Grant Long, et al.

[bird <birdw@xxxxxxx>]

I've seen a lot more from Grant Long than I thought I would.  He looks 
positively spry out there, moving well, especially on the C's 
harassment of the pick-and-roll.  I'm sure his basketball smarts can 
account for much of the ability to pick that up quickly, as well.  And 
he knows how to rebound (14 rebs).  He knows how to get position.  You 
could ask for a guy with better offensive skills (3-13, 23%), less 
turnover prone (5 to's in 80 mins), or who could block shots (0 
blocks), but he satisfies many issues: a veteran rebounder who moves 
well without the ball and who can pass the rock.

One thing I had hoped he would bring in a toughness, which I think he 
does individually, but as many have commented on, the team suffers from 
a wussiness that I find ... detrimental.  With Detroit taking all those 
threes in the fourth quarter, someone ought to have been knocked on 
their ass, and I'm not kidding.  There's got to be consequences, 
otherwise other teams start taking advantage.  You're taking a 
three-pointer up by 40 in the fourth and you're met with a forearm 
shiver, that's all I'm saying.  Is someone going to get a suspension?  
You betcha.  Are you out to hurt a guy?  No.  Well, not seriously, 
anyway.  Hurt, yes.   Injure, no.  Call it a physical message.

Of course, if the team could have done that defensively -- come out 
tough I mean -- then they wouldn't have been down such an enormous 
number to begin with.  One way or another, if the C's aren't at least 
planning the humiliation that will come to the Pistons, it'll make me 
sick.  I want to see a message.  If the revenge is going to be served 
cold, I can wait, but it must come.  Perhaps I'm just not subtle 
enough, and a more cerebral, bottom-line vengeance will be exacted.  If 
the C's go out and win ten straight against Detroit, I guess I'll be 
happy, but a part of me will always want to see a little quid pro quo 
can o' whup-ass being opened up on a team bent on embarrassing you.

With all the dead horses out there, I'm surprised to find not a lot of 
hoo-hah about not bringing Rodney Rogers back.  Rodney brought 
toughness, veteran leadership, in a big man package who could hit the 
outside shots and draw his defender out of the key.  If the team had 
Rogers now and he was playing like last year, that'd be something 
indeed.  All this jibber-jabber about Wallace, but nothing about how 
the owner refused to pay for the bench guy most directly responsible 
for helping the team to the ECF, and Erick Strickland, for that matter, 
as well.  Gee, the team needs a point guard who can hit the outside 
shot, penetrate and dish, and defend well.  Oh, and if he's a tough 
bastard out there who'll throw his body out there for the team, that'd 
be a plus.  Paging Erick Strickland, paging Strick... .

Wallace is not a great GM by any stretch, but he wasn't stupid enough 
not to want to bring these guys back.  You could even see the Baker 
trade as a direct response to losing out on RR.  Direct, if potentially 
terrible, and definitely financially hamstringing.  And Obie, for all 
his wackiness at times, knew how to use those guys, too.  Oh, sure he 
played Strick at the 2 sometimes and RR (all 6'6", maybe 6'7") of him 
in the pivot, but the bottom-line success could hardly be argued with.

So I guess this is my axe, my dead horse.  I hate Paul Gaston.  And I 
hope he suffers professionally, financially, and personally.  I hope 
his wife cheats on him with the pool boy.  I hope his dog whizzes on 
him.  He is a moron.  And more importantly, he is a tool.  I'd like to 
see him suffer a debilitating disease.  I think he deserves it.  I'm 
really going to Cato the hell out of this.  Paul Gaston is my Carthage.

Well, I sure hope the fellers can bounce back against Nawlins.  A road 
victory would be mighty nice right now.

Oh, and I also think that Gaston should be destroyed.

Bird