Re: The Herald is alive and well: A plethora of Obieisms

[Ryan W <ubiquitous_am_i@xxxxxxxxx>]

--- Eggcentric@xxxxxxx wrote:
> Following is the first Celt column in the Herald in
> a very long time. Did 
> it have to be such a wishy-washy spin job?  Damn
> near choked to death 
> on my sesame bagel this AM as I attempted to digest
> Murphy's column.  
> Couldn't resist but to add my own noxious comments
> in (   ). 
> ----------------
> O'Brien pushes to keep C's on run 
> 
> by Mark Murphy 
> Wednesday, September 10, 2003
> 
> Like the offensive attack he hopes to improve this
> season, the pace in 
> Jim O'Brien's office kicked into fast-break mode
> this week.
> 
> (Ouch!  At this point I assumed the column would
> only degenerate... 
> and it did.) - Egg

Assumptions dictate perception.  Try reading something
without deciding beforehand what it will amount to...
> 
> As difficult as it may be to fathom, in 24 days
> O'Brien will usher in his 
> third training camp as Celtics coach, with the goal
> of changing the style - 
> if not the personnel - of the team that reached last
> season's conference 
> semifinals.
> 
> (The BIG QUESTION which Ray asked - new style vs.
> same old personnel. 
> And the winner will be ....................?  At
> least it adds an exciting 
> flavor to 
> the upcoming season.) - Egg
> 
> Like basketball operations chief Danny Ainge,
> O'Brien wants the team to 
> run more.  Then again, so does every other NBA team
> at this time of year.
> 
> ``I don't think there's been a year I've coached
> when you don't want to run 
> more,'' O'Brien said yesterday. ``The object is to
> get as many clean looks at 
> the basket before the defense sets as you can.
> 
> (Sounds good, feels bad) - Egg
> 
> ``The fact that we have guys who can fill the lane
> better now helps,'' 
> added O'Brien, before heading off in a familiar,
> basic direction.
> 
> ``You have to get stops to be a great running
> team,'' he said. 
> 
> (Stops as in turnovers, or as in more defensive
> rebounds?) - Egg

You're searching for things to attack, Egg.  Does it
really matter what kind of stop it is....as long as we
end up getting the ball?
> 
> ``Everything on our team starts from our halfcourt
> defense on out.''
> 
> (On out, not at the Battie maginot line? Whaaaaaaa,
> or as Snoopy says, 
> Bleaah!  No wonder we were outscored by our
> opponents last season.) 
> - Egg

I really don't even know what that means. 
> 
> Unlike divisional rivals New Jersey and
> Philadelphia, the Celtics have not 
> bolstered themselves with glitzy offseason moves.
> 
> But free agent newcomers Jumaine Jones and Mike
> James should mark 
> upgrades in the speed/athleticism department -
> especially with Jones' 
> reputation as a wing scorer.
> 
> (Speed/athleticism?  How about proven talent, crafty
> knowledge of 
> the game, and a bit of discipline?  At least Sundov
> is gone.) - Egg
> 
> Rookie point guard Marcus Banks is obviously the
> Celtics' investment in a 
> new, improved ``push game.''
> 
> (We sure are banking a lot on this rookie.  A bit of
> Jalapeno pepper inserted
> into a roster of boiled beef?) - Egg

Hell yeah, we're banking alot on Banks.  Why pick
rookies that aren't going to help?  Do you see the
inconsistency in this line of criticism?  If Banks
wasn't being counted on, you would criticize the fact
that we got a non-impact rookie with the 13th pick. 
If we do count on him, you criticize the fact that our
team is counting on a rookie.  
> 
> Now, if they could only rebound - a need that
> depends, in large part, on an 
> improbable return to form by last year's problem
> child, Vin Baker.
> 
> O'Brien went to Miami to assess the center's
> conditioning and game this 
> summer, and though he declined to discuss what he
> saw, Celtics types are 
> abuzz with talk of a revitalized and
> better-conditioned Baker.
> 
> (Obie's silence on Baker is exactly what we didn't
> want to hear. It appears 
> Obie shrewdly doesn't consider alcohol solely
> responsible for all those 
> missed rebounds, muffed catches, and silly personal
> fouls.) - Egg

Again, what the hell are you saying?  What do you want
O'Brien to say?  That's he's counting on Vinnie? 
Yeah, that would work, let's place a bunch of pressure
on our sensitive, recovering alcoholic.  O'Brien is
doing exactly what he should, he's taking it as it
comes....if Baker comes in and blows up, he'll get
time, if he doesn't, the C's organization will
continute to support his sobriety....which, at this
time, should be our only concern in relation to
Vinnie.  
> 
> All of which points to a particularly competitive
> training camp, with Jones 
> pressing Eric Williams and Walter McCarty at small
> forward, and James in 
> the point guard mix with Banks.
> 
> (Where is Kedrick?  And does Obie really feel that
> James is a PG?) - Egg
> 
> The differences between now and last year may seem
> subtle at first. 
> 
> (Or even at second glance, since so many are
> counting on a rookie PG, 
> a discard from Cleveland, and a 56th draft choice to
> supply ''the 
> differences.'' ) - Egg

Subtle means that it's a little difficult to percieve.
 Thus the fact that you don't get it aint exactly a
pertinent criticism.
> 
> But O'Brien believes the changes will show
> themselves in terms of depth, 
> often a sore point last year.
> 
> The Celtics have 14 players under contract, a far
> cry from the threadbare 
> 12 that former owner Paul Gaston allowed the team to
> carry over the first 
> half of last season.
> 
> (The only reason we have 14 instead of the
> originally planned-for 13 is 
> Ainge's generous $366,931 concession to the fan's
> universal outcry 
> to sign Hunter) - Egg

The point of the above paragraph is that things are
better in terms of ownership than they were last year
(and that, as a result, we may see a better team on
the floor).  Would you like to dispute that?  If not,
what is the point of even bringing in the Hunter
signing?  The timing of the signing is within Ainge's
discretion.  You can criticize and debate whether
Hunter should or shouldn't have been signed, but to
quibble with the timing (i.e., that it wasn't fast
enough) just goes to show the extent to which you want
to criticize anything and everything.  
> 
> ``A couple of years ago I remember Chris Wallace
> saying that you might 
> not be able from year to year to improve your top
> seven greatly, but you 
> can always improve your next five,'' said O'Brien. 
> 
> (So how come our bench strength shrunk to zilch-o
> last season?) - Egg

Probably the aforementioned ownership issue....maybe
that's why it followed the part about how the
ownership problem has evaporated.

> 
> ``We have a couple of guys right now who can compete
> for starting jobs.''
> 
> (Jones at SF over Obie's dead body.  And who else?)
> - Egg
> 
> ``We certainly have more depth, and I think
> practices will become 
> tremendously more competitive.''
> 
> Though none of the newcomers - Jones, James, Banks
> and fellow rookie 
> Kendrick Perkins - are marquee material, that hasn't
> stepped in the way 
> of O'Brien's enthusiasm.
> 
> (Banks isn't marquee material? And where is any
> mention of Hunter?)

Earlier you criticized the fact that were counting on
Banks.  And now you criticize the fact that Murphy is
tempering his endorsement of Banks.  Chill out.
> 
> ``Our talent level is really dramatically better,
> when you look at the 
> total of our roster,'' he said. ``We didn't add
> another All-Star to our 
> team, but I think we added a great deal of depth and
> speed.
> 
> ``On paper, we should be a better team,'' O'Brien
> added. 
> 
> ``We have new guys, and better athleticism at the
> center spot because 
> this time we have Mark Blount from the start of the
> season, in addition 
> to Vin. We have a very fast rookie point guard. We
> have improved on our 
> speed and physicalness.''
> 
> (Hang in there, Obie.  A fast PG and a full season
> of Blount should make 
> all the difference... shouldn't it?  A....err...
> uh... I mean ... ) - Egg

Here's your problem, Egg.  You are searching for
things to criticize.  I realize that this is the first
herald article in like forever, but you should let the
criticism come to you and not force it.  You're like
Antoine after a bad game...you can't wait to get back
out there and start shooting.  And we all know how
much that is appreciated.  

Ryan

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