in 1st place this 
late in to the season, but I imagine that if we win tonight in Chicago, 
all of the Boston papers will be all over the story, even if a day late.
	How did this happen?
	After "The (Summer) of Our Discontent:" the useless, bargain, free 
agent signings (these were what O'Brien wanted), the trade that ruined 
the franchise for years to come (Wallace has to take the fall for this 
one)and the cheap owner (that Gaston will be leaving, with his bag of 
money, rattling his chains behind him, right at the Christmas season, 
is no coincidence)that wouldn't let us  fill out our roster to compete 
with all of the other teams who carry more (up to three more)players?
	The answer my friends, imho, is Jimmy O'Brien and the coaching staff 
he has assembled.
	What about the players you say? Yes, of course they have taken his 
instruction and filled his vision, but how many winners are there 
really on this roster? I said winners, not whiners!
	Rings, I mean! Is there a single player here , who was even with a 
playoff team before they arrived (S. Williams  and V. Baker, me thinks, 
lost a playoff round to San Antonio, last season, but  neither came 
here with a reputation for being that character guy, who inspires a 
team), or O'Brien took over?
	How has he done it? An unassuming iron will and  a simple but so far 
effective offense and  a not so simple and very effective defense.
	The defense brought in by Dick Harter, may be a state secret, there 
have been zone denials and contradictory comments from the coaches, 
but, lets just say, it's predicated on hard work, stopping penetration 
and a lot of help.
	The offense, while many of us weren't sure we even had one, was 
finally outlined in  this AM's column by Shira Springer of the Globe 
(quoting O'Brien):

''Good shot selection comes down to really not attempting many 3s,
unless the ball is passed or driven to the lane first to draw the
defense. Then, we can go inside to out. When you do that, the angle of
the pass coming to you at the 3-point line is an easy one to catch.

''If the ball can be passed to the low post or paint or driven to the
paint, the only reason you wouldn't shoot the ball from down there is
if two people came on you. If two people came on you, then somebody's
open. If you recognize that and pick it out, then you should get good
shot selection.

''Our goal would be to score early in the shot clock. It seems like a
subtlety, but you want to get as simple a shot as quickly as possible
so you don't have to run all over the place so you can work harder on
defense. If you had a pie, you'd want to expend 35 percent of your
effort on offense and about 65 percent on defense. If ours was a motion
offense where everybody was moving all the time, then it would be hard
to ask our guys to play the type of defense that we want them to play.
So, we want quick, good shots.''

	More contradictions? Perhaps, but the man has got things going his way 
and the players  love it and he has added a few more pieces, that fit 
right into his system; in Delk and S. Williams. He went  against every 
NBA pundit, who expected that the loss of our point guard would spell 
disaster and is standing tall this AM.
	How far can this team go on that iron will of diminutive Jimmy"O?" Can 
he jam that square peg (Vin Baker)into the round hole(the Celtics 
defense)? Don't bet against him. He's got "cousin Vinny" singing the 
right song. From today's Bulpet article, in the Herald:

``It's a lot different,'' he said. ``It's a great defensive scheme. I
was just thinking the other night about how other teams play defense,
and this is really a great defensive scheme. It's a lot of hard work,
but it pays off every night. It's completely different than anything
I've had in my 10 years, but it's a fun defense.

``The important thing is that it's becoming instinctive and it's really
getting embedded in my head. If I can play well defensively and help
this team defensively, we're going to be a better team. It might not be
the shots and the points that I want every night, but if I can help my
team on the defensive end I can give us a shot to win every night.''

	If this train keeps rolling, there's no telling how far we can go. No 
money for free agents after this season, you say? If O'Brien succeeds 
with Baker, the most hated man in Seattle, why not bring Isaih Rider 
and Lamar Odum in for motivation? Empty the prisons! We now can dig 
deeper in the scrap heap for our players,  who know what Wallace and 
Papile can uncover.

		JB

	Unchain My Heart !