Jim O'Brien

[Chris Littlefield <cjlitt@xxxxxxxxx>]

It's the dog days of hoop summer, and I'm got such a hoop jones I've been dragged out of my lurker status.  I guess I have a couple of things I'd like to throw out there regarding Jim O'Brien.  Before I say them I'd like it to be clear that I am looking forward to more breaking in the offense, more easy baskets, and frankly, Marcus Banks.  I went to three of the Summer League games and he was all over the place, good, bad and ugly.  But he will be, without question, a fan favorite.  If he can wrestle the ball away from Pierce and Walker, exciting, if not always good, things will happen.  
 
That said, let's take a look at Obie's resume' 
 
For the 2001-2002 season,  team added Joe Johnson, Kedrick Brown, Forte, eventually subbing Rogers and Delk for Joe Johnson and Forte.  
 
That team:
 
 - Went from 36 to 49 wins
 - Was #3 in FG defense in the regular season, and #2 in the postseason
 - Sent Pierce and Walker to the All-Star game
 - Beat a Larry Brown-coached Philly team in the first round that had dominated Boston in the regular season
 - Dispatched the Rick Carlisle-coached Pistons in an easy 5 games, winning the last 4, including 2 on the road
- Engineered the greatest comeback in NBA playoff history
- Came within 2 missed Paul Pierce free throws and some horrible officiating of a 3-1 lead over NJ and a probable shot at the NBA finals
 
In the summer of 2002, the supporting cast of that team was gutted:
 
 - We lost Kenny Anderson, Erick Strickland, and Rodney Rogers, or their number 3, 4, and 5 scorers, and perhaps more important, their crunch-time center and best interior defender (Rogers), best playmaker (Anderson), as well as their best perimeter defender (Strick).
 - We gained Vin Baker and Shammond Williams
 - We had no draft picks
 - Pierce played in the World Championships 
 
In the preseason, Kedrick Brown blew out his ankle.  So now, Jim O'Brien, your 2002 playoff bench of Strickland, Rogers, McCarty, has become Baker/Blount, McCarty, Bremer/Shammond.  
 
This decimated team does the following in 2002-2003
 
 - Win 44 games, highlit perhaps by the best Western swing since 1991
 - #7 in FG defense in the league
 - Deal with injuries to Battie, Pierce, Walker, Delk
 - Beat a heavily favored Indiana team _badly_
 
 
Look, I'm not saying it's all peaches and cream.  
 
 - The offense needs significant work and O'brien justifiably takes heat for this.  He's the coach and the offense can be brutal. 
 
 - I am a big Kedrick fan.  I think he will have an impact if he plays.  I think that McCarty and Williams have great heart and good skills as "glue" players.  But their upside is limited.  With McCarty as a third scoring option, you're not going very far.  O'brien has shown perhaps detrimental loyalty to "his" But no one can argue that his players don't play their hearts out for him.  No one can argue that he did more with what he had than anyone had any right to expect.  
 
The way his critics beat up on him, it's as if this is a 55-win #1 seed that got swept by the #8 seed in the first round. 
 
I don't think there are four coaches in the league who could have even gotten that team to the playoffs, much less win a round even in the East.  Yet New Jersey is the only scary team to us in the conference.  
 
I think this year has the potential to be very, very interesting.  Kedrick or Jones, Banks, and Baker have to contribute.  Baker has to learn the defense, and Battie has to be healthy.  Baker and Kedrick need to be able to contribute in limited minutes.  Walker's and Pierce's numbers, particularly their minutes, need to go down.  The 4th quarter offense has to be something better than "give it to Pierce and let him miss fallaways".  
 
But it could be interesting as much of the depth of two years ago has been restored. 
 
Thanks for your time and eyes.  
 
Chris
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