Re: Rumors Of Disgust In Boston

[Kestutis.Kveraga@xxxxxxxxxxxxx (Kestutis Kveraga)]

--- You wrote:
(Strangely enough, none of this is mentioned in the Boston Media...)

http://www.hoopsworld.com/article_6279.shtml

CALLING OUT, OR CALL FOR HELP?
Rumors of disgust in Boston continue to filter out. The club is not horrible,
in fact they are not as bad as you might think. Openly media question the
presence of Danny Ainge in and around the bench this week during games, even
calling out to players and officials from the floor. Celtics sources last week
hinted that Jim O'Brien's job was in jeopardy, and now Celtic star Paul Pierce
was quoted by the media saying his club was soft adding salt to the Jim O'Brien
wound saying "We just don't understand what it takes for us to win It just
seems like when the tough get going, we start running. When a team starts to
push us, we don't push back, and we've got to play with some toughness. Right
now, I think we are one of the softest teams in the league. We get leads at the
half, and we settle in on it and don't compete for the rest of the game." Some
around the team say Paul is trying to motivate his team to get hungry and get
after some wins, others say Paul is crying out for hel!
 p and that might explain why the Celts director of basketball operations Danny
Ainge has been so visible around the team over the past few weeks. Pierce has
since backed away from his inflammatory condemnation of his team, saying it was
the heat of the battle and losing a game that got to him. Those around the club
openly wonder if some of the problems aren't related to the X's and O's down
the stretch, and it does seem the Celtics star player is reaching out for help,
either from his teammates or his general manager.
--- end of quote ---

As much as I would like to believe that Obie is in trouble...this "report" is a
clearly a concoction typical of fans' websites, made-to-order to hook the likes
of Ray. Take 3/4 of a cup of wild speculation, mix it with 2 cups of
out-of-context quotes, season it with management "sightings", marinate it in 2
quarts of wishful thinking, and, voila! you have a dark, delicious conspiracy.  

OK, let me try my hand at this 'fansite reporting' thang:

Sources inside the Celtics claim that defensive guru Dick Harter is on the hot
seat. The outcry  on the Celtics Nation discussion boards and chat rooms about
the outmoded defense was echoed by the Celtics superstar Paul Pierce, who
plainly blamed the failings of Harter's defensive schemes for the team's woes
in the latter part of November.  ``It's just our defense,'' Paul Pierce
confided in an interview to the prominent  New England daily The Boston Herald.
``It'll be our defense all year long.". Left off the record was, "until Harter
is gone".  When probed why he thought the Harter defense was to blame for the
recent string of losses, Pierce could only shrug in bewilderment, ``I wish I
knew...it's frustrating when you have the game in hand, and all you need is a
couple of stops.'' The increased presence around the team of former KGB "wet
affairs" specialist - masquerading as the team's masseur - Vladimir Shulman is
an ominous sign for the septuagenarian assistant coach. Shulman has been seen
practicing chokes and headlocks on unsuspecting players. And a recent sighting
of the infamous team morale enforcer Leo Papile (euphemistically referred to as
'Director of Player Personnel'), sitting directly behind Harter at a
Celtics-Bucks game, means that Harter could be done away with at any moment
now. 

Kestas