Re: [Celtics' Stuff Howdy Pilgrim - NY Post

[JB <jimmetz@xxxxxxx>]

> {"It's one of those situations like a gunfight - where you walk into 
> town
> and everybody clears out except that one person," said Scott, 
> visualizing
> the Nets' visit to Boston tonight. "When you step on the floor, you 
> just
> think of that other person in green and white that's across from you.
> You're gonna either win or lose."}
	Byron Scott, as quoted in the "NY Post."

{Even so, O'Brien took the party line, claiming that the Nets 
represented just another early-season opponent.
''We've played 10 games, and I think each game to me is a gauge of 
where we are,'' said O'Brien. ''Sometimes I'm happy with where we are 
and sometimes I'm not.'' }
	Jimmy O'Brien, as quoted in the "Boston Globe."
		**********************
	Interesting contrast in styles, from the coaches . While O'Brien has 
his team calm and uninterested in making any more than just another 
game with a division foe, Scott, the veteran of several finals 
confrontations with the Celtics of the Bird era, has his players 
whipped and lathered, for a fight to the death. A lot more is at stake 
for the Nets, than just position in the standing and a glimpse of the 
teams progress, so far in the season. He's taking it as a personal 
challenge to his and his players manhood.
	Not only don't we have much toughness on this roster, we don't have a 
three point shooting center to draw Mutombo away from the basket 
(should O'Brien have been giving Sundov some minutes, to be ready for 
this game?).
	While O'Brien thinks this game will be won with defense, I doubt it. 
As everyone has said, over and over, no one can stop Jason Kidd.  	My 
opinion is that this game will be won by the team that wants it more. 
The team that fights for loose balls, rips those rebounds out of the 
sky and if the Celtics have a chance tonight, it will be because the 
captains look for their teammates, early and often  to shoulder the 
scoring load, while they are expanding their energy on defense and 
rebounding.
	Wanting to win, means a lot more than just expending the effort, it 
also means being unselfish.
	Just because the Nets are making a lot of noise, doesn't mean I give 
them the edge in these considerations. I remember another great John 
Wayne character, in the film ; "The Quiet Man."
	Let no one question the heart of Jimmy O'Brien, or the will to win of 
Pierce and Walker.
	
	JB

	Unchain My Heart !






On Wednesday, November 20, 2002, at 03:38  AM, Kim Malo wrote:

> http://www.nypost.com/sports/nets/25675.htm
>
> BYRON'S PUMPED FOR CELT REMATCH
> By JOSEPH BARRACATO
>
>
> November 20, 2002 -- Nets coach Byron Scott must have watched "True 
> Grit"
> or "Tall In The Saddle" before he went to sleep Monday night.
>
> "It's one of those situations like a gunfight - where you walk into 
> town
> and everybody clears out except that one person," said Scott, 
> visualizing
> the Nets' visit to Boston tonight. "When you step on the floor, you 
> just
> think of that other person in green and white that's across from you.
> You're gonna either win or lose."
>
> It doesn't matter that Scott's been retired since 1997; those Celtic 
> colors
> still make his blood boil.
>
> "I get that same type of feeling whether I'm playing or coaching in 
> Boston,
> to be honest," confessed Scott, who spent the majority of the 1980's 
> in a
> Lakers jersey battling the Celtics for NBA supremacy. "The only 
> difference
> is you're not putting on a tank top and shorts. Your emotions are 
> still the
> same."
> Tonight marks the 8-3 Nets' first visit to Beantown since clinching the
> Eastern Conference championship on May 31. That concluded a brutal 
> six-game
> series that still lingers in the minds of the Celtic faithful.
>
> "Their fans are gonna be ready after what happened last year," Lucious
> Harris recalled. "[The FleetCenter] is a hostile place to play.
>
> "[The Celtics] want what we have," Harris continued. "This game means 
> a lot
> for both teams. If you can't get up for this game, then I don't know 
> what
> you can get up for."
>
> The Nets have plenty of reasons to get up, two of them being Paul 
> Pierce
> (23.6 ppg) and Antoine Walker (20.7).
>
> The Celtics' dynamic duo has propelled the team to a 6-4 start, 11/2 
> games
> behind the Nets. The Nets figure the two Boston stars will be jacked 
> for
> tonight's matchup.
>
> "They are both great players and I expect them to give it all they 
> have,"
> Harris said. "They are the next best combo behind the Lakers' Kobe and 
> Shaq."
>
> "This is a big game against an Eastern Conference foe. I'm sure those 
> guys
> will be ready," said Jason Kidd, who as well as his wife Joumana and 
> son
> T.J. were the targets of obscene language and gestures from the Boston
> crowd back in May. "It will be a real battle."
>
> Scott is hoping Kerry Kittles can slow down Pierce, much as he did 
> during
> the playoffs. As for Walker, who creates matchup problems all over the
> league with his versatility, Scott counters with his defensive stopper,
> Kenyon Martin.
>
> "I think Kenyon will do a good job. He's fast enough to stick with him 
> all
> night," Scott said. "As long as I don't see [Walker's] shimmy. If 
> Walker is
> doing that, then we're in trouble."
>
> Copyright 2002 NYP Holdings, Inc. All rights reserved.
>
>
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