One more thing...

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

Until this organization stops looking at this team as the Pierce and Walker
show, they'll go nowhere. Those two aren't enough to win a championship. You
don't need another all-star, but you can't rely so completely on just two
guys unless those guys are Kobe and Shaq. Wallace mentions Stockton and
Malone. Now maybe, if you're really lucky, Pierce and Walker become Stockton
and Malone-level players. Maybe. How many championships did the Jazz win?
And while they used those two as the foundation, they always maintained a
cohesive team-not just the Stockton-Malone show. Whether it was Jeff
Hornacek or Jeff Malone or Bryon Russell or Shandon Anderson or Matt
Harpring or any of the other players they've had in there, they didn't treat
those players as just rebounders for Stockton and Malone misses. They built
a basketball team. Wallace and Obie insist on revolving everything around
Pierce and Walker. It won't work. Even Jordan and Pippen-two players vastly
superior to Pierce and Walker-needed Horace Grant, Dennis Rodman, Bill
Cartwright, B.J. Armstrong, Steve Kerr, etc., as well as a real offense that
created opportunities for everyone. They didn't just take turns handing it
to Jordan or Pippen and getting out of the way. 

There seems to be this attitude among the BDT that they've done the heavy
lifting by getting Pierce and Walker, now they just have to get defenders
and ball-chasers around them. It's not that simple. Instead of talking about
the Pierce and Walker "window" let's build this team toward a championship
any way we can. What if that means trading Pierce or Walker? How does that
fit into the "window?"

The Celtics have two good-bordering-on-great players. That's a great
foundation. But that's all it is. You can't ask them to be your leading
scorers, rebounders, assist men, ball-handlers and team leaders all the
time. You're allowed five in this fight, but the Celtics hurt themselves by
only using two. That thinking starts at the top with Wallace and Obie. The
message right now is clear-Pierce and Walker are going to do everything. The
rest of you guys stay out of the way. The captains are good enough to ride
that to a certain point, but eventually they're going to be outnumbered.

Mark