Venting

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

I'm really disgusted with this team right now. Apparently making the
playoffs is good enough for them. I fully expect them to tread water the
rest of the way and be a first-round out. Anyway, here are some thoughts:

1.	The reason this team is better this season is Dick Harter. It's that
simple. They win because of their defense. Their offense is terrible, and
that seems to be Obie's area of "expertise." They don't rebound. Thanks to
the draft disaster, there was no personnel upgrade to start the season, and
Rogers and Delk are being so misused, their acquisition is almost wasted.
What has Obie really done, other than hire Harter and "not be Pitino?"
Encourage haphazard offense... relegate everyone but Pierce and Walker to
the roles of paid observers... consistently field the smallest team in the
league... fix it when it ain't broken (Battie in, Vitaly out)... Pretty much
sums it up, doesn't it? 
2.	So Harter is the team MVP... but now the team seems to be forgetting
that. Friday was an absolute embarrassment. That Sixers team without Iverson
shouldn't be able to score 90 points in an empty gym. And the Pistons...
actually, the Pistons should be an example to the Celtics. Is their talent
"better" than the Celtics? Would you trade Pierce or Walker for Stackhouse?
For Ben Wallace? Kenny for Chucky Atkins? Rogers for Cliff Robinson? Delk
for Jon Barry? That Pistons team isn't San Antonio or Sacramento in terms of
talent. They're not even Milwaukee, Philly, Indiana or even Boston in terms
of talent. Rick Carlisle got Stackhouse to sacrifice and adapt for the
betterment of the team. That's what coaches do. Other coaches, anyway.
3.	I knew, with this being a national TV game, it would turn into the
Pierce-Walker show. Almost 60 shots between them. Sure, they got their
points, but the defense was a joke and once again there was no ball
movement. Seven assists between them? These two still care about crap like
playing on national TV, putting on a "show."
4.	Earlier in the season you could count on strong effort and hard work
against top teams. Not anymore. Like I said, I think they're satisfied. They
wanted to make the playoffs, they've made them. Now they're ready to take a
little break. The good news for them is the playoff stay figures to be
short, so they'll get plenty of rest in a couple of months.
5.	The worst part of it? The playoffs are going to be held up as some
kind of grand achievement this year. Never mind that the conference is a
disaster... That the single most important draft in maybe two decades was
botched, scuttling any hopes of building around the current roster... That
the offense-never mind the 3-pointers-involves absolutely no motion or
passing and consistently produces only low-percentage shots... And nothing
is going to change for a long time. Obie will coach. Antoine and Pierce will
do their things. The Celtics will be undersized and get killed on the
boards. The roster won't change because of the luxury tax. Harter will
either retire again or the players will revert to old habits now that
they're a "veteran playoff team." The conference will steady itself. This
opportunity will have been lost.

Don't mean to be negative. I've been as excited as anyone about the playoff
possibilities of this team, but I'm starting to think I had more enthusiasm
than even the players. They've accomplished their goal. Why kill themselves
to be the best when everyone around them seems to think they're good enough
already? Can't blame Chris Wallace. He went out and got the pieces. Obie is
revealing himself. But my real frustration is with the players. Make the
playoffs, be an easy out and start vacation. They'll be sorry they took this
opportunity for granted when they're back to scrapping for the final playoff
spot next season. Or maybe they won't be. I don't know anymore.

Mark