Re: OB has his "head in the sand".

["Dan Forant" <dforant1@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

What? Long, Bryant and Coles getting acclimated? Is OB kidding? How can they
get acclimated without a plan. Blount certainly has shown some worth in the
playoffs so far.

NJ is NJ, they have better things to do there than watch basketball. A
little State with lots of action and the Celts aren't one of them. The Fleet
Center won't have any effect at all. These guys have been there, done that
when they dispatched us last playoff season.

DanF

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Stephen Beauregard" <sb@maine.rr.com>
To: "celtics list" <celtics@igtc.com>
Sent: Saturday, May 03, 2003 7:54 AM
Subject: OB has his "head in the sand".


> CELTICS NOTEBOOK
>
> Pieces finally fitting
>
>
> By Shira Springer, Globe Staff, 5/3/2003
>
> or the first time since Vin Baker was suspended Feb. 27, coach Jim O'Brien
> publicly mentioned the center yesterday. For all intents and purposes,
Baker
> has been a forgotten man. But O'Brien briefly mentioned Baker when asked
if
> Boston ''had to do more with less'' given, in part, Baker's absence.
>
>
>
> ''You can look at it a number of ways,'' said O'Brien. ''Vin left us
really so
> long ago at this point in time from an NBA season standpoint, that our
guys
> have been able to adapt to not having him on the club. We were very, very
> fortunate to get Mark Blount in a trade to shore up our center position,
> especially since Tony Battie has been banged up most of the year.
>
> ''Somebody said to me that we're pretty much operating on a $41 million
player
> budget this year and that we're getting the most out of the guys, and I
> believe we are. It might be one of the reasons why we're just hitting our
> stride right now because in January and February we added four players [
Grant
> Long, Blount, Mark Bryant, and Bimbo Coles]. In order to get them
acclimated
> into what you're trying to do, it takes some time.
>
> ''Right now, there's a good argument for the fact that we might be playing
the
> best basketball of the year. It might simply be because of the turnover
and
> adding players.''
>
> Memory serves
>
> To put it politely, the FleetCenter was not exactly a fun place for Jason
> Kidd, his wife, Joumana, or his young son, T.J., during last year's
Eastern
> Conference finals. The Nets' All-Star point guard was taunted with chants
of
> ''Wife Beater'' and his wife was harassed by fans. But the Nets had their
fun
> when they celebrated their clinching victory on the parquet in Game 6. So
what
> does this mean for the growing rivalry between the teams?
>
> ''I think our guys remember mostly everything that was said, especially by
the
> fans,'' said Nets coach Byron Scott. ''We know we're going into a very
hostile
> environment for Games 3 and 4. There's obviously no love lost there.
Listening
> to our guys talk about it the other day, they had smiles on their faces. I
> think they're looking forward to it. They're looking forward to the
challenge
> of playing in Boston, playing against a hostile environment.
>
> ''I think [the rivalry] is pretty much there. Both teams have a certain
> dislike for one another.''
>
> ''If there's a dislike, I don't think it's like a bad dislike,'' said
O'Brien.
> ''I think there's a respect. I think the longer you play against a group
in
> the playoffs, the longer the series goes, there's a natural animosity from
the
> standpoint of familiarity breeds contempt. I don't think it's any big
deal.
> I've seen rivalries where there was true animosity. You think back to the
> Knicks and Miami. They really disliked each other. I don't really
necessarily
> see that. If it's there, then I have my head in the sand.''
>
> The Nets had better be prepared for more of the same at the FleetCenter,
at
> least when it comes to passionate fans. Games D and E, the next two
contests
> at the FleetCenter, sold out yesterday in 1 hour 15 minutes. As of last
night,
> the Nets had yet to sell out Continental Airlines Arena for Game 1 of the
> second round.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Steve
> sb@maine.rr.com
>
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