Re: At least Obie can keep things in perspective...

["Dan Forant" <dforant1@nycap.rr.com>]

Hey Mark, maybe your a Prophet. We won. Take us to the Mountain :>)

DanF


----- Original Message -----
From: "Berry, Mark S" <berrym@BATTELLE.ORG>
To: <dforant1@nycap.rr.com>; <celtics@igtc.com>
Sent: Wednesday, March 13, 2002 3:07 PM
Subject: Re: At least Obie can keep things in perspective...


> Dan wrote:
>
> This is amusing. I do want to win all 4 games. I'll take 2 and be very
> happy. Exactly what would your attitude toward the team be if we split?
Your
> making the noose a little tight.
>
> ---end---
>
> If they split, I'll be disappointed. These are home games against teams
> we're battling for playoff position. You have to do better than tread
water
> in home games. If they split, and we finish a game behind New Jersey for
the
> Atlantic Division title and, because of that, end up with the third or
> fourth seed instead of the first or second, wouldn't you look back at a
> split of these games as disappointing? If that game meant the difference
> between home-court or no home-court in the second round, wouldn't you be
> disappointed?
>
> Look, if they split, I'm not giving up on the season. But it's OK to treat
> these games as important. They are. They're huge. They're all huge down
the
> stretch. My point is the Celtics can look eye-to-eye with any of these
> teams. Why settle for breaking even on the home court? If you're serious,
> then you win these kinds of games at home.
>
> As far as the "noose"... If you mean I'm setting myself up for
> disappointment, then you're right. I'm fully involving myself in a playoff
> push and a possible Eastern Conference championship. I have no delusions
> about winning a Finals matchup against the West, but this team has a
chance
> in this crazy season to emerge from the jumbled East. If believing that
and
> rooting for that and everything that involves means I'm setting myself up
to
> be disappointed, then you're right. I was devastated in 1985, 1987 and
1988,
> too. That's what contending means. It means you get close and sometimes
you
> come up short. That's disappointing. But sometimes you don't come up
short.
> And that's great.
>
> I've been really tough on this team and this management. But they've put
> themselves in a position to go for the Eastern Conference title this
season.
> The pieces are in place and the rest of the conference is shaky enough to
> make it realistic. Why can't we embrace that? Could we be disappointed?
> Sure, they could go out in the first round. But let's not settle for 43
wins
> when we're sitting on 36 and a five-game winning streak with 19 to go.
We're
> four games behind the Nets and it could be three behind after tonight.
This
> is a HUGE game. Let's treat it like one.
>
> Mark