Re: Mark's got points

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

I went a bit far Lance. You are right that Pierce does 
take some downs off. 

I'd agree there are a couple of complete two-guards who 
are a bigger factor on defense, although I'll say that 
none of them are above criticism. 

Finley and Ray Allen definitely take time off on defense. 
Kobe, I don't know. He's something else, but Pierce 
obviously has had some great scoring games versus the 
Lakers. T-Mac is up there. All the other elite ones, 
Vince Carter on down, don't even play defense 
consistently at Paul's level. 

My view is that Pierce can make the big stops, blocks, 
you name it, as well as any two guard in the league 
(except Kobe). 

But I think we all notice that he takes a few possessions 
off per game on defense. Whether we time criticisms of 
him after a 46-point game and win is another matter. The 
timing is a little disconcerting, in the sense that maybe 
you can lay off once in awhile?

At that level, guards score at will if they find a 
groove. In basketball, offense is just too skilled for 
defense. In a practice game of one-on-one or "21", 
whoever shoots first is pretty much expected to run the 
table on you. The way Jordan or Houston were shooting, it 
was light's out no matter who was in their face.

Paul plays 40+ minutes at the showcase NBA position. 
Defense takes a ton of energy, especially at guard.

I'm speaking only for myself, a total crap player, but in 
the league I play in I love playing defense and this 
definitely takes my legs out on offense, messes with my 
stamina and decision making etc. I'm not in shape of 
course, but I think its inevitable that players take some 
downs off (say 3% less commitment) and hope "false 
hustle" will prevent your guy from trying to blow past 
you. It usually happens in the middle of games with 
Pierce or the other Celtics.

Plus these NBA players are in a scheme, where individual 
accountability on defense is less pronounced. A lot of 
bad defense is just being late to a secondary assignment, 
like on those weakside three-balls that have been hurting 
us.

But honestly, do you really think Pierce is letting guys 
score on him just so he can win it at the end? If I've 
been reading you right, that's really an odd belief. I 
only wish it was within Pierce's power to orchestrate 
games like that.

Joe H.


p.s. A big month is needed from Walter, or we'll have to 
rely on Delk and Bremer to guard opposing shooting guards 
for significant stretches.
 
In an ideal world, with the Celtics sale fast-tracked, 
I'd like to see Bremer stashed away and sign Greg Anthony 
as the defensive pointguard. GA went for 8.4 ppg and 5.6 
apg last year, with a 3-1 A/TO ratio. He's 35-years-old.

If they need a scoring backup big guard until Kedrick 
comes back, they might look at Jim Jackson, Dell Curry or 
Bryant Stith.

Two undrafteds that might have helped this team on the 
boards were Reggie Evans and Lonnie Baxter. Evans was a 
spectacular Big 10 rebounder.

Grant Long and Tony Massenburg are both free agents. If 
memory serves, I think Boston had an intereest in 
Massenburg a little while back.

One other thing about not having a complete practice 
squad is you can't use scout teams to prepare you for 
game situations. We've got the triangle offense coming up 
two nights in a row against Chicago and the Lakers. The 
Bulls have two veterans (Jalen and Donyell Marshall) who 
are playing much better than our two captains right now, 
plus all those energetic kids. 


-------------------
L'e-mail gratuit pas comme les autres.
NOMADE.FR, pourquoi chercher ailleurs ?