re: The "D" word

[bird <birdwl@earthlink.net>]

> From: gh18@juno.com
>
> I heard Kenny use the "D" word (defense)!  The whole team is brainwashed!
>  I hate to say it, but we look like the Pistons of old.  Thank God for
> Dick Harter.

Nah, not the Bad Boys.  The C's don't throw (other players, tantrums) 
things and ... aw, I just don't want to get into all the reasons I loathe 
the Detroit Pistons.

> If Kenny uses the "D" word, I am convinced that the whole team has bought
> into the philosophy that Defense wins championships and offense wins
> games.

Kenny would talk about defense under Pitino and even earlier, but the 
difference is he's actually *playing* some -- and doing well at it, to 
boot.  Still, no doubt that the Celtics are doing it on the defensive end.
   And this from the team all the media types dubbed as "too reliant on the 
three".  Only thing is, they never saw the team play enough to realize 
that it's been about the D the whole year.  They've gone from defending 
the pick-and-roll by virtually throwing a Celtic into the backcourt, to 
disrupting it so much that I rarely see the opposing team run it without 
being bothered, and then rotating such that no opposition player is really 
even open for very long at all.

Remember a couple of years ago?  If you were like me, you had a sinking 
feeling with every opposing shot.  I just knew they were going in.  They 
all looked good, even from the Brad Millers and Fred Hoibergs of the world.
   Now, I expect every one of them to bounce off the rim almost.  You know 
how some teams need to score a "certain amount" to win?  Like the Mavs, or,
  for that matter, like Detroit?  Celts aren't like that, I think.  Sure, 
the offense looks and runs a whole lot better at times, which results in 
high scores, but the crux of the game, for the Celtics, is how they are 
doing defensively.  If they've got it going on D, it doesn't matter if 
they only can score 80-85.  They'll just find a way to keep you from 
scoring that much.

I've seen them close out teams in individual games, and I've seen them 
close out more than one playoff series, too.  Saw them just clamp it shut 
and just deny the other team from scoring.  And loved every minute of it.

Couldn't believe how much Stockton/Brown were jocking the Pistons.  And 
Barkley, too.  When the game was well in hand and the Pistons had rolled 
over and played dead I turned to a fellow viewer and asked if they were 
going to continue talking up Chucky Atkins and the rest of the Detroit 
Pistons even after they lost the game and the series?  Maybe they can 
sound that lame "Big Ben" sound in the "Palace" over and over again during 
the off season.  Ah, the death knell of the Detroit Pistons.  There's 
hardly a better sound in the Eastern Conference.

Bird