Re: They Still Lost People

[Kestutis.Kveraga@dartmouth.edu (Kestutis Kveraga)]

--- You wrote:
They lost to the Spurs, who are one of the three best teams in the league.
If Ray's point is that even at their best, the Celtics aren't as good as the
Spurs, then he's right. Are any of us surprised by that? Are you Ray? Does
that make you some kind of basketball genius?
--- end of quote ---

Isn't it amazing how quickly Way resurfaces after a loss? The troll lives for
losses.

--- You wrote:
 but the guy
seems to be trying to mix up his offense of late. He's cutting down on the
lazy threes. Unfortunately, instead of attacking the rim, he's shooting more
of those stop-and-chuck 18-footers that really aren't his shot. But it's a
start. (Side note: Obie must be pulling his hair out with Antoine right now
since 10 3s a game were part of the plan, and Antoine was only following
instructions. Right? Right?) I know Antoine probably feels like he doesn't
get any calls, but he has no understanding of how to take the ball really
strong to the basket. Even when he does post up or drive to the rim, he puts
up soft shots, often floaters fading away. I'm guessing this habit developed
when he was having the free throw problems, but he's a good FT shooter now.
He should be looking for contact, searching it out, using a fake to get
defenders to commit and then going to the line. That's how undersized guys
make their living around the basket. Anyway, if his knee is seriously
injured, forget it. The team is done. 
--- end of quote ---

I agree on Antoine. However, I do like his tweener shot which he's been
employing more and more. Instead of taking a challenged 3, he fakes, drives
around the defender, and stops short of the shotblockers under the basket to
nail that tweener shot from about 10-12 feet. He's also been using a spin move
from the right side of the box, which creates room for a right-handed layup.
Good stuff. 
As for his knee, I fear it might be a sprained ACL or MCL and the docs will
give him a 6-to-8 sentence. But it's encouraging that he was able to continue
playing on it.  The only good thing that could come out of it is that Wallace
might be forced to do something, or someone might step up. 

--- You wrote:
The rookies... OK, I'll get hammered for this, but count me among those
concerned that we came away virtually empty with three picks. 
--- end of quote ---

Well, JJ *is* contributing something, although his timidity is becoming
irritating. The kid is a complete package skillswise - if we could only inject
some of Antoine's brashness into him... I wouldn't assume that just because
Kedrick is shooting bricks right now and Forte can't get off the injured list,
they're wasted picks. Forte is smart and Kedrick is a freak - if players like
Blount, Pot, and Palacio can be occasional contributors, so can these kids. 

 Speaking of Blount, he showed a glimmer of basketball intelligence with that
steal, but he has absolutely no idea where the rebound is going to go. He
mistimes his jumps, goes to the wrong side of the basket - no wonder he was
averaging 3 boards a game even with decent minutes last season. He makes Pot
look like Danny Fortson.   
Kestas