Re: not too shabby

[JB <jimmetz@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Dec 9, 2003, at 1:11 AM, lapdoggy wrote:

It looks as though that Banks won't get any PT as long as he looks for
his own shot. Obie is one stubborn SOB and he proved it tonight. If
only Battie and Blount weren't so freaking soft half the time they are
the floor we'd be on to something.

	Lapdoggy
*****************
	I don't think they are soft at all.
	Blount is a poor rebounder (why aren't they working with him on
that?), but is surely not afraid to smack folks around and get into the
"mosh pit."
	Battie is a pretty good rebounder, when healthy. Last night he had 6
rebounds in 29 minutes. He doesn't have the size to be a real banger,
but he's no shrinking violet either.
	Let's hear from the Jazz themselves:

	From the "Salt Lake Tribune:"
{"We played with a lot of energy," Pierce said of the Celtics, who had
lost eight of 10 games before sweeping a Denver-Utah road trip. "We
realized we had our backs against the wall."
   They played like it, knocking Jazz players to the floor a half-dozen
times. Andrei Kirilenko and DeShawn Stevenson were briefly shaken up,
but Raul Lopez was the worst casualty, re-spraining his left ankle,
which limited him to just 25 minutes. He's expected to play on
Wednesday.
   "This game didn't seem to matter much to us, and it mattered quite a
bit to Boston. They were terrific," Sloan said. "They knocked us
around. When we went in there for a layup, we had to pick ourselves up
off the floor. That's just good old-fashioned basketball. Hopefully we
learned a lesson from it." }

 	From the "Deseret News:";
  {"They dominated us right from the beginning of the ball game," Sloan
said. "They just beat us to death."}

	I must presume that Blount and Battie had something to do with the
"thumping."
	Make no mistake, though, this was O'Bie ball. Stifling defense and a
rain of threes (9-27). When the threes don't fall, it's a different
picture.
	Coach did it his way. No Banks, no running. Walter and Eric, the key
subs. Mike James made him look good tonight.
	Kudos to Pierce, who's shot total was conservative, considering an off
night. He certainly had a right to be tired after his magnificent
performance the night before, but if it's a sign of maturation, or
coaching, or perhaps a bit of both; I'm all for it.
	JB
Unchain My Heart!