RE: Hunter etc.

["John Lyell" <jlyell@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

As far as summer league They are sure giving King James nightly kudos for
his 15 point efforts. This size issue is overrated. As many have said before
the Celtics and many other teams have had 7 footers that have no clue on
rebounding and defense. Dennis Rodman,looking to come back, owned the
centers of the league on the boards. Ben Wallace is what 6'9" or 6, 10" with
the fro and does the same. rebounding is all about positioning,mental
toughness, and desire. Maybe if Brandon got the 70's Darnell Hillman fro
going he would have a better chance? Hopefully we can move the likes of
Sundov, Blount, MCcarty, Williams, Battie, Delk etc. all of whom have proven
they can not help this team.




John



-----Original Message-----
From: owner-celtics@xxxxxxxx [mailto:owner-celtics@xxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of
Eggcentric@xxxxxxx
Sent: Saturday, July 19, 2003 5:27 AM
To: Celtics@xxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: Hunter etc.


< Now, I don't know want to jump on Ainge for dumping Hunter and adding
Waltuh
and some guy named Batiste before it actually happens, but you have to
wonder
why Hunter's being downplayed so much. Do the Boston basketball media take
direct orders from the Celtics management, or is it more subtle than that -
a
wink-wink comment, a seat  by DA's side, a scrap of food, a veiled threat
here
and there? (Perhaps Egg can enlighten us on that - or am I again asking in
vain?). > - Kestas

Hi, Kestas - good to have you back on American soil.

I guess your question is if Hunter looks so good why aren't Ainge, Obie,
and the media acknowledging it?  My understanding all along has been
that adding Hunter to our roster has never been an option, and still isn't
no matter how well Hunter performs this week.

I guess it all comes down to how the BT and media view the summer
league games vs. how the fans view it. Summer league teams have little
time to practice together, and aside from a few recent draft picks or a
few rehabs, their rosters are comprised of a bunch of fillers named Joe.
It just doesn't mean that much if a player like John Salmons can score
35 points when his NBA average is 2 ppg.  Think Kedrick will average
his present19.8 points and 6.8 rebounds per game in the big show?

The media simply doesn't consider the Summer League all that important,
thus the scant coverage.  More specifically, in the case of Hunter, they
have
repeatedly been told he is not in this year's plans so why tantalize fans by
highlighting him?  That said, May should have at least mentioned his name
in his brief game summary

Even though his recent play has appeared to be spectacular (although his
16 ppg, 9 rpg are actually less than his college numbers of 21.5 ppg,
12.6 rpg against arguably lesser competition), something in Hunter's
game has led our BT to feel he is not NBA-ready.  And it isn't as though
Hunter's excellent Reebok numbers weren't anticipated by our BT. In fact,
Obie predicted it despite saying there was no room on our team for him.

''He's a tough guard inside,''  O'Brien said. ''His size is a little bit of
a
detriment, but he creates an amazing amount of space inside (and he) can
use both hands. He's a hell of a scorer and a tough-nosed guy. I think he'll
probably have a very good summer league.''   - Obie (Herald, July 12)

Maybe Ainge will have a change of heart concerning Hunter. He has on
just about every other decision so far... too many voices speaking into
his ears.

Egg