Re: CBW review: preseason game 4, Celtics vs. Detroit Pistons

["Dan Forant" <dforant1@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

The view from the doghouse isn't good. My view won't be good either. Cable
NBA League Pass won't be an option for me. Won't waste the $$ for this.
Yeah, I know it's early but you know what? It isn't....

DanF

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Snoopy the Celtics Beagle" <snoopy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <celtics@xxxxxxxx>; <Celticsstuffgroup@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Thursday, October 16, 2003 12:14 PM
Subject: CBW review: preseason game 4, Celtics vs. Detroit Pistons


> Preseason Game 5: Celtics vs. Detroit Pistons, October 15, 2003
> I want a "Tommy Point" for this.  This game was so ugly, I put the
> videotape in a brown paper bag.  In order to review it, I have to watch it
> again.
>
> So, if anyone out there has pull with Tommy Heinsohn, tell him I want a
> Tommy Point.  Though I'm willing to accept a chocolate chip cookie.
>
> After the game against the Pacers, I was actually feeling pretty good.  I
> knew there would be a few days off to work on the defensive problems, and
> the team seemed to be making positive headway.  I thought the C's might be
> interested in some payback for last week's game.
>
> It was more like a continuation of last week's game.
>
> The Celtics only had two problems in tonight's game.  Offense and
> Defense;  too little of one and nearly nothing of the latter.
>
> The game began with Detroit continuing to exploit the Celtics' nearly
> nonexistent defense, throwing the ball down low to the open man--often Ben
> Wallace--for a ridiculously easy layup.  They did this all last Wednesday,
> and obviously remembered how well it worked.  It's especially annoying
> after hearing from Coach O'Brien that the team had the defense down and
was
> now concentrating on offense.
>
> Speaking of offense, you could hear Obie exhorting the team to move
> faster.  But they didn't listen for the most part.  They weren't the
> turtles of last year, but Detroit's defense was ready and waiting for
> them.  Only rarely was a pass downcourt of any kind attempted.  On those
> occasions when they DID make it to the hoop, the C's often missed easy
shots.
>
> The problem was compounded in various ways by Walker and Pierce.  Pierce
> got in early foul trouble--three in the first quarter--and spent a good
> part of the game on the bench.  Walker, as I have complained about before,
> tried to shoulder too much of the load on offense and either ran headfirst
> into double teams, or reverted to old habits by hoisting a lot of
> threes.  This meant the normally most reliable offense for the C"s was
> absent for long stretches.
>
> There were individual flashes of good things from Boston.  Vin Baker
> continued to show steady progress and was one of the few people running
> with any kind of consistency, though he did drop an easy pass.  Kedrick
> Brown showed he was willing to mix it up with the Detroit defense, and
> Banks and James showed a mix of good and bad at point.
>
> The first quarter was better than it looked, as the C's offense was mostly
> keeping up with Detroit.  But the Pistons spent the entire game--except
> maybe the end of the 4th quarter--shooting over 60%.  Boston would score
> nearly 30 points in the first quarter.  That would have been fine, but for
> the fact that the Pistons scored nearly 40.  This trend continued in the
> second quarter, though the C's did make a run to narrow the lead to 4
> points.  After that, it just got worse and worse.
>
> Pierce played with five fouls late and did some offensive damage; but as
> soon as he fouled out, Detroit pushed up the lead.  Walker had a miserable
> night, most of it his own fault.  Obie tried every lineup he could think
> of, and by the third quarter, I wonder if he wanted to ask Celtics fans to
> come out of the stands and play.
>
> There were good things.  Despite his heaving up way too many threes, and
> not passing the ball well enough, Walker did make some nice passes and
> drove to the hoop on occasions.  Pierce looked sharper than he has
> previously, but as a rule, when he gets in early foul trouble, he can't
> play four quarters.
>
> Banks showed he was learning when and how to pass, though he obviously has
> a ways to go.  He got away with an elbow as he inadvertently decked his
> defenderon the way to the hoop.  He has to learn to tuck those elbows in
> before he gets called for a flagrant.  Tony Battie kept getting caught
away
> from his man.  Eric Williams had some good minutes, but it got lost in the
> overall miserable defense.
>
> Vin Baker showed toughness under the hoop and on a night when the C's
> offense was mediocre, he did well from the field and the free throw line.
>
> The C's did do a little better against the press, but negated it by
missing
> the scoring chances they got.
>
> In every way, the Pistons looked sharper and better prepared than the
> Celtics.  There's just nothing to say that really distinguishes the
Celtics
> as a team in this game, at least not in a positive way.
>
> It did not matter if the C's ran or not, because they did not play
> defense.  They will be playing against New Jersey on Friday.  If they
don't
> play defense then, the Nets will win by 40+ points easy, unless the C's
> shoot 100% on offense.  We can't afford any more embarrassments like this.
>
> And that's the view from the doghouse.
>
> Snoopy the Celtics Beagle
> Please visit the <http://www.celticsbeagle.net/>Celtics Beagle Website