Mark's got points

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

"Glass half full" says that if the defense ever catches 
up, the 2002-03 Celtics could put together a hell of a 
year.

But Mark Berry is right to worry. My take is that Obie 
should tell his players these facts: we would be an 0-3 
team if EITHER Sprewell or McDyess had played. 

The Boston Celtics are not going to beat anyone this 
season without 40+ minutes of solid team defense.

They would not have beaten anyone last year either 
without the 3rd best FG% allowed. 

They are a long way from that. They are a lot closer to 0-
3 than that. Everyone needs to wake up and smell the 
Krispy Kreme coffee.

The Knicks game was a good win, not to mention a lot of 
fun. It made me proud to watch my team execute all the 
big plays down the stretch in a boistrous, enemy NY 
arena. It was great entertainment for people like my 
wife, who had never attended an NBA game before. She was 
so excited and nervous, she said she felt physically 
exhausted by the ride home. And we did play defense down 
the stretch. I appreciate that. I don't want to be a 
whiner.

This may be feint praise, but I've never felt more 
confident about the teams offensive potential than any 
time in the Walker-Pierce era. 

Eric Williams really does look capable of being more 
effective when finally healthy. And the point guards can 
both shoot well from five-feet deeper than Kenny used to. 
The offensive chemistry looks better. At times, Walker 
and Pierce know where everyone is going to be on the 
court. We demolished a Knicks defense that still has some 
credentials. 

But Obie shouldn't say one more damn word of praise for 
this year's Boston team, publicly or privately, until 
after the first 48-minute defensive effort. Until then, I 
don't want to hear or read anything. We are not going to 
win any games this year with the worst defense since ML 
Carr's last year.

And one more thing which Mark said that's true. The six 
Nets-Celtics playoff games must have ALL been blacked out 
wherever Don Cheney was spending his offseason. 

Of course, taking away Paul's drive would not have made a 
difference on Sat. That was a true clutch performance in 
the Apple and Pierce won himself some fans in the arena. 
You can't take it away from him. He was big.

Look I love this team (we all do). Its got to work itself 
out. Let's send a big message to the Bulls and, after 
that, you know what (Beat LA). 

Go Celts!

Joe H.


p.s. Did everyone catch Peter May's column yesterday? The 
Celts are the only team in the NBA with a 12-man roster. 
Fourteen teams have 15-man rosters. Boston will literally 
have to cancel practices, or force guys to run full speed 
even when slightly injured, or change Obie to a "player-
coach", just so Gaston doesn't have to spend one extra 
dime before the sale goes through (hopefully) in December.







 
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