Re: [Celtics' Stuff Poor coaching again by Obie loses game

[Kestas <Kestutis.Kveraga@dartmouth.edu>]

At 13:09 3/23/2002 EST, you wrote:
>How is he NOT maximizing the team's abilities?  Why is the current strategy 
>'flawed'?  It's not like he has the ability to use an inside game on a 
>consistent basis but he refuses to. We've all witnessed what happens when
the 
>C's face teams with a taller/superior front line and they try to go inside. 
>The few times that going inside on a consistent basis works is when the C's 
>have faced a smaller team or a team with no shotblocker 

Steve,
It's not like there are only two options - go inside or stand around
waiting for a dump-off from Pierce or Walker to launch a 3. Obie's offense
relies on spreading the defense by stationing 3-point shooters (or even
non-shooters like Eric Williams or Pot) behind the line and then dumping
the ball into Pierce or Walker and having them go one-on-however many
defenders.  When Pierce/Walker are on, and the 3-pointers fall, it works.
When they aren't/don't,  there's usually no one to rebound the ball and
we're one-and-done. There's a reason why we're last in the NBA in
rebounding differential. We've won 39 games based on our D and the genius
of Pierce being able to score in almost any situation, and an occasional
hot 3-point shooting streak. But it's a gimmick, not an effective solution
on offense, just like Pitino's headless-chicken defense was a gimmick. You
can't tell me that a motion offense, using plays designed to get the best
shooters on the team highest-% opportunities wouldn't work better.
Especially now that we have a bunch of NBA-level scorers on the team. You
seem to suggest that Obie has done the absolute max. I say he's done well,
but he could get more out of this team. 

>Are you suggesting that after the 1st quarter of last night's game that he 
>instructed them to stop running and start playing a 1/2 court game of
walking 
>up the floor and then firing up ill advised 3's as the clock wound down 
>because neither Battie nor V are legit postup players but he should have 
>continued to go inside anyway to MAXIMIZE the team's abilities?  

No, I am not suggesting that. I am suggesting that an offensive philosophy
based on taking the first semi-open shot available is not a prudent one,
especially for a young team.  If this were a viable philosophy, Doug Moe's,
Paul Westhead's ,and Jerry Tarkanian's teams would've done better in the
NBA than they have. 

 
>You predicted the team would win 41 games. 

This was a very conservative prediction,  for me. I had predicted more wins
in the preceding seasons, even as it was obvious that the Pitino ship was
sinking. This year I said to myself, they went 24-24 under Obie,  and
that's without Kenny and Battie. With Kenny and Battie, and the rookies,
and they should at least be able to break even, if not do a lot better. I
for once wanted to be wrong by underestimating what they could do, not
overestimating. I was wrong about the rookie contribution, but it has been
replaced by substantial contributions from Rogers and Delk. So, they SHOULD
be able to win in the mid-40s with Obie coaching the team. We don't have a
good center, but Battie/Pot do average 12/12 combined. We have 2 All-Stars,
3 other good players (Rogers, Delk, Kenny), and a few decent scrubs to play
defense. Does Detroit have a better lineup? Does New Jersey? I don't  think
so. 
 
> Out of curiosity, how many SHOULD 
>they have won in hindsight using your  'X+N'  smarter formula/theory? 

I don't know- whatever I say would be a wild guess anyway.  The best teams
in the West have wins in the high 40s. We could've done that too, not
because we're as good as them, but because we play in the East. 
Kestas