Re: ESPN Insider on the Celtics

[Eggcentric@xxxxxxx]

< I'm totally disappointed with the lack of point guard skills from James 
and Banks and am patiently awaiting the return of Tony Delk, who at least 
can drain the open jumper. > - JB
 
Oh no, on with the old, out with the new?

Obie seems to agree with you, JB.  I am surprised no one picked up on his 
comments in the Globe yesterday.

< "We don't have a general right now at the point guard spot," said 
O'Brien. "Marcus has to be aware of everything going on in order to 
direct traffic. He has to play our team defense, and pick up the tempo. 
He has to make the plays that present themselves. He has to hit the 
open guy, and, when he's one-on-one, go to the rim. He went to the rim 
[Wednesday] night, but he missed three layups." . . . > - Obie

And how about this -

< We have Antoine [Walker] and Paul [Pierce]. Nobody has stood out at 
point guard, at the 3, or at the 5, with the exception of Mark Blount's 
defense."> -Obie

Appears Blount will get the minutes behind Battie this season with
3rd string center Baker filling in only here and there at the 5 and 4.
We will also see lots of Williams and McCarty simply because Obie 
will never allow the ''We are on the same page''  Danny to actually 
coach his team.  

Egg  
-------------------
Celtics a work in progress
O'Brien not satisfied after exhibition loss

By Ron Indrisano, Globe Staff, 10/10/2003

UNCASVILLE, Conn. -- The Celtics opened off Broadway, playing their 
first exhibition game of the season Wednesday night at the Mohegan Sun 
Arena, and the reviews from coach Jim O'Brien were decidedly harsh.

Before the team practiced at Mohegan Sun yesterday, O'Brien held a 
45-minute video review of the 104-89 loss to the Detroit Pistons, and 
when he emerged, he declared the defense had flopped and the offense 
had committed too many turnovers.

"I thought we were very poor defensively," he said. "As for turnovers 
[27], they have a way of taking care of themselves if guys are in the 
proper spot. We weren't in position offensively. Nobody handled our 
offensive approach. We have Antoine [Walker] and Paul [Pierce]. Nobody 
has stood out at point guard, at the 3, or at the 5, with the exception 
of Mark Blount's defense."

The Celtics play the Bulls at the United Center in Chicago tonight, and 
O'Brien is looking for a better performance.

"We need better offensive commitment," he said. "I want to see the 
turnovers come down, and our schemes improve. I want to see improvement 
in the areas in which we were imperfect. Detroit exerted pressure on us 
as a way to slow down the fast break, but we can overcome that. There 
were 50 things we coached for the first game, but facing pressure 
wasn't one of them. That's not going to be a problem for this 
basketball team, and it wasn't [Wednesday] night when we had our 
starters in there."

The one player O'Brien singled out for praise was forward Kedrick 
Brown, who was a force, scoring 18 points and grabbing five rebounds in 
27 minutes. Brown has been hampered by ankle injuries his first two 
seasons, but he's healthy now and his shot has improved to the point 
that it can complement his rebounding, already a strong point.

"He did a great job rebounding the basketball, and offensively, he 
understands how to get to an open area," said O'Brien. "He's now 
confident his shot will go down on a regular basis. He was the 
recipient of a lot of assist passes, which is what he needs."

Part of the turnover problem is related to point guard, a position that 
has been a longstanding problem for the Celtics. Rookie Marcus Banks, 
who scored 7 points and had three assists in 27 minutes, also had four 
turnovers and committed five fouls. He certainly didn't look out of 
place with the veterans, but he didn't control the game, either.

"We don't have a general right now at the point guard spot," said 
O'Brien. "Marcus has to be aware of everything going on in order to 
direct traffic. He has to play our team defense, and pick up the tempo. 
He has to make the plays that present themselves. He has to hit the 
open guy, and, when he's one-on-one, go to the rim. He went to the rim 
[Wednesday] night, but he missed three layups." . . .

Tony Battie practiced yesterday and is expected to play tonight. He sat 
out Wednesday night's game with a sore right knee.