Several thoughts on the weekend

["Berry, Mark S" <berrym@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Lots of things... 

1.	I never want to hear O'Brien complain about Pierce and Walker being
tired again. The Celts trailed the Mavs by 30 starting the fourth quarter
Friday night, and there were Pierce and Walker, still on the floor. In fact,
Pierce (or was it Walker-now I can't remember), was on the floor until the
six-minute mark. Ridiculous. Of course, if asked about it, Obie would just
say "I don't give a flying (expletive)."

2.	The effort in Dallas was embarrassing. I don't even think Obie was
that interested. How many times does Nowitzki have to pop open on the
pick-and-pop with Nash before you make an adjustment in the way you defend
that play. And Adrian Griffin-as someone already posted, this guy was let go
to make room for the 2001 draft crop. Yet another Chris Wallace masterpiece.

3.	Everyone talks about Mark Cuban simply buying players-but the
Mavericks traded for Finley (in the Jason Kidd deal) and Nash when they
weren't established stars, outmaneuvered the Celts for Nowitzki and have
guys like Griffin and Najera-who were available to everyone-making valuable
contributions. Obviously, the big spending has helped them add to and keep
these guys together, but the nucleus was acquired through smart basketball
moves. Those are in short supply with the Celts these days. Like Kestas
said, you look at these other teams-good teams, not lottery regulars-and
their benches are stocked with guys like Griffin and Najera, Stephen
Jackson, Manu Ginobili, etc., and you start to realize just how bad the
"braintrust" has been.

4.	Vin Baker... Obie says the next day, "maybe I should have told Vin
before the game..." that he probably wouldn't play. Gee, you think? You have
a $50 million albatross with a documented fragile psyche, and it only occurs
to you in hindsight to tell him he's going to be the only guy not to leave
the bench in a 30-point blowout? 

5.	On to the Spurs... This was close to being another blowout. There
was a point in the second quarter when it felt like the Spurs were just
toying with the Celts. Tommy H. made mention of it-they were doing a lot of
laughing and smiling. Tommy called them smug. I think the Spurs got sloppy,
let the Celts hang around, the Celts sensed the opportunity to steal the
game and turned up the D. Of course, even great defensive intensity wasn't
enough to overcome the boneheaded plays down the stretch.

6.	The defense is the thing for this team, but the offense is brutally
bad. They got away with it last year because Pierce was Superman. This year,
he's Clark Kent. I really don't know what's wrong. It's more than fatigue.
His judgment is lousy, his shot is way off, his passing is sloppy. And
Antoine isn't much better. Check that... since that early-season stretch,
Antoine hasn't been any better. Lately, he's been lousy.

7.	It's a shame Pierce and Walker aren't playing for a real basketball
coach. What they both really need is structure and limits. They get in
trouble trying to do too much, but, of course, that's because their coach
asks them to do everything. Both players get so wild and out of control. Can
you imagine those two if they had a point guard to take care of the
ball-handling and running the offense and a power forward to handle the
rebounding and grunt work? Antoine has all of these skills, but they'd be so
much more effective if they were channeled, instead of having him trying to
do everything. One of Antoine's biggest problems-and Pierce's, too-is that
he thinks he's so much better than he is. Neither one of them know their
limits, because no one has set any limits for them. That's called coaching.

8.	So now Obie is going to play Bremer and Brown. The spin in the
morning papers, of course, is that those two were the big key to the
defensive effort last night. Sure. Look, both guys are athletes. Neither of
them should be playing real minutes on a playoff team. Kedrick Brown has no
clue-none-on offense. On defense, he's just as likely to get burned or hung
up on a pick as he is to make a highlight-reel block. And Bremer is a poor
man's Rick Brunson. Don't be surprised, if Bremer continues to get those
minutes, if Shammond and the draft picks are the carrot they use to try to
improve the team. Shammond has established a little value this season, and
he has an expiring contract. Of course, I'm hoping these dolts just stay
away from any deals. They'll just botch them. Just don't do anything, and
hopefully the new owners will be smart enough to see through Wallace's PR
firm of Springer, Coffman, Bulpett and May.

9.	As the trading deadline approaches, you start to hear all kinds of
interesting things... Kwame Brown maybe on the market... Mike Miller, too...
Jamal Crawford, Eddy Curry, Marcus Fizer, Jalen Rose... Gary Payton... Al
Harrington, Jamaal Tinsley... Marcus Camby... Brian Grant and Eddie Jones...
Stromile Swift, Shane Battier... Teams are looking for young talent or
expiring contracts. Wouldn't it be nice to have one (the 2001 draft fiasco)
or the other (Kenny Anderson) to dangle? Instead, we have Vin Baker! But,
like Wallace said, "Look at it this way, would you rather have Rodney Rogers
or Vin Baker?" Do you think his answer is still the same?

10.	Finally, put me in the camp that this team-UNDER NEW
MANAGEMENT-needs a big trade of one of the captains. It's built with no
point guards, no power forwards, one center and only two and a half
legitimate players. It will be painful after being so close, but it's going
nowhere as it is currently structured. Heck, you might even get lucky and
find someone like Dallas, New York or Portland willing to take Baker's
contract attached to either Pierce (more likely) or Walker. You clear that,
add some draft picks or young talent, and start building a real team. Not
the freak show they're running out there now.

I'm frustrated. It's all so depressing. Maybe they'll rip off 10 or 12 in a
row and make me look like an idiot. We can hope.

Mark