Nice Stuff

[Rich <rich@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I only saw the second half, but it sure seemed like the Cs were playing like
liberated men. Running, steals, rebounds and *points in the paint*.
Virtually a triple double for Pierce, hard work with one superb, aggressive
block for Raef and fantastic post play from E.

So what gives? Are they trying to prove they can win without Toine? Are they
just responding to the fact that the ball doesn't have to go through one guy
any more? After seeing what's happened to Toine, has Obie decided to play
ball with Danny? Is this game just an aberration?

Personally, I'm inclined to think it's not just an aberration. There seemed
to be a freedom displayed among the players where they weren't worried about
*who* to pass the ball to, just to pass it to someone in a white
jersey--especially the white jersey ahead of them on the break. Eric
especially seemed to be real aggressive, throwing around his herky-jerky
moves--even getting a real nice fake and move on Garnett.

Of course this is only a pre-season game, but as Tommy said tonight, there
was some real "heartening" stuff going on that makes me more optimistic than
I have felt in a while about the Cs in the long term. They may just be as
good this year as they were last year. We'll see...

Rich D.
(freezing tonight in Maine)