vs. Nets

["Josh Ozersky" <jozersky1@nyc.rr.com>]

This game is obviously a big one for the team;  their first
chance to measure themselves against the only team that
has consistently been better than them for the entire season.
Philly was bigger, because its the Sixers and they are also
defending finalists, but it seems to me they have more to prove
against the nets.  They needed a career-type game from Pierce
to beat them last time, and it was a close-run thing.  The Nets
are like a lullaby to the lottery.   The team is loaded up with
blue-chip young talent, injury-free at last, and cohered by the
rarest of all NBA qualities, passing genius.  This is what frequent
lottery trips will get you, even without much in the way of talent
evalutation.  Their power forward is a top overall pick, a guy who is
shaping up as an elite rebounding / shotblocking forward; a third pick
overall in Kidd, an elite talent with throwback toughness AND a
true uptempo mentality -- both things rare today, and unheard of in
all-stars.  They have a guard in Kittles who, in any other draft, would
have been a top-five player; and they have a corps of talented young big men
in Richard Jefferson, Jason Collins, and the Gminski-esque Todd
McCulloch.

The Celtics should come in with a lot of fire and score some points against
the Nets, who aren't the toughest team in the league, other than Kidd
and Martin.  They'll put Martin on Antoine, but he can't cover him when
he's facing the basket, and he can't get back to close down the lane against
Pierce.  Jefferson might present Paul with some problems, but Paul can and
will get him in foul trouble at this stage of their careers.  He can't handle
the Truth.

So we should be OK.  But will we turn around and beat Memphis?  And Memphis
is pretty much the last gimme we have.  The schedule gets very tough from here
on
out, and the Celtics haven't played well in either of the last two games.  I
believed
that they deserved to lose both; their defense in particular has been
half-hearted.
The last 18 games run a lot of elite teams at us, and a number of them are
teams
we have stolen a win from already this year.  Do you see us beating Philly
twice?
Or Los Angeles?  How about Portland?  We play Dallas, San Antonio, a lot of
good teams.  If we go .500 from here on in it will be all anybody could ask.
Certainly all I can ask; I predicted 43 wins, and that still sounds about
right to me.

Josh