Hello y'all!

[W <jmajor81@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Sorry if this has poor formatting - I did it in a word processor and cut 
and paste.

Hi all,

Back in Australia for a little bit.. Have had an opportunity to sit down 
and put together my thoughts on the team, the new players, the old, the 
ownership change and other such bits and pieces.

Antoine Walker - his playoff play indicated to me that he is quite 
capable of being the co-star in this team and whilst being the co-star 
being the absolute leader on this team. His leadership is unquestionable 
neither is his love for the game. I cannot think of a player who I'd 
want more in this position- you could suggest McGrady, et al but they're 
the #1 option and thats that [I consider Kobe a #1 option more than a 
secondary top scorer like Toine really is]. Much kudos to him for how he 
led the team in the come-back game, getting into everybody like that.

I do not blame Antoine for the shots that he throws up- for the most 
part the shots that he does take are in the system - its what coach 
O'Brien wants him to shoot. He is definitely one of the better all-round 
players in the league, probably top 2 or 3. I know a lot of you harp on  
his defensive capabilities but he really did impress me on that end of 
the floor. Perhaps, if anything he may gamble a little too much.

Paul Pierce - I believe that he is not a leader in the sense of the 
word. He is, however, a go-to scorer and someone who can be 
inspirational for the whole team- the circus shots that more often than 
not he makes. Needs to cut slightly down on the number of threes that he 
takes, but once again, its part of the system.

I feel he is more of a defensive liability than Antoine. Eric generally 
defends the small forward which leaves Paul not quite quick enough to 
guard the really fast twos in the league. While, he does have nice 
stats, stats are far from the be all and end all of being a good 
defender and in some cases numbers are very misleading in that a player 
may gamble to get a defensive stat which leads to an easy bucket than by 
not gambling for the stat - Paul is guilty of this quite a bit.

Tony Battie - highly under rated player, but highly valued to the team. 
I love his work- night in night out he hustles his heart out. Whether he 
has a good game or not is not the thing that counts; but for his size 
(both height wise and muscularly) he plays his heart out and to most who 
watch closely it is obvious. I doubt we'd win half the games we do 
without him. He is that important for the team. He is in one of the top 
three to four players in the league at his position for the system that 
he is in.

On the offensive end of the floor I really would like to see them use 
him as a greater offensive weapon than they do. If they're opening 
things up by having the four (usually Toine) play mid-range and out, it 
should generally open the key for the center to get an easier bucket. He 
definitely has the athleticism for this type of scoring role.

Kedrick Brown - have probably seen as much of him as most of you have 
here. He is a long-term development project, but will eventually be a 
very solid player, no less, but hopefully more. We all know of his 
freakish athleticism and of his much talked about shooting game. He has 
good defensive ability, he anticipates well, and every basic fundamental 
is there. What he does need to do is to learn, and the quicker the 
better, how to combine all of his talents into the complete package. 
However, for the time being you're more likely to see him have a great 
defensive night one night, the next him having a great shooting game and 
a dunk fest the game following that.

Tony Delk - was definitely hampered by various injuries last season and 
we were unable to see the best of him as a result. I for one do not 
think that he is starting point guard material as he is what he is and 
that is a scorer from the bench who one night can pour in 30 points in 
25-30 minutes followed by almost nothing the next night. He is as good a 
guard defender as we have on this team and that will play a crucial role 
in how this team goes this season.

Walter McCarty - Mr. Energizer Bunny. I am personally glad that he is 
back on the team this year. Walter sure is a great part of the teams 
chemistry both on and off the court. He also seems to have more fun and 
bring the crowd into the game when he is in the game. Tommy, I love 
Waltah too.

Eric Williams - WOW! He was playing hurt all playoffs and was able to 
play extremely well for the most of it? Wow! Big kudos to him. I love 
Eric too- I still remember the article (I think Jackie) wrote about him 
in the paper (am I right?) that was posted. Inspirational article 
anyhow. Plays his role and is happy to do whatever he is asked to do for 
the team. Cannot ask for any more than what you get from him. He is what 
he is. I'm expecting a good year from him, all the same.

The New Guys

Shammond Williams - am really happy to have him on the team. I am a big 
fan of his abilities. However, what I am not happy about is the way I 
believe this team will use him. He is best used as an 18-24 mpg player 
who comes into the game when the tempo of the game has been set as he is 
not very good at being the player to initiate that. Brought in for those 
minutes from the bench where he will be asked to score, play defense, 
pass it off to the other scorers (Walker/Pierce, potentially Baker) and 
to speed the tempo up (he cant set it, but he can make it faster). I 
expect him to have a very good season with numbers about 12ppg and 4apg.   
Vin Baker - I do not mind his acquisition. In fact, I am a fan of the 
trade and this is being written after his past few games. I believe that 
he will really struggle until about the all-star game and then he will 
begin to come into his own and improve dramatically to All-Star calibre 
play which will be very beneficial for the team come playoff time.

J.R. Bremer - I expected him to be selected towards the end of the 
second round of the playoffs. I believe that the Celtics had their eye 
on him with the Darius Songalia selection but realized that they would 
have an equally good chance to get him following the draft which I think 
is better than being drafted in the second round to the Celtics. We're a 
team that stockpiles round two picks in Europe and then if they become 
NBA calibre players bring them in then. He could be a beneficial player 
for the team this year and I would not be surprised if he became the 
starting point guard in the latter stages of the season. A real keeper.

Bruno Sundov - an extremely talented tall kid. Someone who can shoot the 
lights out and is solid in many facets of the game which is typical for 
a european big man. I think he needs to improve his ball handling, but 
could become Vlade Divac/Rik Smits/Arvydas Sabonis lite. I really like 
the pickup- bad contract though as if he does shine is likely a goner - 
even if we want to keep him.

Ruben Wolkowyski - I honestly do not know much about him. Haven't seen 
much of him at all. However, I have read a few articles about him- looks 
like someone who will be brought off the end of the bench and asked to 
go in and shoot. Exactly what this team needed, not. I'd much rather 
have gone with another rebounding power forward, such as free agent (I 
think?) - Michael "The Animal" Smith. However, O'Brien probably thinks 
that having three bigs who cannot hit the three (Baker; Battie; Smith) 
would be too many.


The New Ownership - I love it for one reason - it cannot be any worse 
than Gaston.

I like how they're fans of the other local teams as well as being the 
Celtics owners. I think that it shows that they're true fans and not 
just some Johnny Come Lately who bought the pro team to look good and/or 
as a tax write off.

Anyhow this is how I rate the teams in the East

New Orleans Hornets - IMO the best team in the East- good depth
    Boston Celtics - Slow out of the gates but storm home
   New Jersey Nets - *will not* get any better than they are now
     Atlanta Hawks - the new "big three" in the eastern conference
    Indiana Pacers - fantastic team - wouldn't be surprised if they
                     lure Riley
     Orlando Magic - This team could finish high or low, but I predict
                     hot start followed by mediocrity in 2nd half of
                     season when injuries and a lack of anyone decent
                     on the inside really catches up to a team
Philadelphia 76ers - KVH and AI provide too much scoring for the Sixers
                     to miss playoffs
Washington Wizards - good weapons- Kwame will develop strongly this
                     season, but, I think that they'll struggle to make
                     the playoffs
   Milwaukee Bucks - I just dont like how they've got things. NBA Ghost
                     Town
   Detroit Pistons - bad trade will see them become undone
     Chicago Bulls - Cartwright gets a nomination for Coach of the Year
   Toronto Raptors - Carter trade walks blow as team disappoints
   New York Knicks - Crap team but not as crap as lower teams
Cleveland Cavaliers - Too much young talent to be last to Miami
        Miami Heat - Its up to Caron Butler to lift this team