little things

[Mark Piotrowski <markp@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

-- anyone else catch what looked like Jiri barking at Antoine several 
times after taking it to the hoop.  man that was great.  forget Waltah 
-- I LOVE JIRI!

-- Was Ricky's dunk the best first basket by a Celtic?  He looked a 
little lost otherwise -- but I'm on board with this trade.  Mihm came 
in and looked aggressive on the boards.

-- I would have been cheering when Antoine was introduced -- and booing 
him in the 4th, he's no longer a Celtic.  And every problem he had as a 
Celtic was on display (maybe its the FleetCenter):  the off balance 3 
at the end when they could have gotten a better 2; the turnover on a 
wild drive on the 2nd to last possession, the wildly inconsistent 
shooting.  I felt bad for him though -- i would have loved him to have 
a triple double and lose the game.

-- Paul Pierce, on the other hand, will have his number hanging in the 
rafters if he keeps this up.  I dare say that he's even better than 
last season and has stepped up his team-game.  He's rebounding like a 
monster.

-- Bill Walton can alternately kill me and drive me up the wall.  His 
hyperbole can be amusing -- when he was going on about "basketball 
being a celebration of life and health" i was dying laughing -- and i 
love that he doesn't take himself too seriously, but he kept missing 
when players were put in the game and he needs to learn when to be 
quiet sometimes.  But i love his spirit.

-- Stephen Smith (ESPN pregame) however takes himself way TOO serious 
and is just downright irritating.  he knows some of his shit -- from 
the articles I've read by him -- but he acts like Ainge is trading 
All-Stars for 12th men.  He kept going on and on about how Ainge is 
blowing up the team and that they're headed to the Lottery.  If I could 
I'd bet him a week's pay they not only avoid the lottery, but win the 
Atlantic.

-- Obie.  I too was incredulous when the said Waltah was starting.  But 
one thing is becoming clear:  what Obie might lack in in-game coaching 
(esp. on offense) he more than makes up for in managing the team and 
its collective psyche.  The Celtics play like Celtics should -- hard, 
with fire.  And I love the story they told that they couldnt' practice 
with the new players so Obie talked to them for a couple hours as a 
team about what it means to be a Celtic, what he expects form them, 
etc. Did you catch O'Brien's reaction when they won -- i don't know if 
anyone wanted it more than he.  i'm starting to rethink Obie.  It seems 
more and more like the offense of the last 2 years may have been a 
strategic choice given the talent -- because with the cast Ainge has 
assembled they are moving the ball around much more.  Maybe some of the 
infamous "walker grip" was really on Obie.

-- this was the best Celtics win since they made it to the EC finals.  
well beating the Pacers was nice last year, but they really gutted this 
one out -- and its sweeter b/c you KNOW they wanted it.  


- (the other) mark