Re: Mark's got points

["Lance Jacobson" <lancejacob@xxxxxxxxx>]

Joe, you posit some quality points.

1) No NBA player is perfect
2) Paul's not the worst player in the NBA
3) He plays SG, so he should shoot


I thrive on defense in MY league also.  I look to make assists, as there are
better spot up shooters and stronger, taller drivers.  If I can set a pick
and kick the ball out to my teammate for a clean look, I'm happy.  So we're
not too different, and we don't expect maximum offense when we play good
defense.

Of course, all guys take SOME plays off.  I'm CHALLENGING you to see in
upcoming games how often and why he does it.  I also agree that he can make
the "big stops".  Too bad he refuses to make the little stops as well.  At
Paul's level, on a team that needs everyone to play hard, he should put out
the effort on both ends or sit more minutes.  Even Twan works a lot harder
than Paul, and you can see that Twan is in the top 50 rebounders, playing
against taller and stronger guys, whereas Paul is not, playing against the
weakest off-guards.

Defense is Obie's oft-stated priority, but Paul feels he can cheat and lag
and sag and not box out because HE needs to be saved for the offensive end.
Caused problems the year he got here, and Mercer's gone.  Caused problems
with Kenny, and you can decide if that's a big part of why Kenny's gone and
why we don't have an accomplished OR a skilled PG.  I have said that Obie's
using this year to gear DOWN Paul's offense until his defense is at the same
level.  That's the only way this team can go as far as last year.

In a sense, I believe you've said the same thing, and your current post,
read as I CHOOSE to read it, is in agreement.  Paul cheats the team to give
more points to Paul, and rarely sets screens, runs to draw players away from
a teammate, and doesn't play solid defense.

The sad thing is that when he sits, the team's offense stalls, because he's
such a big part of every offensive set.  Like the Ewing theory, I'd like to
see what Battie, Delk, SWill and even Walter could do without having to
defer to Sir Paul on every offensive set.  Even Walker, who won't say a
negative word to the press has been guilty of shooting too much, and many
ill-advised shots.  Ever notice how often they're taken before PP gets the
ball on the possession?  Ever notice how seldom Twan will see the ball in
the second half if Paul's touched it?  Worth noting tomorrow night.

If we had a good PG, we'd have better matchups against the Bulls.  Aside
from Walker shooting too much against them, their starters have more talent
than ours.  We have to play smart and move the ball well to get open looks
against their size and strength.  We have the fewest RPG, and Chicago has
the second most.   Let's see how Pierce stacks up against Rose, which
promises to be a similar matchup to Houston, except that the whole Chicago
front line can bench press our guys.  Party's over, Paul, let's see if
you're a teammate, not just a scorer.

Oh, and you can keep track along with me, Joe.
----- Original Message -----
From: <hironaka@nomade.fr>
To: <lancejacob@attbi.com>
Cc: <celtics@igtc.com>
Sent: Tuesday, November 05, 2002 1:54 PM
Subject: Re: Mark's got points


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.


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