Great Season

["Cecil Wright" <cecil@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Yes, I am disappointed in the way the season ended.  But I am thrilled that
this is a team who unexpectedly advanced to the conference championship and
exhibited a passion for the game which has been sadly missing for a decade
or so.

Jim O'Brien deserves an opportunity to implement an offense which can take
advantage of the individual strengths of his players.  I think it is very
obvious that his promary focus was on defense this year and Dick Harter's
knowledge paid huge benefits in developing defensive game plans and special
situation strategy.

Several items in random order:

* The Trade

Without question, the addition of Rodney and Tony was a good transaction.
Though neither one of them displayed the consistent ability to help, each
and every game, I think the experience they brought from previous playoff
series did not hurt us.  Sometimes just being able ask questions and heed
the advice of players who have been in those pressure situations can help in
the game preparations.

I notice that some of you don't think Rogers is worth signing.  Let me
remind you that because of our big man situation, he was asked to play out
of position on several occasions.  I think he would have been much more
effective if we had that stud rebounder we all crave so much.  He may not
have racehorse speed but he has some muscle he's not afraid to put to use
under the boards.  And he has a decent touch for a guy who is built like
Fortson.  I think if he is interested in signing for a fair price, we would
be rather foolish to let him walk away and be forced to replace him with
whomever may be available.

I have mixed emotions about Delk.  I am not so sure that this team has many
shooting opportunities for a SG in the first place, and I am not sure that
if we were to find them, he would be the guy to take them.  Also, though he
is as flawed as anyone else, I like the way Strickland plays the game.  He
needs to be harnessed in a little bit on the offensive end but he plays
defense with 100% effort.

Tony Battie showed some fire here and there, and showed a nice 15 footer,
but I think we know he is not enough to get it done inside.  We need a big
man to bang inside which would allow Battie to take on the PFs instead of Cs
who are simply too big and strong for him.  Vitaly is a questionmark given
there are no guarantees he'll even make it back to the court and be
effective.

I'd like to see Pierce at SG, Antoine at SF, Battie at PF with a solid
rebounder in the middle.

What bothers me about the way the season ended is the woeful free throw
shooting.  We shot well in one loss but the other 3 saw us shoot:

65.5% on 19/29 shooting in a 104-97 loss
67.6% on 23/34 shooting in a 94-92 loss
59.1% on 13/22 shooting in a 96-88 loss

This is one of the biggest thorns in my side right now.  This series should
still be alive right now, at the very least, with more consistent free throw
shooting.  And if it doesn't improve in the future, and I fully expect that
Obie will make it a focus next year, Pierce can expect to see even more
physical play in the future ala hack-a-shaq.

* The Officiating

It just plain sucked.  I cannot defend them in any way.  On Kenny Anderson's
layup last night, which he made a circus shot, he ended up on the floor
because Harris clearly reached out his left hand and pushed him in the back.
Referee was right there in position and failed to blow the whistle.  They
are supposed to protect the shooter.  Kidd goes up and gets breathed on, and
the whistle blows.

Kenny was pushed out of bounds on the sideline play.  No call and they gave
the ball to the Nets.  Pathetic.  If anyone taped the games, review them to
see how many times Kenny drove the lane with Kidd's left arm impeding his
progress or trying to shove him out further.

Pierce was physically abused the entire series and I don't feel he received
favorable calls at all.  I am unsure of why, but the fact that he boasted
about nobody could stop him, certainly was not helpful.  It's one thing to
feel that way, but quite another to come out and say it.  That's lockerroom
material and I know the Nets did not take it too kindly.

But I guess it's another component of the maturation process.

I am still proud of what we have accomplished this year and I am hoping that
Chris Wallace and the rest of the staff are able to find the other spokes to
the wheel.

GREAT SEASON BY THE C'S AND THIS LIST!!

Cecil