Orlando game (and my paranoid post of the day)

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

Great game to watch last night and it's wonderful to see the rotation
shaping up the way it has. The best part of this trade has been the change
in Antoine. We've always wondered if he would accept a lesser role as a
scorer to take advantage of his abilities as a creator, and with Rogers and
Delk, it seems that question has been answered. He has been a pleasure to
watch against Philly and Orlando. That's the kind of player he can be. He'll
get his points, but more importantly, he'll get easy baskets for other guys.
He's just playing great. Of course, my track record is every time I praise
the guy he comes back with a 6-for-27 stinkbomb, so let's see if this
continues. I honestly think it will.

Other positives before my negative: Chris Wallace, do what you have to do to
sign Rodney Rogers. He's a great complement to the captains and a perfect
fit for this team... Tony Delk handling the point guard chores behind Kenny
has been a pleasant surprise. He's not a point guard, but neither is
Strickland. Delk is an improvement on Strick... What the heck has happened
to Walter? Did he get a brain transplant over the weekend? Regardless, I
hope they don't get sucked into giving him another contract.

Now the negative: Last night was great, but if this team starts trying to
outscore people, it will be in trouble. They gave up 110 points to a tired
Orlando team last night. The Celtics are built on defense this season. It's
great to see the improved offense with Rogers and Delk, and there's no
reason that can't continue. But they can't stray from the defense-first
philosophy. It wouldn't surprise me at all to see them really struggle
offensively against Detroit, because it's not going to be as easy as it was
against Orlando (which mailed it in last night). Detroit will defend hard.
The Celts will need to defend just as well and be patient against the
Pistons.

Don't mean to rain on the parade after such a great win, but I don't want
the team to lose sight of what got them to this point.

Mark