Rebounding

["hironaka@xxxxxxxxx"<hironaka@xxxxxxxxx>]

FWIW, my view ("hope" is more like it) is that both our 
captains and some of the veterans seen to be holding back 
on jumping. I haven't seen our guys leave their feet much 
in the preseason.

Walker and Pierce combined are probably good again for 
17+ boards like last year. The salient thing is that both 
guys have tended to be plus rebounders at their 
positions. I haven't looked at the stats, but I think 
part of the reason for the pre-season rebounding deficit 
has been the captains.

At PG, we all know Kenny held his own exceptionally well 
and the new guys have to do that too. Delk can probably 
rebound okay, but I'm not sure Shammond has 20% of the 
knack that Kenny had. Kenny was like a magnet to loose 
caroms.

In my view, Eric Williams will always be a tremendously 
weak link on the rebounding stat sheets at G/F. 

But Kedrick Brown might help make up some of the 
rebounding deficit at that position this season, when he 
comes back in as Eric's backup. McCarty is less 
dependable or predictable as a rebounder, especially in 
recent years.

At center, Battie and Baker have got to up it to at least 
14 or 15 boards combined. In the past, that's what we've 
gotten from Pot-Baker-Blount. 

Like I said, Kedrick is the only guy I've seen really 
leave his feet to go after a rebound in the pre-season. 

Since I have tendinitis in both knees while playing in a 
YMCA league, I know why an older guy might want to leave 
the jumping for the real games and just work on other 
things in the preseason. There's nothing like jumping. 
Its murder. Almost any other movement is surprisingly 
manageable.

In any case, I think all the Celts will be better and 
more focused once the season starts. 

Let's admit there's no way we'll continue allowing 48+ 
boards per game. Even 15-win teams don't do that. 

And I doubt any team in history has been outrebounded by 
9 per game in a regular season, like the Celtics so far 
this pre-season (according to that Globe or Herald 
story). The Celtics will get outrebounded for sure this 
year, but it will be more like 1 per game or so.

Remember, Battie averaged almost a double-double in the 
Nets playoff series. And Baker, whether he's been fat or 
not, is at 8.2 boards per game for his career.

All in all, we're still playing reasonably well for a 
team that's getting absolutely obliterated on the boards 
this pre-season.

Call me an extreme optimist, but to me that's practically 
a positive sign. The deficit can't continue quite at this 
pathetic level once the real games begin. 


Joe H.

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