re: Mark's got points

[bird <birdwl@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> From: "hironaka@xxxxxxxxx"<hironaka@xxxxxxxxx>
> [...] 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. [...]
Agreed.  It's all about the defense for this team.  Even my happiness 
at the much-needed win over the Knicks has been tempered with the fact 
that the defense, for most of the game, was non-existent.

On the other hand, if the C's play just enough defense to win games, 
it's all good.

That doesn't sound like an exceptionally good plan or anything, but 
plans are meaningless after the fact.  Results are what count.  We 
probably can't count on 46 points from Pierce, 18, 5 & 10 from Walker, 
and double figures from the Williams boys.  Time will tell if we can 
count on enough from the team to win 45 or 50 games, though.

My inclination is that they can.  The offense, for all the talk about 
how much it is aesthetically displeasing, has no motion, ad nauseum, 
isn't nearly so much a concern as the D.  Somehow, these guys will find 
a way to score, though it may not look pretty.  (This is not to say I 
wouldn't welcome some work on the O after the defense has gelled.)  But 
the C's need to clamp down on the opposition for most of the game, 
because, if they let the game get out of hand early, they won't be in a 
position to use a five-minute defensive clamp at the end of the game to 
give them a chance to win.

Bird