Re: Avoiding the urge to push the panic button...

["Berry, Mark S" <berrym@BATTELLE.ORG>]

Two issues here, Paul. First, I'm not excluding Pierce. If he can't play
with guys like Rogers and Delk, then get someone who can. Same with Antoine.
Neither of these guys are playing especially well right now. If they don't
show they can play in any other system than the "take turns chucking it"
offense the Celts have used so far, then get rid of them.

The second issue... How many 6+ assist games for Pierce... Not a fair
comparison. Pierce and Walker play two different roles. Antoine initiates
the offense (such as it is). He's a "point forward." He naturally is going
to get more assists. Pierce is the finisher. You don't want Pierce playing
Antoine's role and you don't want Antoine playing Pierce's role (although he
tries to play finisher too much).

Regardless, I'm not trying to make this a Walker vs. Pierce debate. My point
is we're so close to this team, are we blind to the fact that the only way
these two have played "well" is by putting them out there with scrubs (or
guys who are relegated to playing like scrubs) and letting them do whatever
they want? You know how they say that putting up numbers is easy on a losing
team? Well, that's absolutely true. Is that what Pierce and Walker need to
get their "all-star" numbers? They get all the minutes, all the touches, all
the shots... and none of the criticism from O'Brien. It's free reign for
these guys. So far we've seen no indication they can succeed, consistently,
without completely dominating the ball. They've done it in spurts, but never
consistently. 

Ask yourself this... If we were talking about a player on another team who
shot 39 percent from the field yet was fourth in the league in shot
attempts, what would we be saying about that player? If he was prone to bad
3-pointers and hoisting double-digit 3-point attempts per game? If he never
got to the line, even though he was 6-9 and played "power" forward? If his
offensive rebounds decreased every year? What would we be saying about a
player like that if he didn't play for the Celtics? If he played for another
team and hadn't made the playoffs in his career? What if that player was
fourth in the league in shot attempts and 96th in points per shot (106th in
field goal percentage)? I'll ask others on the list, does that sound like
someone who exemplifies the values the Celtics have always held as sacred
(teamwork, unselfishness, smart basketball)? I think if Antoine Walker
played for another team, we'd hold him up as everything anti-Celtic. Would
we be right? Maybe not entirely, but I guarantee we wouldn't consider him a
guy to build a franchise around. As for Pierce... I'm not sure yet. He has
become a devastating scorer, and has gotten better each season. The next
step is learning to better involve others. Will he learn? We'll see. 

And one last thing... You point out Pierce disagreeing with Obie on the
driving baseline thing and say he's the only guy disagreeing. Maybe he's the
only guy quoted. But anyone watching the Celtics knows that Antoine spins
baseline and tries that flip from under the backboard a lot. Gets blocked a
lot, too, so maybe Obie's right about something. Anyway, Antoine may not say
it to Steve Bulpett, but he's not exactly following Obie's marching orders
either.

Mark

P.S. If the Celtics don't right the ship and show they can play together
with Delk and Rogers down the stretch, then I think we're probably looking
at taking a step back before we take a step forward. The East will improve
and teams will pass the Celtics by in the next two seasons (as the Celts
stand pat). The Celtics probably will have to make the kind of trade the
Grizzlies and Bulls made this season-a veteran "star" (and I use the term
loosely) for a risky draft pick or young player. Say what you want about
those teams, but the Shareef trade certainly has worked out for the Grizz
(Gasol is awesome and the Celts probably would have been better off to trade
one of their "stars" for him), and I happen to think the Bulls made a good,
gutsy move with Brand. He was very good, but also clearly not the
cornerstone of a championship team. So the Bulls traded him for Chandler and
took a step back. They were ridiculed for it. But Chandler and Curry are
coming on down the stretch, they added their "star" in Jalen Rose for a
collection of role players (great trade for both teams), and seem to have
the nucleus of a good team in a couple of years. The Celtics may face the
same dilemma soon. I hope they have the guts to make the same kind of bold
move.

--- --- ---

Well, I think we know how Paul Pierce feels about this. O'Brien singled
Pierce out this weekend for not passing the ball. If it had been Walker he
specifically mentioned to a reporter this list would be in an uproar
demanding Wallace trade the selfish bastard. Pierce says, "We can't wait for
the other guys," but that's not a slap in the other players' faces? I don't
know, it seems like Pierce has given the great integration experiment four
games and now he's done. We can imagine whatever we want about how one of
the captains feels about integrating Rogers and Delk into the rotation, but
we know for certain that Pierce is going to do things his way and apparently
the great experiment is over. "We can't wait for the other guys?" My, my,
my, sounds like a me-first comment if I ever heard one. And then there's the
"only superstars can drive the baseline and be successful" comment from
O'Brien with Pierce saying he can do anything he wants. My God, if this were
Antoine disagreeing with his coach, telling his teammates he can't wait for
them to contribute? If this was Antoine being singled out for not passing? I
guess we won't be seeing many 6+ assists game from Pierce anytime soon.