last night's comments

[Kestas <kkv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Resending what I posted last night:

I'm not worried that we lost to the Nets again. The Celtics haven't played 
defense since some time in the 1st preseason game. They can't beat the 
full-strength Nets without defense. Moreover, Battie and Kedrick are out 
and Baker is dysfunctional. Thus, we had to settle for the moral victory of 
coming back from large deficits twice.

The Baker situation worries me not because Vinnie hasn't found his groove - 
that's to be expected - but because there doesn't seem to be any attempt to 
integrate him. I understand not revealing plays for him during the 
preseason (I doubt that there is anything to reveal, though), but having 
him park at the 3-point line a la Blount, or flail around down low without 
receiving any attention from his teammates is a waste of everyone's 
time.  It's a good sign that he played on a tender ankle, but how long is 
his resolve going to last if this keeps up?

On to the good news:

Ruben showed that he's willing to get on the boards and able to get some. I 
think he can definitely replace Pot's contribution at a tiny fraction of 
the cost. He's as at least as good a shooter from midrange, has better 
hands, and might be a tad longer and more athletic (which is like saying 
he's the taller of two midgets). His low post defense is obviously far 
behind Pot's, but you can teach that.

Shooooondov can really shoot - Obie wasn't kidding. If he could rebound 
some and play D, we'd have a real find on our hands. But he's only 22. At 
the very least, he could be a Pat Garrity/Danny Ferry type for us.

Shammond. This kid is something else! He gets involved, he can shoot and 
dribble, he's very athletic, feisty, and fearless. Though not a real PG, he 
can pass some, especially off penetration. If he could play some D...have I 
said this before?

Delk continues to shoot well, but there's not even a hint of understanding 
how to play PG from him. Shammond's gotta start and play the majority of 
minutes at PG. Bremer's more similar to Delk than Shammond.

Walker and Pierce did their usual thing, shooting to their heart's content. 
Walker's shooting line looks worse than it was; he actually put on some 
nice moves down low. I think his low post game has improved, he goes to his 
strong side more and uses fakes effectively.  Despite the five assists, he 
mostly forgot his point forward duties, and seemed to be involved in 
several one-on-one contests with a few Nets, including Rogers.

Pierce had the same number of assists as Kidd, a testament to how the 
boxscore can belie one's true impact on the game. Had his way with whoever 
was covering him. Btw, Lance, was it you holding up a sign that read: "I 
love you Paul Pierce! Go Celtics!"? :)

EWill/McCarty - the yoozhe.

It's obvious at this point that the Celtics have a much longer way to go 
than the Nets to integrate the new guys into the team. That's hardly 
surprising given the experience of Mutombo and Rogers, and the fact that 
they're replacing the same type of players. Besides, Kidd can make anybody 
fit in and produce up to his full potential. Whereas the Celtics are trying 
to fit some new parts into their engine, but the spark's a little retarded 
and the fuel/air mixture ain't right. Whether they'll catch up this season 
remains an open question. I certainly hope the Baker era didn't peak in his 
first game, as was the case with Pitino.
Kestas