Ainge and Obie - oil and water

[Eggcentric@xxxxxxx]

    ''I believe this is going to be a good basketball team. There's 
    just too many positives.'' - Obie (via Springer)

Our present record is past the point of dreaming.  We are 7-11, tied for 
7th in the Eastern Division but worse than ALL fourteen Western Division 
teams.  Should we fall to the lottery, we are at least assured of
securing a high draft choice. 

True as the dial to the sun, if Ainge had signed almost any other coach 
but Obie, the AINGE CELTICS would likely now be 11-7 and on their 
way to achieving Danny's ultimate plan... retaining his three-year 
plan/honeymoon privilege while staying within the strict confines of 
the owners' conservative budget.

If Ainge had not come aboard, the OBIE CELTICS might also now be 
11-7.  Don't ever shortchange Obie.  Bad as his coaching appears to us,
he is firm in his opinions, has been successful with his perimeter
no-motion, 3-point style, and has become a calculating expert on 
survival.

If Ainge and Obie were truly on the same page (catch phrase of the year), 
our team might not be quite this dysfunctional.  Sure we don't have 
the horses to compete with top teams, but the real problem lies in that 
the horses we do have are so thoroughly confused by the various voices in 
their ears that they do not know when to gee or when to haw.  

On the one hand there is the familiar and comfortable Obie/Harter style 
which, make no mistake, our coach still secretly savors.  On the other 
hand, there is the new Director of Operations who feels no shame in 
taking Obie's horses aside in practices to indoctrinate them to his ways, 
and has recently begun to actually scream directives to Obie's herd 
from the sidelines, much to the dismay of his coach.  Talk about a 
meddling mother-in-law (Ainge) and a stubborn son-in-law (Obie).  
All the ingredients are here for a juicy gee-haw story on how not to 
run an NBA team.

NETS - And here we thought the Celts had problems. The Nets will not 
win the Eastern Division title. The whole sad Mourning soap opera was 
the last straw with this team.  Beyond that, the Mike Tyson of the NBA, 
Kelvin Martin, is still hostile that he hasn't been re-signed, and Kidd 
still has little respect for his coach.  Not a pretty picture.

ILGAUSKAS TRADE - Don't get too excited over this latest trade rumor. 
Do any of you really think we would again stick ourselves with a max 
contract for such a soft player?  Our owners are all about staying UNDER 
the luxury tax, not exceeding it in future years.  They vastly overpaid 
for this franchise.  They paid $360 mill (many million more than they 
could now buy the Nets for) without the possibility of making one red 
sou on the lucrative concession stands) and we the fans are the ones 
who will pay now and pay later for their financial blunder. 

Wyc claims our generous owners are spending $80 million on our team 
this year... including Ainge and Obie, a new plane for the team, better 
trainers, more scouts, higher paid assistants.  And how about electricity, 
advertising, screaming Jumbotron programming, medical care, etc.  
Too bad Wyc does not understand what most fans care about, and that is 
the team that is placed on the floor, not in the air.  Aren't wins, wins, 
and wins the three eldest children of necessity?

Fans clearly want to know why the owners/Ainge could not afford to 
upgrade our FA point guard signing (James) nor part with our mid-level/ 
small exceptions as a token gesture toward improving our team,  
justifying the steep rise in ticket prices, and assuring continued fan 
support. The casual fan on the street is quickly losing interest in our 
team and all for a few measly millions which could have been better 
directed.

LaFRENTZ - I love this guy's style and knowledge of the game.  But 
what's up with his (chronic) knee problem ... is it any different from that 
of Battie's?  If no team will risk taking Battie now in a trade, then
LaFrentz is equally as damaged goods, maybe more so considering his 
heavy-duty salary.  I was all for trading Walker, but the sad thing is that 
Ainge and the Doctors had to know about the LaFrentz knee problem prior 
to the trade and still went through with it out of default (no other 
decent offers). 

JONES - Our dirty little secret.  Obie has little respect for this guy
(along with Kedrick) and has dared to oppose Boss Ainge in not affording
playing time to either of these guys who Danny passed off as the 
future of our team.

NUTSHELL-
1) Ainge's moves have been more dependent on pleasing the owners and
complying with their salary restrictions than with planning for our 
team's future.

2) The Celts will continue to go down the tube as long as the Ainge/Obie 
battle rages on. 

Egg