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Re: Grant Long, et al.
I would only question the part about him suffering a debilitating disease.
I'm going through that right now with a close family member, and trust me, I
would not wish it on my worst enemy. It has taken this to make me realize
that this is only a game we discuss. Regardless of how bad someone is at
their job, you should never wish any bodily harm to them. It affects family
too. You are basically saying you want to put his family through a lot of
pain and heartache simply because he didn't run a basketball team well.
Think about that for a minute....
From: bird <birdw@mac.com>
To: Celtics@igtc.com
Subject: Grant Long, et al.
Date: Mon, 3 Feb 2003 13:46:16 -0800
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
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