Here's what I see

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

I see a team that doesn't trust each other. They've stopped passing because they don't believe they'll get the ball back. They've stopped moving without the ball because they don't believe they'll get it. They've stopped running because they don't believe they'll be rewarded. And it's leaking over to the defensive side as well. It's not selfishness exactly, but it's a close relative.

You have to trust your teammates. Remember Jordan passing to John Paxson and later Steve Kerr for crucial baskets in the Finals? Remember the Spurs working the ball around until Avery Johnson - their worst shooter on the floor - had a wide-open 15-foot jumper to win a key playoff game (Finals? Not sure... ) You have to trust each other absolutely.

Pierce isn't the only guilty party, but he's the most visible and the most important. His quotes about "other guys can't rely on me all the time" are exactly the wrong thing to say. Whether he's suited to it or not, he's the team's leader now. He needs to stand up and say. "I'm not getting it done. It starts with me. I have faith in these guys and we'll help each other through this." But he's making excuses. If guys are watching him too much, it's because Pierce gets tunnel vision with the ball in his hands. Why expend the energy when he's just going to shoot or turn it over anyway? (There's much more to be said about Pierce... What happened to his post-up game? Why is he stepping back or falling away on every shot - even when he's open? Why is he limiting his dribble drive to one or two dribbles and step-back jumper? Why does he stare down the defender for three seconds every time he gets the ball? What happened to his quick moves as soon as he catches the ball?)

But Pierce's struggles aren't all Pierce's fault. This offense is terrible. Is there an offense? It seems to me they run a special play every time down the court - a play specifically designed to get a specific player a shot. Most of the time it's Pierce, but sometimes EWill or Baker. You don't see an offense designed to create open shots. You see a play designed to get Player X a shot from X Spot. If it's not there, they just kick the ball out for a three-pointer. It's terrible coaching.

Do you ever see Pierce setting screens? How many times in basketball is it the screener, not the guy coming off the screen, who ends up with the open shot? But the Celtics don't do that with Pierce. He's always the guy using the screen, which only encourages a double team, and he's terrible at passing out of that double team. 

How do you fix it? You start by firing Obie and bringing in a real coach. This team is dangerously close to quitting on Obie, if they haven't already. He needs to go. Ainge knows it. It will happen sooner or later. The team was better before he had a chance to coach it (immediately after the Antoine trade). They've gotten worse since, and all of Obie's old habits are creeping in - overreliance on one-dimensional veterans (Walter, Blount, Battie, EWill), overcoaching (killing the running game and bogging down the halfcourt "offense" with too many called plays), and too much one-on-one basketball with a reliance on an increasing number of three-pointers.

But a coach is only part of it. The team needs a floor general. The point guards are terrible. Pierce handles the ball far too much. He shouldn't be looking to Magic Johnson, he should be looking to Alex English. Pierce isn't a playmaker. He's a scorer. A finisher. The Celtics need someone else to run the team and create. Banks may be that guy, but he isn't yet. James certainly isn't. Pierce is being forced into a role he's not suited for. They need a point guard who takes charge on the floor and can run an offense. Of course, those guys are hard to find.

This team isn't as bad as it looks right now. It misses Lafrentz, as much as the cynics like to joke about that. They've been in some really tight games. It won't take much to win a few of those. A two-point loss in Philly is no disgrace. But they do need to make some changes before things get worse.

Mark