Re: Fw: [Celtics' Stuff from hero to goat

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

Hi, I know in advance that I'll sound like an apologist 
here (and I'm just as sad as the rest of you to read that 
Paul Pierce was "despised" by his teammates) but I'd say 
this much:

I thought Paul Pierce defended Peja solidly and 
intensively in the first half, and that he gave a notable 
defensive effort overall until the 4Q. It wasn't just 
Gurovic that got hot in 4Q, Peja was also red hot with 
Pierce no longer on him. The last time Karl rushed Pierce 
back in to stay early in 4Q, I remember thinking "geez, 
he's not even rested." You could tell by his outside 
shooting that his legs were gone.

The notable dropoff in defensive intensity in the 4Q was 
in my mind a team thing, and came as a surprise to me 
given the importance of the game. But with the thin 
bench, the game played out much like the Celtics burnout 
phenomenon we saw in Game 6. Plus the Yugo's started 
pulling their whole flop artist act.

I suppose I'm not the only one who finds it astonishing 
that these guys were playing their fourth game in four 
nights, and seventh in eight days? NBA back-to-backs 
impact performance a lot, as we've all noticed. 

I'm not saying that other teams weren't in exactly the 
same boat. But at least they invariably played zone on 
the defensive end like the Yugos. Pierce was individually 
assigned to the top scorers in the past few games, and 
that's pretty tiring (it also suggests he can't be quite 
that bad on defense). 

On top of the unfamiliar tournament schedule, I imagine 
the Euro contingent don't come into it off a pro season 
of 82 games. 

For instance, Paul Pierce played in over 100 games in the 
past season, including the exhibition season plus 
playoffs. That's a ton of games. Multiply that by 40 
minutes per game (the total length of an Int'l ball game).

I remember when France and other top teams got eliminated 
from the World Cup. It was the same deal. The marquee 
guys all play way too many club games during the year. 
The top club teams are so in need of revenue, they are 
constantly touring around the world or participating in 
FIFA trophy tournaments, on top of league games where the 
top stars are always getting dinged up.

So if I knew in advance that this was going to be a nine-
game tournament (way too many), I'm not so sure as a 
Celts fan that I would have supported the idea of Pierce 
participating. I still can't believe there was not one 
but actually two "preliminary rounds", not to mention the 
back-to-back-to-back-to-back (x4) format. You could see 
these guys losing their jump shot legs in the second half 
of some games, even earlier in the tournament.

But getting back to Paul Pierce, how dare these guys 
scapegoat Pierce for the outcome of the tournament. 
Pierce had the least to be ashamed about, if you ask me. 
He took high percentage shots. He had ten assists in the 
Argentina and Yugo games, and passed well the entire 
tournament. (The wrap-around pass off of drives might be 
a big weapon for him this coming season). He showed 
really improved court awareness during the dribble, 
rather than the tunnel vision of before.

Meanwhile Jermaine O'Neil was nothing less than a 
national embarrassment, especially for a max contract 
player playing on home court. 

And what happened to Ben Wallace? I know its impossible, 
but did this guy shrink three inches in height over the 
summer? If Vlade's really 6-11, then Ben's 6-7.

But regardless, I just have no clue why Karl kept sending 
the league's top shotblocker and rebounder out on the 
perimeter chasing guys like Nowitzki and Peja. We got 
crushed on the boards.

My respect for Shawn Marion and Baron Davis has cratered. 
Judging by how they performed, you could have convinced 
me that both were promising NBDL players, rather than 
actual NBA superstars. Marion was a particular enigma. 
What was the reason for his DNP, does anyone know?

Lastly, in this long-winded post, I'd like to discuss 
that reported clash between Andre Miller and Paul 
Pierce... Paul Pierce was dead right IMO in telling the 
pointguard to stop hogging the ball. Andre Miller's a 
weak shooter who shot too much. 

What's more, even my wife noticed what a poor job of ball 
distribution he did last night. How many times do you 
have to feed Ben Wallace down the stretch, Andre? There 
was that 24 second violation off a stupid dish to Wallace 
down low, and that dumb pass for Ben's foul-line clanker 
(both totally the fault of the pointguard IMO). 

My wife, who only watches any sport because of me, 
commented that Andre is a bad leader because down the 
stretch he kept wearing the same droopy, loser-mentality 
face. Plus he's a bad shooter. She's got a point. Imagine 
the game face Magic or Kidd would have had after 
Yugoslavia closed in? What was Cleveland's record last 
year?

Andre wasn't the "second scorer" I had in mind in my 
earlier post. The reason he did come out like gangbusters 
was because they started Jaric on him in the first 
period. I'll say this...Jaric isn't going to get any 
playing time in the NBA until he learns how to play 
defense. He moves laterally on defense with the grace of 
a fourty-year-old office worker. Andre's not quick, but 
he blew past Jaric on drives with room to spare. 
Nevertheless, Jaric looks like another true Yugo scorer, 
that's for sure. Good size, but not a good playmaker yet. 
NBA point guard is a fantasy, I'm fairly sure. I really 
hope they broadcast the medal games, but I doubt that 
will happen.

It's very sad to see Pierce was "despised" by the team. I 
hope this comment was a stretch, based on Andre's 
personal animosity toward him. But if its at all true, 
Pierce's teammates need to look in the mirror. He and 
Brand carried them in this tournament because the rest of 
them were crap, pure and simple. They were the national 
embarrassments. Paul Pierce did all he could, and was 
very effective at what he did. Half of these guys should 
never be invited back again. I hope they take Antoine 
with him next time because the rest of these guys can 
kiss Paul's ass, as far as I'm concerned. 

He'll be opening the same cans of whupass on them this 
upcoming season that he did all tournament long. And 
we'll win too.

Joe






 
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