Misc.

["hironaka@xxxxxxxxx"<hironaka@xxxxxxxxx>]

FWIW, my first instinct is to avoid thoughtful game 
analysis and instead just ask what's up in Boston with 
our karma (or whatever)? Last night felt strangely like a 
continuation of the Redsox and Patriots seasons, which I 
bring up because haven't you also noticed the three 
inexplicably analogous crises? Seemingly bullet-proof 
locker room chemistry, ostensibly playoff-experienced 
core talent, envied for quality team defense and hustle. 
And you have the most goodwill and fan interest in recent 
memory.

When I look at the big cosmic picture, I almost wonder if 
there is even any point in analysing last night with X's 
and O's. 

We've all been around the block as Celtics fans. But last 
night happened to be the WORST loss in the franchise 
history, and came on the heels of a loss at home to the 
team with the worst record in the NBA last year. 

Boston STILL hasnt recorded a win since the great 
comeback game. 

My analysis is: "who the heck did we piss off, and how do 
we say we're sorry?" I feel like Obie should change his 
name to "He Hate Me".

So don't tell me this misery can ALL BE EXPLAINED by 
coaching decisions, unfavorable player matchups, yada 
yada yada. What I'm stressing here is that there are some 
bigger forces OUT TO GET US! 

OK, I'm kidding. Or I'm going nuts. 

But if anyone in IGTC land has any thoughts on how to d-
jinx our teams, feel free to share them.

Well, I'll be at the Knicks game in the nosebleed 
section. I'm "treating" my good wife to her first NBA 
game, thoughtful and romantic guy that I am. She's 
thrilled (I'm pretty sure).

A few (actual) thoughts on last night.

-Magic and Barkley notably said our captains, in 
particular, missed Kenny's 5 assists and 9 points. I 
found that unconvincing on the face of it. Toine and 
Pierce averaged like 60 points last year. If that was 
thanks to Kenny, then where are his 25 assists per game? 
I think Kenny was cornered into doing last year almost 
exactly what Delk has been asked to do, and is doing 
well, this year. 

-If Air Wyc and Il Pagliaci were in attendance or at home 
watching the TNT talking heads at halftime, I'd almost be 
tempted to state that this might be the first time for 
Obie or Wallace (or both) to be on the bubble (not now, 
but at season's end). New home owners always want to 
clean house. If you buy into what the TNT guys were 
saying, the Celtics are wretchedly coached and made bad 
GM decision (going into a season without a pointguard 
etc.).

-Chris Wallace certainly seems to have made a tactical 
blunder in assuming quality players would fall through 
the cracks in October. Of course it was a gamble that 
could have gone either way, but as a result, the Celtics 
have Rueben WYSIWIG and Waltah to show for CW's non pro-
active (amateur-active?) strategy. 

-If we all knew Bremer would have these rookie woes as 
our defensive specialist, we were better off re-signing 
Strickland for a few hundred thousand more than Walter. 

-Its great to read that Kedrick will practice on Sunday, 
and play by mid-week if all goes well. JR Bremer guarded 
a much taller guy at the two because he's all weve got. 
He played because McCarty can't. If the game were, uh, 30-
points closer, Kedrick Brown might have been of value in 
that situation. The Wiz series has turned into nothing 
less than a serious rivalry, and I would love nothing 
more than to sweep the next three.

-Lastly, the first two games underscore what a "perfect 
storm" the 2001 NBA draft is shaping up to be. 

-We've now been defeated two straight nights by that damn 
delayed-gratification draft. First by the enormous size 
and talent at the top. But also by the great depth at the 
bottom. Trenton Hassell was one of several first/second 
round bubble picks that look like players already: you 
also have Parker and Tinsley, Gilbert Arenas and Loren 
Woods, Terrence Morris, Satterfield starting. I 
personally dont think well see drafts that are 35 
players deep that often.

-One last thing. It would have cost Wycleffe Jean and co. 
3.5 million to keep both Strickland and Rogers on our 
bench this year with a 54 million payroll. That's still a 
lot of money granted, but I just noticed that our next 
opponents(the Knicks) have eleven individuals earning 
over 4.0 million this season. ELEVEN.

-They've got SEVEN guys that at some stage in their 
current obscene contracts will earn 7 million a year or 
more, e.g. double the 3.5 million annual salary it took 
to keep our team together. Its the nuttiest case of 
mismanagement I've ever seen:

http://www.hoopshype.com/salaries/new_york.htm

Well, okay enough. Let's put these losses behind us, just 
as the Lakers, Spurs and everyone else will. 

One of these days the cosmic forces will break back in 
favor of our city's great teams. 

I hope its going to be our Celtics that will lead the 
charge out of this abyss. You can only hope it gets 
better sooner than later.

Joe H.

 
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