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[Way Of The Ray <wayray@ix.netcom.com>]

This man speaketh the truth.....

http://www.contracostatimes.com/sports/stories_front/steinmetz_20020120.htm

Published Sunday, January 20, 2002
Contr Costa Times
Matt Steinmetz


Celtics' story would be different in the West
THERE ARE SOME nice stories coming out of the Eastern Conference this
season. Jason Kidd leading the resurrection of the New Jersey Nets
certainly tops the list. But there are others.

Michael Jordan, coming out of retirement, has led the Washington Wizards
back to respectability. The Boston Celtics, under the direction of coach
Jim O'Brien, are riding their two stars -- Paul Pierce and Antoine
Walker -- to surprising success. The Detroit Pistons, despite recent
struggles, are overachieving and will likely challenge for a playoff
spot.

But as nice as these stories are, that's really all they are: nice.

Let's take Boston, for example. As solid as the Celtics have been this
year, does anyone really believe this is one of the best teams in the
league? Does anyone really think they'll be a factor in the postseason?

If you do, you shouldn't.

The disparity between the Western Conference and Eastern Conference has
never been more apparent than this season. It says here that no fewer
than five Western Conference teams -- the Los Angeles Lakers, Sacramento
Kings, San Antonio Spurs, Minnesota Timberwolves and Dallas Mavericks --
would be the team to beat if they competed in the Eastern Conference.

Even Jordan said as much this week. "If the Timberwolves were in the
East, they would dominate it," he said.

And to take it a step further, teams such as the Portland Trail Blazers,
Utah Jazz, Seattle SuperSonics and even Los Angeles Clippers would be
nothing short of playoff locks in the East. It's nice that the Boston
Celtics are 23-16 after Saturday's 94-91 loss to Detroit. But don't be
fooled into thinking their franchise is that much better off than say
... oh, how about your hometown Golden State Warriors?

When you play four games a year against teams such as Chicago,
Cleveland, Atlanta, Miami, New York and even middle-of-the-road teams
such as Charlotte, Indiana and the aforementioned Wizards and Pistons,
wins are going to come.

They're going to come and they're going to come on nights when you don't
deserve to win. And those victories can lull the fans of a franchise
into believing their team is better than it is. If the Boston Celtics
played the same schedule as a Western Conference team, they'd likely be
around .500. Maybe.

Take a look at their team. Yes, Pierce is the real deal, one of the
game's better perimeter players. But their No. 2 man, Antoine Walker,
while playing better, is flawed. And after those two, the Celtics are
stuck with a less than run-of-the-mill cast of players such as Kenny
Anderson, Vitaly Potapenko, Tony Battie, Eric Williams and Walter
McCarty.

With Boston's salary cap situation less than ideal and without them
looking at a high draft pick -- given their inflated record in the East
-- how are they going to get discernibly better? Now take the Warriors,
a team with acknowledged problems.

Their best player is Antawn Jamison, who has not proven he's in Pierce's
class. But what about rookie Jason Richardson? If you surveyed the 29
general managers, it's not a stretch to say most would prefer Richardson
over Walker, if for no other reason than his potential upside.

You can't argue the Celtics' record is much better than the Warriors' or
a host of other Western Conference teams. But you can debate whether or
not a team such as the Celtics really has as much going for them as some
people think.