Re: The Boston Celtics Mailing List Digest V10 #370

[Michael Byrnes <mbyrnes@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Cecil wrote:

> This reminds me of the Patriots ridding themselves of Lawyer Milloy on the eve
> of the season.  Tell me that this will not damage the psyche of this team, at
> least for the immediate future.  I agree with Ryan that if this trade goes as
> reported, we have given up the quality player in the deal for a soft
> frontcourt player.  Unless they are thinking that Hunter will give us 8 boards
> per game, we have weakened ourselves upfront.

Well, in the short term, this is going to hurt, no question.  O'Brien has
been coaching for two plus years with Walkerpierce tunnel vision, and how
he's been forced to try something else.  That won't happen smoothly
overnight.

Long term, though, I think moving Walker was the way to go, and I'm not so
sure that LaFrentz is merely a "soft frontcourt player".  Which of them is
the really the better rebounder?  I know that Walker COULD BE and SHOULD BE
a better rebounder than LaFrentz, but he hasn't fulfilled his full potential
as a rebounder since his second year.  Also, LaFrentz is a big man who can
play on the perimeter and shoot the three - isn't that Walker's role on the
C's?

One thing is for sure - if O'Brien was having trouble figuring out a
starting lineup before the trade, things didn't get easier.

C's roster:

C/PF: Battie, Blount, LaFrentz, Baker, Perkins, Hunter

SF: Williams, Brown, Jones, McCarty, Mills

SG: Pierce, Welsch

PG: James, Banks

Looking a little thin in the backcourt, though Welsch can be the third PG
and Mills, Brown, and Jones can fill in at SG where Pierce will log all of
the minutes anyway.

The team still has a split of Obie's guys vs. Danny's guys, but now there
seem to be more of Danny's guys:

Celtic guy: Pierce

Obie's guys: Battie, Blount, Williams, McCarty,

Danny's guys: LaFrentz, Perkins, Hunter, Jones, Brown, James, Banks

Other guys: Baker, Mills, Welsch

Michael