Re: what we won't see

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

In general, I agree with you, Josh. You can't take much away from preseason
games. As much as Obie drives me crazy with the way he handles the young
players in these games, I'm not about to hold him responsible for any
results-no matter how ugly they may be.

BUT... and it's a big but... These guys lost some of their edge last season.
They were a good defensive team, not a great one. During the Eastern
Conference Finals season, you could predict how that team would respond. You
knew when they were going to come up with a dominant defensive effort. That
wasn't true last season. They accepted big losses and losing streaks much
more willingly. They didn't react with a commitment to turn things around
the next game. 

So, if that continues this season, I certainly could see a scenario where
things go south. Remember, several of these players quit on Pitino after
three years. If things start to go bad, I wouldn't be stunned to see the
effort fall off this season. And if that effort falls off, so will the
team's record. Because they've won with effort and defense the last two
seasons. That's what it will take this season also.

Personally, I see the team hanging around .500 most of the season and at
some point Ainge either firing Obie, trading Antoine or both. We'll see.

Mark
--- --- ---

Josh wrote:

I don't know what will happen, but one thing
you can count on from an Obie team is
good defense and (if Twon and Paul stay
healthy) at least a .500 record.  It says here
we'll do better than that.  You can't go by these
blowout losses.  The bigger problems are roles,
minutes, and running.  D is the one thing we don't
have to worry about.