Re: LaFrentz roles with punches

["Dan Forant" <dforant1@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Wow, OB musta been holdin out on out on us. LaF says he has a lot to learn.
Either Dallas had no game plan at all or OB is the Second Coming...

DanF

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Stephen Beauregard" <sb@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: "celtics list" <celtics@xxxxxxxx>
Sent: Thursday, October 30, 2003 7:22 AM
Subject: LaFrentz roles with punches


> LaFrentz roles with punches
> By Dan Ventura
> Thursday, October 30, 2003
>
> Raef LaFrentz looked like he had gone 12 rounds with Mike Tyson instead of
28
> minutes against the Miami Heat.
>
>      Long thin scratch marks adorned his torso, while the left side of his
> body sported an ugly bruise the size of a golf ball. When asked about the
> extent of his body bruisings, LaFrentz looked at the bandages and started
to
> chuckle.
>
>      ``A few scratches and scars, but that's just me and my skin,'' said
> LaFrentz, who scored 12 points in a 98-75 season-opening triumph over the
> Miami Heat last night at the FleetCenter. ``These sort of things happen to
me
> all the time, it's no big deal.''
>
>      A big deal is precisely what brought LaFrentz to Boston in the first
> place. LaFrentz was one of the key components in the trade which sent
All-Star
> forward Antoine Walker [news] to Dallas.
>
>      LaFrentz heard the critics claiming the deal appears heavily tilted
in
> the Mavericks' favor, but he doesn't feel like he has to be the second
coming
> of Larry Bird and John Havlicek rolled into one.
>
>      ``There are two schools of thought to that,'' said LaFrentz, who
played
> with Paul Pierce [news] at Kansas. ``Antoine and I are not the same type
of
> player. He does a lot of different things on offense, while I'd like to
think
> that I can shoot better from the outside.''
>
>      Given the fact that LaFrentz has been a Celtic for just a little over
a
> week, coach Jim O'Brien made the decision to bring him off the bench, a
role
> he relished last night. He teamed with Eric Williams and Tony Battie to
give
> the Celtics 37 points off the bench, a luxury seldom seen last year when
it
> was basically the Walker-Pierce show.
>
>      ``Without a doubt, it is easier for me to come off the bench for
now,''
> said LaFrentz, who logged 28 minutes in a reserve role. ``It's good that
they
> haven't thrown everything at me right away. It's a lot different situation
> from where I came from. There are a lot of different things I am still
> learning.''
>
>      The one thing LaFrentz has always been able to do is stick the
18-footer.
> He played a large part in helping the Celtics pull away from the Heat late
in
> the third quarter as he drilled a pair of outside jumpers in a 14-3 run to
> give the Celtics a commanding 79-61 lead entering the final quarter.
>
>      ``There is a lot of potential for open shots with Paul Pierce out
> there,'' said LaFrentz, who drilled 6-of-11 from the field. ``So far with
the
> play calling, we have been getting the shots and when you can step up and
> knock them down, you start feeling good about yourself.''
> Thanks,
>
> Steve
> sb@xxxxxxxxxxxx