Re: O'Brien Defends His Three-Point Philosophy

["Dan Forant" <dforant1@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Yeeeessssssssss, OB is correct. This team is lucky to find their way to the
Fleet Center. The 3's will keep the Celts in the playoffs for years. Like
the 7th or 8th spot. Fun huh? Let's get on and out of the playoffs, 1st
round out is my pick. Next, trade Walker and move up in the draft and or
wheel and deal for some support for Pierce.

DanF

----- Original Message -----
From: "Way Of The Ray" <wayray@ix.netcom.com>
To: <celtics@igtc.com>
Sent: Sunday, April 06, 2003 5:14 PM
Subject: O'Brien Defends His Three-Point Philosophy


> NOTES
>
> O'Brien has faith in his long shots
>
>
> By Peter May, Globe Staff, 4/6/2003
>
> You watch the Celtics play these days and you wonder: Can Jim O'Brien
> actually enjoy what he's seeing? I'm not talking about the wins or
> losses or the good nights or the bad nights. I'm talking about the style
> they play, mainly on offense, which has them jacking up 3-pointers at a
> record clip.
>
>
>
> Isn't this the same Jim O'Brien who came out of ultra-traditional
> Philadelphia, like so many of his NBA predecessors and colleagues? Isn't
> this the same man who calls his father-in-law, Hall of Famer Jack
> Ramsay, for coaching advice? The answers are yes and yes.
>
> But this is also the same Jim O'Brien who sat next to Rick Pitino for so
> many years. It's the same Jim O'Brien who took over a downtrodden
> University of Dayton team in 1989 and promised he would run, press, and
> shoot threes. People scratched their heads. Dayton did just that and won
> 22 games.
>
> Yes, it can be an aesthetic challenge for purists to watch the Celtics
> these days. Despite what the coach says, they do take too many
> 3-pointers. Far too many 3-pointers. When you are on a pace to shatter
> the league record for threes in a season - as the Celtics are - there
> had better be a good reason. As in, you make them a lot. The Celtics are
> 22d in the league in 3-point-shooting accuracy.
>
> But the ''3-ball'' has become as much a part of the Celtics' game plan
> as rebounding or trapping or the pick and roll. It is the way O'Brien
> sees - the only way, really - for his size-challenged team to have any
> chance to win. But did he ever envision himself coaching in this
> fashion?
>
> ''My offensive philosophy is always based on who would I have as
> players, who would I inherit, and then try to make an analysis as to
> what's the best way that that team could win,'' O'Brien said. ''What's
> the best strategy that I could teach and develop that would give that
> particular group the best chance to go as far as it could go? Through
> studying and through my observations, I believed that the best way to
> grow this franchise was to be, for the East, an unconventional type of
> offensive team. Because that was what I thought our strengths were.
>
> ''I'm comfortable with the 3-ball,'' O'Brien went on. ''But it's largely
> determined by how often you can get the ball inside, or penetrate to get
> the most inside-outside shots. You come down, you make one pass and take
> a challenged three? That's a bad shot. We want stand-still open threes
> by guys that have proven they can make the shot.''
>
> The Celtics, according to O'Brien, have two reliable post-up players:
> Paul Pierce and Eric Williams. But both also like to play on the
> perimeter, and the Celtics' 3-point shooting is now largely due to
> penetration by someone and then a quick pass to an open teammate on the
> outside.
>
> It's not O'Brien's fault he hasn't had an inside presence on offense,
> although some would argue that Antoine Walker might be that guy. O'Brien
> doesn't see it that way. He likes the fact that Walker has the ability
> to take his man away from the basket. His centers since he has been here
> have been Vitaly Potapenko, Tony Battie, Mark Blount, and, for a while,
> Vin Baker. Of the four, Baker could have been a low-post presence; that
> was the hope and expectation when the Celtics traded for him.
>
> ''I understand [the 3-pointer] comes from the inside out,'' O'Brien
> said. ''You can't just be a 3-point-shooting team and have nothing in
> the paint. However, when you do an analysis of your team, and the
> production of people on the inside, you can want to be a power coach all
> you want. But if it's not getting done at a high enough level, you've
> got to look elsewhere.''
>
> And as much as the Celtics seem to be inextricably linked to the three,
> O'Brien said the biggest difference in the team since he took over is
> its ability to defend in the halfcourt.
>
> ''My whole emphasis once I got the job was to build a tough-minded,
> halfcourt defensive team,'' he said, ''because I did not think that we
> were in good position to extend the court. So whoever we had, or however
> long my tenure was going to be, whether it was three months, three
> years, or 13 years, the main emphasis was going to be on halfcourt
> defense. On getting stops. On building a disciplined defensive
> structure. We started that with the very first practice and it continues
> to this day.''
>
> So feel free to cringe at all the threes. As long as O'Brien is in
> charge, and as long as he has a team relatively bereft of inside
> threats, that is how it's going to be. Viscerally, he may not like it,
> either. But he likes to win more than he likes to lose, and the way he
> sees it, the current Celtics system and style is the one he thinks gives
> the team the best chance to succeed.