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

[CeltsSteve@AOL.com]

In a message dated 3/23/02 7:36:36 PM Pacific Standard Time, 
Celtic4Hire@AOL.com writes:


> But the bottom line, Steve, is that were you satified by last night's game? 
> Do you think we can win in the playoffs the way we played last night? What 
> I 
> am hearing you say is that we should be satisfied with where we are at. 
> There 
> isn't any room for improvement. What I am hearing you say is that with the 
> offensive scheme we got, the barrage of quick threes by all comers, that 
> sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't and this was just one of those 
> nights. You see, I totally disagree with that.
> 
> This club actually has A CHANCE TO GO THE FINALS. If they would improve 
> upon 
> those things I had listed, they would bust through all these East teams. 
> This 
> is a cheap shot but Tommy and Cous don't like this stuff either. It is just 
> 
> that they are so close to being the best team in the East.  The coach is 
> one 
> the that establishes the playing time and the players roles. It is then up 
> to 
> the players to execute according to their roles. Are you telling me that it 
> 
> is within Erik Williams role to jack up a three in a close game with about 
> 3 
> minutes left. Are you telling me that it is within Tony Delk's role to run 
> dribble down the court and pull up for a three with 20 seconds left on the 
> clock? If Obie doesn't say anything to these guys, I guess it is and I just 
> 
> need to get over it.
> 
> I don't know why you are defending Obie for allowing this, game after game. 
> 
> You are better than that...



DJ,

I'm not satisfied with last night because it ended up as a "L".  But by the 
same token, I'm not going to lay that "L" directly or solely on the coach, 
either. 

How about we start with the fact that Battie and V combined for a lusty 1-5 
from the field with a grand total of 4 boards between them?  
Or Antoine's 5 TO's? 
Or the team missing 8 FT's?  
Or the fact that the team defense allowed Snow and Claxton shot a combined 
11-19 from the field? 
Or the fact that the perimeter D sucked and Raja Bell came off the bench and 
canned two quick, basically uncontested 3's?
Or the fact that they got clobbered on the boards 50-34 and outrebounded on 
the O-boards 14-8. Six extra chance opportunities multiplied by Philly's FG% 
also equaled the difference on the scoreboard.

No, you are not at all hearing me say we should be satisfied where the team 
is at. What I am saying is that there is no shame in losing by 4 points to 
the defending conference champ and to suggest that last night's loss falls 
directly on O'Brien because of the team's supposedly flawed offensive 
strategy of not going inside more against the 4-time League Defensive Player 
of the Year is ludicrous and wholly unfair. What I'm also saying is that the 
emphasis on the 3-ball is more a function of the current roster composition 
and the fact there clearly isn't a true inside/post  threat on the offensive 
side of the ball. 

There is obviously room for improvement and I agree totally this team has an 
opportunity to go to the Finals this year depending on how the seedings fall 
because the EC is wide open. And NO, it is not Eric Willaims' role to jack up 
a 3 because he's not a very good 3-point shooter to begin with. And Delk's 
shot  was UNnecessary and ill founded because the C's still had an 
opportunity to steal the "W" at that particular point in the game despite 
playing their supposedly "flawed" offense and despite only shooting 41% from 
the field and despite the fact that they allowed Philly to shoot almost 46% 
from the field. Philly also managed to make 4 more FT's on the identical 
number of attempts and the difference in the final outcome was 5.

Defending Obie game after game? Hardly. I'm just tired of the game after game 
finger pointing that it's all his fault when they lose. Obie deserves better 
than that . . .

CeltsSteve