Re: No love from DA

[JB <jimmetz@xxxxxxx>]

On Friday, August 1, 2003, at 09:32  AM, Berry, Mark S wrote:

> My point is this - I like what Ainge did in the draft. But as for 
> improving
> THIS season, I'm not sure. We all hope the style of play changes and 
> results
> in improvement, but how often does that really happen? I think it's 
> far more
> likely that the team regresses a little due to defensive slippage. They
> slipped a little last season.
>
	Mark
****************
	There are huge question marks, no doubt.
	Will Baker contribute, or will we suffer through 20+ minutes a game 
from Blount? With even the Baker of two years ago, we are a much better 
team than we were last season. Didn't he average over 17 points a game 
against Eastern conference foes, playing center?
	Who plays the 3? O'Bie's boys; Walter and Eric, or Danny's boys; 
Kedrick and Jumaine? It seems to me, that for this team to be balanced, 
there has to be a trade for another point guard. I'm convinced that 
Ainge acquired Jones to trade either Brown or Williams, or maybe both, 
just as he acquired James, in order to trade Bremer.
	Has Danny decided off of summer league, that Kedrick just doesn't have 
it and wants a slashing wing, and/or is he planning to use William's 
expiring contract to get a quality player, down the line? I don't see 
how we can keep all four of them, or expect Delk and James to back up 
at the point.
	If Banks exceeds all reasonable expectations, he can give the team 
20-25 quality minutes. If we expect to equal or exceed last years win 
total and playoff success, we will need another true point guard.
	Can you imagine this team, in transition, having two totally different 
offensive styles, for half a game each? Chaos, I say and an invitation 
for certain players to coast, or even sabotage the efforts at 
instituting a running, movement based, offense.
	If there's no trade, I'm still hoping for Kenny Anderson. Do you 
really want a rookie, inclined toward turnovers, to finish close games?
	A rotation of Baker, Delk, McCarty/Jones, Anderson and Hunter puts us 
right back in with the elite of the conference.
	Yes, I'm wishing for a lot: a renewed Baker and a trade/signing of a 
true point guard, but I think both are necessary for this team to even 
equal last year.
	I think Ainge is up to something, with the Jones signing; we'll see.
	
	JB

Unchain My Heart!
****************************
From: "Berry, Mark  S" <berrym@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Fri Aug 1, 2003  9:32:03  AM US/Eastern
To: "'celtics@xxxxxxxx'" <celtics@xxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: No love from DA

Remember, Orlando finished only two games behind the C's last season. 
They
now have Gooden and Giricek for a full season, and added Juwan Howard 
in the
offseason. They should be significantly better. Can we honestly say the 
same
thing about the Celtics? If you look at it objectively, the only true
contributor we've added is Banks and, maybe, Jumaine Jones. Banks, as 
much
as I like him, remains a rookie point guard. He'll make some great 
plays,
but those guys tend to have plenty of ups and downs. It's a tough 
position
to jump into right away. Look at some of the high-profile guys from 
recent
drafts - Jay Williams, Baron Davis, Jamaal Crawford, Andre Miller - and 
most
of them struggled early before making a significant jump the following
season. And all of these guys were more highly regarded coming into the
league than Banks (not that that necessarily means anything). As for 
Jones,
let's see how it shakes out. Obie likes to play about eight guys. 
Pierce,
Walker, Banks, Delk, James, Williams, Battie and Blount will play. You 
still
have Walter and Kedrick. Maybe you count Baker. Let's just see how the
minutes shake out.

My point is this - I like what Ainge did in the draft. But as for 
improving
THIS season, I'm not sure. We all hope the style of play changes and 
results
in improvement, but how often does that really happen? I think it's far 
more
likely that the team regresses a little due to defensive slippage. They
slipped a little last season.

Meanwhile, Orlando made a significant addition in Howard. Armstrong-Lue 
is a
wash at this point in Armstrong's career.

We'll see, but I'm just not convinced this team will improve THIS 
season.
The future looks better, but it's going to take some time.

Mark