Re: "Very, very good group of defensive point guards."

["Berry, Mark S" <berrym@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Joe, I saw this. I'll feel a little better about it if Obie is saying it
after he's actually seen Shammond Williams practice once-and even better
still after he has actually seen him play. Same with Bremer. Delk can be a
good defender, no doubt. But he also has proven over his career that he
isn't comfortable or good at playing point guard.

I don't want to beat a dead horse. We all know the point guard situation is
ugly. Actually, I'm praying the best-case scenario plays out and the offense
is able to function with Antoine as a point forward. Again, I worry about
that because Antoine leads the team in shot attempts (think of him as the
Stephon Marbury of point forwards). You want the guy initiating your offense
thinking about getting other guys shots-not himself. This isn't a knock on
Antoine, just an observation that being a good dribbler and passer aren't
the only things required of a "point" guard or forward. It's more about the
intangibles of running a team, and the Celtics lack anyone with those
intangibles.

Of course, I don't think Kenny was great at it either. He was the best we
had last year, though. The offense dropped off noticeably when he wasn't on
the floor. I think Antoine hit it on the head when he said they'll miss
Kenny on the pick-and-roll. Kenny was at his best when running that play.

I'm hoping for the best, but really expecting less than that. Placing a bet
on Vin Baker when he's five years removed from a good season and 31 years
old seems like a bad bet. Placing a bet on a former third-stringer to be
your starting point guard (with no other real options) seems like a bad bet.
But sometimes you get lucky. The Celtics need to get lucky with these
acquisitions.

Mark




--- --- ---

Joe H. wrote:

Hey list, did you all notice what Obiewon had to say in 
the Globe about our three-headed munchkin? He believes 
the 02-03 Celts have a "very, very good group of 
defensive point guards."  Wow.

That's a big relief to read, after seeing earlier reports 
about how Shammond Williams got benched in Seattle 
because of his sleepy defense. 

Either Nate McMillan will be proven to be a very poor 
judge of basketball talent, or Obie (and Peter Vecsey) 
have got it wrong in building up fan expectations about 
Shamrock Boy. I prefer to be an optimist at this time of 
year, but this would surprise me. 

Apart from that, Shammy is a one-year rental. If he's 
really the "next Vinnie Johnson" like Vescey imagines, he 
might not be here for long.

Go Celts

Joe H.

http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/274/sports/Celtics_Pivot
<http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/274/sports/Celtics_Pivot> 
al_season+.shtml

''I think our point guard situation is going to be a lot 
stronger than people think,'' said O'Brien. ''It's the 
best group of 3-point-shooting point guards that we have 
ever had. Very, very good group of defensive point 
guards. People that are all hungry for different reasons. 
I don't anticipate this being anything but a strength for 
us.''