Pistons game

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

Painful game. I'm sure everyone was shouting "Get a damn rebound!"  just
like me. I can't think of anything more painful than watching your team give
up offensive rebound after offensive rebound.

The sad part is it ruined what really was a nice effort. The offense clicked
in the first half and wouldn't have looked so atrocious in the second half
if they had just been able to get a few defensive rebounds, start a couple
of breaks and settle things down.

It was great to see Banks play better. It looks like he decided to be
aggressive with his own offense rather than worry too much about getting
others involved. That's not what you want from a point guard, but it may be
what it takes to get him started. I'm hoping once he establishes himself
offensively and gains confidence, he then can work on running the team and
setting up teammates. Overall, though, the point guard spot still is a
weakness. But remember - Ainge went out of his way to force Obie to play
Banks. As much as a better playmaker may help this year's team, I don't see
it happening because Ainge wants Banks to get playing time and develop this
season. It was clear coming into the season that he was prepared to take
some lumps at the PG spot as long as Banks saw some action. Anyway, I don't
see him bringing in someone who would steal Banks' minutes by pushing James
to the bench.

Kedrick is finished. Jumaine Jones, hobbling with bad hamstrings and rusty
with only two practices, is ahead of Kedrick in the rotation. If Ainge can
get anything for Kedrick, do it.

Speaking of Jones... He's going to help. An EWill-Jones combo at that small
forward spot isn't bad. He's active and he knows how to play. When he gets
his legs, I think he'll provide what we always hoped Kedrick/Walter would
provide - an athletic small forward who can rebound and hit open shots,
defend and play within the flow. And speaking of EWill, does anyone else
think this team might just be 4-0 if he were healthy. That's not an excuse -
I'm sure the Celts would take an EWill for Mashburn tradeoff in terms of
injuries - but I just think he's important to the way this team plays.

Lafrentz can hit the three-pointer, but he looks much more fluid shooting
the 18-footer. I hope this doesn't turn into Tony Delk, where they force him
a step outside of his range while dropping his shooting percentage 50
points. But Raef is getting more comfortable. Even though I don't think it's
his shot, normally he'll make one or two of those threes, and 13 points, 7
rebounds is pretty good production in 28 minutes. He has been a great
addition.

Vin Baker is just playing great. The temptation is to say they need to get
him more shots, but I think that's wrong (other than the NO game). Ideally,
he'll get 15 shots, make a high percentage, and find the open man when he
doesn't have a good shot. That's what he's doing now. But he needs to
rebound better. The team needs him to rebound better.

Pierce at times is playing almost perfectly (first half) and at times lapses
into "do it myself" mode. He definitely needs to avoid bringing the ball up
on the break - he's not good at it, and he's much more valuable as a
finisher anyway. I love the way he's thinking inside-out in terms of his own
offense and not settling for threes all the time. He's passing well most of
the time. With just a little more discipline, he can reach a new level.

Battie/Blount didn't distinguish themselves at all. 

Almost forgot... Jiri Welsch. I really like what I'm seeing, but he needs to
get stronger physically and with the ball. But he knows how to play. I'm
looking forward to seeing more of him. I thought it was a great idea to have
him in there with Banks, because Jiri is the only shooting guard on the team
really capable of handling the ball against pressure. I'm expecting good
things from him.

Mark