Globe article / Personal comments

[Eggcentric@xxxxxxx]

A few quick observations -

STARTERS - Last night Obie played our starters 157 minutes.     
Byron Scott played his starters 108 minutes.

WOLKO - He looked great. Give this guy some more minutes.

SUNDOV and SWILLIAMS - Their excellent outside shooting seems to 
fulfill the Wallace/Obie criteria.  Yet scrappy SWill is not a point 
guard and his height will remain a constant liability.  Meanwhile, 
Sundov appears to be a SF in a 7 ft. 2 inch body.  He is not an NBA 
center on either end of the court, and his attempt at defense is 
painful to observe.  

DELK - Looks much better this year as he seems to have found his shot. 
Like Shammond, he is still unfortunately a SG in a PGbs body.  Yet if 
we play him at SG next to SWilliams or Bremer, we will have the 
shortest backcourt in the NBA. 

BATTIE - Not to harp on my pro-Battie kick, but we certainly missed 
his underrated lateral-movement, help defense last night. 

THE CAPTAINS - Paul again looked very good last night.. 27 points,
7 assists. Each year he seems to methodically improve upon a specific 
aspect of his game, so I am expecting that this year he will be upping
his assists per game.  But since our overall offense still comes off as 
helter-skelter anarchy, when he and Walker stepped in at some point 
and took over last night ... I could only think that no matter how many
offensive weapons we add, without a system, nothing has changed.

BAKER - All of the above pale in comparison to how Baker fares this 
season in his struggle with the storm of fate.  In the last three games, 
Baker has more fouls than points and rebounds combined.  His quote 
from the Peter May morning column (reprinted below) is pathetically 
telling.

    < There's no discouragement at all;  I'll figure it out in the next 
      couple weeks. >   - Baker

Where is our coach on this one? Since the Baker trade, why has Obie 
not sat awake nights gleefully strategizing how to maximize Bakerbs 
skills into additional wins?  Since when are players responsible 
for figuring out their own niches or roles with their teams?  Baker is 
such a psychological guy that he needs direction, pampering, inclusion,
and confidence NOW.  Why is he not getting it?  I find Obiebs handling 
of him so far to be cruel and unusual punishment, and condemn the 
fault, not the actor of it. 

Eggy  
---------------------------------------------------------
Baker's struggling to find his game 
By Peter May, Globe Staff, 10/18/2002  

MANCHESTER, N.H. - He had been listed as doubtful but, in the end, that was 
the last 
impression Vin Baker left in last night's 114-106 loss to the Nets. There was 
no doubt in 
anyone's mind that Baker is still a long, long way from coming close to what 
the Celtics 
hope he might be. 

Yes, it's still the exhibition season. Yes, he was bothered by a sore right 
ankle last night. 
Yes, he's still learning. But he suited up and told coach Jim O'Brien he was 
ready to play. 
O'Brien said he would play Baker a lot of minutes to get him ready. The coach 
never got 
that chance. Baker fouled out in 14 utterly underwhelming minutes, a stint in 
which he 
went without a rebound as well. 

''I thought he had a tough night, however you want to look at it,'' O'Brien 
said. ''Hopefully, 
it was because of a banged-up ankle. I appreciate his effort and we'll see 
how he does against 
the Wolves and the Raptors.'' Those would be the Celtics' next two opponents. 

Baker said he was still bothered by the sore ankle. He said it gave him 
trouble moving side 
to side. But he also said he felt he needed to play to better acclimate 
himself to the new 
situation. 

So far, the results, to be charitable, are mixed. Again, it's still the 
preseason and acclimation 
and accommodation are what the exhibition season is all about. But here is 
what Baker has 
done in the last three games since his encouraging 11-point, 7-rebound 
submission against 
the Knicks. 

Chicago: 18 minutes, 2 points, 5 fouls, 3 rebounds. 
New Jersey: 15 minutes, 0 points, 4 fouls, 4 rebounds. 
New Jersey: 14 minutes, 2 points, 6 fouls, 0 rebounds. 

In other words, in the last three games, Baker has more fouls than points and 
rebounds 
combined. Ruben Wolkowyski had as many rebounds last night in 14 minutes as 
Baker 
has had in the last 47. 

''There's no discouragement at all,'' Baker said. ''I'll figure it out in the 
next couple weeks.

 All the experience I can get with this team is important. I have to stay on 
the floor and fight 
through it. It's still a learning process for me.'' 

He's learning how to fit in with two guys who dominate the offense. He would 
love to be 
the No. 3 option, preferably inside. 

''We have two superstars on this team,'' he said. ''I've got to find a niche. 
I want to get into 
the post and do a lot of damage.'' 

The Nets once again showcased their depth and versatility in taking their 
second decision in 
three nights from the Celtics. No Net starter went more than 24 minutes as 
coach Byron Scott 
got big bench efforts from Brandon Armstrong (15 points) and Tamar Slay (12). 
The Nets 
shot 54.4 percent, had a 40-32 rebounding advantage, and led most of the 
night ... O'Brien 
said before the game that he would start playing his warhorses more minutes 
to get them ready 
for the grind ahead. He was true to his word, playing Antoine Walker 40 
minutes and Paul 
Pierce 36. Neither had played more than 27 in the first three games ... The 
Celtics got a solid
 game off the bench from Shammond Williams, who had 14 points in 24 minutes. 
Pierce led 
all scorers with 27 ... Last night's game was at the Verizon Wireless Arena, 
which opened 
almost a year ago. It marked only the third time the building, home of the 
Manchester Monarchs 
minor league hockey team, has been used for basketball. The other two 
occasions were for 
the Harlem Globetrotters. The Monarchs moved in last year, but not before 
having to play their 
first 13 games on the road before the building was ready. The Manchester 
Union-Leader went 
through its back issues and found that the last time the Celtics played here 
was in 1960, when 
Bob Cousy arranged an intrasquad game at the old National Guard Armory before 
the start of 
the playoffs ... The Celtics' new owners, Wyc Grousbeck and Steve Pagliuca, 
were among 
the sellout crowd of 10,523.