new Hoopsworld column

["Josh Ozersky" <jozersky1@xxxxxxxxxx>]

New column up at Hoopsworld...

The Celtics Report
by Josh Ozersky





The Celtics' talent level has come up a lot lately. First, during the Celtics
most recent swoon, Ainge was given the opportunity to say yet again that the
Celtics don't match up with Detroit, Indiana and New Jersey, each of whom have
"a boatload of talent." Now that the Celtics are playing well again, and
finally scoring 100+ a game, it's fair to ask what the problem is with the
talent the Celtics have. I've always blamed the coaching, even when the
Celtics were most deficient in ability and athleticism; and I like to think
that the recent scoring outbursts testify to the truth of my instinct.

How are the Pacers and Pistons more talented than the Celtics? It amazes me to
hear Ainge say this, and Bob Ryan second it. First of all, neither team has
beaten the Celtics in a playoff series: we punched both teams' tickets the
last two years. New Jersey is probably more talented; but what is so great
about the current rosters of Indiana and Detroit? The Pacers' only all-star
caliber player, Jermaine O'Neal, is an unproven marshmallow that can't score
in the crunch, and their second-best player, Ron Artest, is a suspension
waiting to happen. The Pacers are playing Kenny Anderson major minutes! Can
there be any more obvious sign of desperation? As for the Pistons, they (like
the Celtics) are a deep and cohesive team, but they also lack a go-to player,
and their best players are all spare parts. Darko Milic may pan out in the
long run, but right now Chauncey Billups and Ben Wallace are their best
players: a point guard who can't pass, and a power forward who can't score.
This is the mountain the Celtics have to climb?

I bring all this up not to put down our rivals. Rosters don't win games; teams
do, and it's all settled in the post-season, as Ainge should know. But the
Celtics have a very good, very deep team which their poor play and the
received wisdom about the Eastern Conference has obscured. They, in fact, have
more talent than is currently being shown: in the big win against the Sonics,
Walter McCarty played more minutes than Jumaine Jones and Marcus Banks
combined. Meanwhile, Kendrick Perkins and Brandon Hunter haven't even appeared
on the court yet.

But you can't argue with success, and Jim O'Brien is getting it by letting
high-IQ players like Jiri Welsch and Raef LaFrentz play maximal minutes.
O'Brien can't really coach offensive basketball, for whatever reason - but
it's now obvious that a big part of the problem was the Celtics overreliance
on defensive players and raw athletes at the expense of seasoned,
sophisticated offensive veterans. This still happens - Mike James, for
example, is essentially a live body who's only really comfortable dribbling
around looking for his own shot, or spotting up for jump shots. Tony Battie
still has only a rudimentary offensive game. Kedrick Brown still doesn't know
what he's doing, and is obviously afraid to put the ball on the floor. But
these shortcomings are now less than crippling, because there are players on
the floor who know how to play, and they are drawing the best from the players
we have. Even Paul Pierce, who earlier this season was trying to dribble
through triple teams 22 feet from the basket, has picked up on the new vibe,
and is flourishing. I still hate to see Pierce force tough shots, even when he
makes them; but this too is covered up by the sheer scoring power the team has
shown.

Of course, the minute Welsch or LaFrentz are not on the court, the team
reverts to its worst instincts: players stand around, try to dribble through
the press, shoot 24-footers with 20 seconds left on the shot-clock, and maroon
Vin Baker in the post. And the team's defense still lacks the toughness and
physicality that made it so effective over the last few years, when its
finesse was balanced by tough guys like Erick Strickland, Rodney Rogers, and
Vitaly Potapenko.

Still, on both offense and defense, the Celtics have a lot of weapons. Ainge
would like to add another one-on-one scorer, no doubt, but really, what can
the Celtics ask for right now? They have the best low-post scorer in the
conference, a guy who is leading the league in field-goal percentage. They
have an all-NBA caliber go-to scorer in Paul Pierce. They have committed and
hardworking athletes all up and down the roster, and gifted talents just
beginning to scratch their surface in Welsch, LaFrentz, and Marcus Banks - who
just might be the most talented small guard to come into the league since Tony
Parker. They have an effective ombudsman in Eric Williams, who is now
basically the spiritual leader of the team. And they have, waiting in the
wings, three very gifted big men in Jones, Perkins, and Hunter - the last of
whom might supply the team's crying rebounding and toughness deficiencies.

What all this amounts to is a damn good roster. As a Celtics fan, I don't want
to hear about how the team will have a three-year plan to get a Finals window.
There is no reason the Celtics can't be in the finals this year. Their rivals
other than New Jersey are nothing to worry about; and even the Nets can be
beaten, if we wouldn't play into their hands by running a slow and ponderous
offense. The Celtics can't realistically hope to beat the Spurs, Mavs, or
Lakers; but funny things can happen in a seven-game series, and the best team
on paper doesn't always win.

Play the talent we have the right way, and develop the most promising young
players, and the Celtics won't have anything to worry about from the likes of
Indiana and Detroit. They'll be the team on top in the East. And then they can
go on from there.



***

By the way, in case you missed it:  Antoine Walker has gone completely insane,
unleashing a Manson-like rant at Danny Ainge for trading him in today's globe.
Shira Springer must be beside herself with delight.  Twon goes on and on,
fuming like a somali warlord, and gaining momemtum as he goes along.  It's
really something.

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