RE: All You O'Brien Groupies Can Rejoice

[Kestutis.Kveraga@xxxxxxxxxxxxx (Kestutis Kveraga)]

--- You wrote:
A joint response to the Paul and Antione (you can
argue among yourselves who is who--although Kestus has
expressed a concern over being equated with Antione,
cause he doesn't want the inference to be that he only
performs well in writing his anti-Tione propaganda
half of the time... *smile*) of the list:
--- end of quote ---

That's pretty funny, Ryun. 


--- You wrote:
So basically you're both calling out Tommy because he
repeats the same three important points over and over,
without adding any new analysis?  Unfortunately, the
same criticism may be applicable to the two of you; in
that all you guys talk about is how much Antione is
controlling (and thus, in your opinion, ruining) this
team, and how much the BDT has to go, and how a first
round loss would be so beneficial long term.  
--- end of quote ---

Yes, the irony occurred to me while I was writing my second or third response
on the topic today :)
However, you don't have to read us 90 times a year for 2.5 hours. You can do
the same thing I did - tune out. 


--- You wrote:
And while I haven't been able to catch the telecasts
this post-season because of the non-local blackout
restrictions and thus am not in position to comment on
Tommy's most recent outbursts, I do know one way in
which your comments and Tommy's comments are
unrelated.  Tommy is actually speaking the truth and
all you have to do is watch the other playoff games to
realize this...Minnesota was absolutely screwed by
horrendous calls in their game 3 win against the
Lakers (for which, the next day, the commish actually
apologized about--an apology, I'm sure, that wouldn't
have come unless the Timberwolves had pulled out the
game)....for the last two games, George Karl and the
Bucks have been taken to task by the flooping of Jason
Kidd and the rest of the Nets, costing one game for
the Bucks (George Karl, unlike our coach, wasn't
afraid to rip into the refs after the game)...and in
Sacromento, Bobby Jackson got fined for ripping into
the refs after Stockton and Malone were allowed to
flop their way to a win (and, as a side note, if you
watch Utah's games, notice how much argument and
general disrespect towards the refs Malone gets away
with without a technical foul being called--I beleive
it is because he intimidates them...watch his body
language next time you see him play...its the body
language of a wife beater...not to say that Karl beats
his wife...but he does put the fear of life into the
refs).  So yes the officiating in the NBA sucks and,
in fact, it is the worst officiating of any major
sport.  So yes Tommy can harp on it, because it is a
major problem and thus worth discussing (especially
when the Celtics are getting screwed because of it).  
--- end of quote ---

Yes, it's a problem. But 1) Tommy's belief that the refs are conspiring against
the Celtics is unreasonable (they may hate Toine, but that's his own doing),
and 2) he's paid to provide insightful comentary, not to rant like a raving
maniac about the refs, no matter how much it galls him. The refs do suck
sometimes, but not all the time, and not just for the Celtics. 


--- You wrote:
This argument, if it even is an argument, is built on
a faulty premise; that the extensions are a result of
the success of the Indiana series (which isn't over,
mind you).  These extensions were always going to be
tendered as long as O'Brien was coach; it was just a
matter of when.  And when Auerbach got in the owners'
collective ear, the time had come.  That is the only
reason.  O'Brien, unlike Wallace, has never been in
danger of losing his job.  
--- end of quote ---

Unless you have some evidence OTHER than what they say in the paper, it sounds
like an unsubstantiated opinion to me. The fact is, we don't know where Obie
stood before this playoff series. Once they decided to keep him, they were not
going to say, "we were considering firing Obie before Toine and Isiah pulled
his bacon out of the fire" as a preface to the Obie contract-extension speech.
That they met with him in the middle of the 6-game losing streak in what was
described by both parties as not a very pleasant meeting that involved
criticizing his coaching decisions, indicates to me that they were far from
convinced that Obie is their man. That's just my opinion, it may be wrong, but
at least I have some evidence to support it. 

--- You wrote:
  As for
adding the requisite depth, I fully expect us to not
fuck this draft up.  Either Wallace is gone and
replaced by someone else...or Wallace is kept and
works with the owners and the added scouts in Europe
to pick two good players....ideally a point and
four/five rebounding specialist.  
--- end of quote ---

If Wallace is still around, he'll be kept on a very short leash, as he
apparently  has been since the takeover (as the article makes clear). So, they
may just use him as a glorified scout and make all the decisions themselves,
after consulting with Obie. It was obvious from the article that the so-called
"noble trade" (as Joe Hironaka described the Blount trade), was anything but.
Wallace was simply carrying out direct orders from the ownership on a request
by Obie. It seems he's little more than a scout and a paperwork man now, which
is a very good thing. Needless to say, a better thing yet would be to find a
competent  GM asap. 
Kestas