Re: Several thoughts on the weekend

["Josh O." <igtcjosh@xxxxxxxxx>]

Great essay, Mark.  Really insightful and
well-written.  I really wish there was some way to ask
Chris Wallace about some of these points; but what can
he really say?  The point about Kenny's current value
is really the telling one.  I hate to say it, but I
think that Chris may be in over his head as GM.  His
skills seem to be primarily as a personnel guy.  If
you need to find good minimum wage guys, the Bremers
and Bowens of the world, he's your man.  (He's never
more excited than when talking about some find like
Sundov or Blount.)  But, even granting his financial
limitations under Gaston, he's come up short.  There's
no way to deny it.

Also, is anybody besides me sick of the miserable
expression that has been plastered on Paul's face this
year?  I haven't seen him smile all year -- and he's
no fun to interview afterwards, either.  

Paul and Antoine are playing pretty well, I think,
given the minutes and how little help they are
getting.  Pierce is missing a lot of shots he made
last year, but there's nothing to be done about that. 
I still don't think you can get value for either man,
unless a 1st team all-star suddenly has to be moved. 
Even if you got equal even-up value, as for example
Antoine for Elton Brand, you would be losing the
team's whole leadership structure.  And I would only
move Pierce for T-Mac, Duncan, or Yao Ming.  I still
believe in these guys.  It's not right to call them a
freak show.  They are trying hard, but they are
undercoached, overplayed, and out of synch.  But the
effort is there.  I think they'll come around.  

Josh

--- "Berry, Mark  S" <berrym@BATTELLE.ORG> wrote:
> 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)."
> 

I know!  What the hell is O'brien thinking?  And what
he's doing with Baker, not just in dallas but all
season, is an infamia.  Do he and Wallace ever speak?


> 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
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