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

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

What an atmosphere in that fourth quarter. This is what we've all been
missing for so long. Like Dorine said, the edge-of-the-seat, the pacing the
floor-that's what makes it fun to root for a team. Sure, it makes it harder
when they lose, but when they win...

Three games back with 18 to go. Celts are surging, Nets are fading. Can't
afford any letdowns, which is why the Memphis game Friday scares the
bejeezus out of me. Celts coming off huge win against Jersey and getting
ready for San Antonio-it's a recipe for disaster. I'm hoping Rogers and Delk
show up big-time. We might need one or both of them to have a big night to
get through that one.

That crunch-time lineup last night had me pulling what little hair I have
left out of my head. Kenny couldn't hit a shot all night and Williams makes
Walter look like a scoring machine. So, of course, who hits the two biggest
shots of the game? EW and Kenny. It has been that kind of season.

Mark


 -----Original Message-----
From: 	Dan Forant [mailto:dforant1@nycap.rr.com] 
Sent:	Wednesday, March 13, 2002 9:46 PM
To:	Berry, Mark  S; celtics@igtc.com
Subject:	Re: At least Obie can keep things in perspective...

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