Re: [Celtics' Stuff Celtics/Hawks review

[snoopy1@xxxxxxx]

At 10:59 AM 11/24/02 -0500, Lance Jacobson wrote:
>I'm not complaining about how much Pierce is shooting the ball.  I'm 
>pointing out that the whole game doesn't revolve around Pierce, regardless 
>of how many times you relay the game with his name in a sentence.  Please 
>don't make more of my comment than that.

That seems contradictory to me.  just a few paragraphs below this one, you 
bemoan the possibility that Pierce might worsen his "horrid" percentage by 
taking nearly 1,000 more shots.

Sounds to me like a complaint about how much he's shooting the ball.

And Coach O'Brien has said--in essentially so many words, that the game--at 
least on the offensive end--does, in fact revolve around Pierce, and Walker.

>  I also don't agree that Obie's told him to hoist up the number of shots 
> that you seem to think are his instructions.  We've got at least TWO more 
> scorers in SWill and Delk, and Vin's shooting a better percentage right 
> now than Vitaly or Blount, so there are a number of options.

More out of tiredness than anything else that keeps me from researching 
specific quotes, but O'Brien has stated he wants Pierce and Walker to shoot 
early and often, especially from the arc.  The options you mention have 
only developed this season, so Walker and Pierce have to keep working on 
their passing options.  You may note that the increased scoring options 
parallel an increase in assists from Pierce and Walker.  I'm glad to see 
them both working their teammates into the game and giving the C's better 
choices in scoring situations.

>  Besides, PP's shooting a HORRID 38%, and 26% on 3pt shots.  That, as 
> they say in Italian, sucks.  It's below the team average, worse than 
> Antoine in both areas, and it includes his drives to the hoop which 
> nobody else is allowed, it seems.  He needs to choose his spots better, 
> unless you want to suggest that it's something else, like a slump.  The 
> ugly thing about it is that he's on track to shoot more than 1810 shots 
> in the regular season, an increase of 212, or nearly three more per game. 
> . .every game.

My opinion, recounted in several of the recent reviews in the CBW, is that 
Pierce had some kind of injury that isn't being discussed.  Based on his 
stats last year, Pierce is simply too talented to be shooting THIS badly 
that often.  Prior to this season, I felt Pierce's shot selection to be 
better than Walker's, and said as much.  I also stated that recently, 
Walker was picking his shots more carefully (for the most part) and that 
Pierce's selection was more questionable.

I think that whatever the problem is, Pierce seems to be slowly overcoming 
it, and the next few games should give us a clearer view of his 
progress--the C's have several days to rest and practice before next 
Wednesday's game.  I'd also like Pierce to work on his free throws, as he 
is clearly capable of shooting them better than he has of 
late.  Considering his penchant for driving to the hoop in traffic, he 
really needs to solidify his free throw shooting to make fouling him a low 
percentage option for the other team--that will also make his drives a 
little easier as teams may back off him a little for fear of guaranteeing 
him two at the line.

Snoopy the Celtics Beagle
Please visit the Celtics Beagle Website at
http://users.mfi.net/fluteaphrael/celticsbeagle/celtics.html