Re: The Celtics Report HOOPSWORLD.com NBA News and Information

["Josh Ozersky" <jozersky1@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Great to hear from you, Greggy!  Fans like you
make it all worth while!  Don't hide your light
under a bushel!

Josh

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Greg Odegaard" <grodeg@xxxxxxxxxx>
To: "Josh Ozersky" <jozersky1@xxxxxxxxxx>; "celtics list" <celtics@xxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sunday, September 28, 2003 7:21 PM
Subject: Re: The Celtics Report HOOPSWORLD.com NBA News and Information


> Because many have applauded attempts in the past to get Josh to behave
with
> some respect to others, I am going to post his ACTUAL article here and not
> require those who can't or won't have to click on a link to read this
"fine"
> writing.  Is it because it is somehow copyrighted that Josh is afraid to
> post the ACTUAL article here and not just the link or he is so insensitive
> or stupid, or both to not truly concern himself with the efforts of
others?
> Well if so, he did write it and copyrighted or not, I couldn't care less.
>
> Josh, you have begged, pleaded and kissed your own butt so many time for
> virtually the entire time I have resided on this list, hoping for some
shred
> of feedback on your writings, to boost your clearly fragile ego, so why
not
> post the ACTUAL article in an email and not just the link?  Your writing
> isn't bad, but with all due respect it isn't "that" good either.  Is shows
> promise and it does show a sense of being on topic and brief, which can be
a
> challenge, but in the end it is nothing more than another Celtic's fan
> attempt at speaking his peace, and in your case so clearly for he purpose
of
> receiving praise and feedback and some tiny hope to stroke the Polish Ego
> that is Joshua.
>
> I don't say much anymore, as most people probably appreciate, but then
again
> neither does virtually anyone else around, except maybe to brag on Banks,
> rag on Ray or wax the ridiculous on how we should track the preseason wins
> predictions.  I bet no more than 5 people here really care about that, yet
> we somehow need to outsource the effort to Microsoft to spit polish the
> relatively useless information.
>
> Let's hope the preseason goes well, the season goes better and we get a
step
> closer to #17.  What more is there to really concern ourselves with
anyway?
>
> Maybe Joshua will finally get a clue and we won't need to have this
> discussion again someday.  Fat chance.
>
> Take care all and have a nice week.........really,
> Greg
>
> And now the ACTUAL article in question, provided to you by someone who
won't
> insist you have to click on a link.  Feel free to give Josh the honest
> feedback he so clearly is dieing to have:
>
> The Celtics Report
> By Josh Ozersky
> for HOOPSWORLD.com
> Sep 27, 2003, 20:57
>
> Summer is over, and not a minute too soon! Training camp starts in two
days.
> Hallelujah! After having suffered under the burden of baseball, blackouts,
> and the Great Boston Media Omerta, Boston fans are ready for the return of
> the green.
>
> They'll be plenty to talk and think about in the coming weeks. But in the
> meantime, here are five things to think about as we go into training camp:
>
> Obie's Guys vs. Danny's Guys
> If there is one thing that has endeared Jim O'Brien to his players, it is
> his intense loyalty to them. If they do what he asks, take the right
> attitude, accept their roles and play hard on defense, he will go to the
> wall for them. Why do you think Walter McCarty got a raise two days after
> management said they could only offer him the minimum? Why has Eric
Williams
> gotten extensive minutes every year, despite the fact that he rebounds
like
> a point guard, passes like a backup center, and has a single NBA offensive
> skill which is basically wasted in the Celtics' offense. (The coaches run
a
> play for him, what, twice a game?). Williams, McCarty, Tony Delk: these
are
> going to be very hard guys to dislodge from O'Brien's substitution
patterns.
> On the other hand, if the Celtics are going to become an effective running
> team, they are going to need the athletes that Ainge added to the roster
> this year, or has special plans for: Marcus Banks, Brandon Hunter, Kedrick
> Brown, and Jumaine Jones. Every one of these guys provides something that
> the Celtics need desperately. But we're already hearing about how they
will
> probably be "practice players." Unless the Celtics are practicing to bite
> the pillow for the Nets again this year, that can't happen.
>
> The T-Formation or the Shotgun?
> This brings up another point. The Celtics have been running the basketball
> equivalent of the T-Formation for three years now. That's an effective
style
>  if you happen to have 400-pound linemen; but the Celtics are
bantam-sized,
> even in basketball terms. They have no business trying to grind it out in
> the half-court. Antoine Walker is a finesse player; Paul Pierce is a
> shooting guard. The Celtics very rarely get any of those lightening
strikes
> which seem as much intellectual triumphs as athletic ones, and which make
> the game sweet for players and fans alike. And this despite the fact that
> Walker, Williams, Pierce, and Battie have developed a nice chemistry and
get
> a few backdoor dunks and layups in each game. But defenses know to load in
> on the two main guys, and O'Brien's ridiculous overdependence on
three-point
> shooting has been as public a failure as was Pitino's much-reviled press.
It
> turns out that there are only a handful of players in the league at any
> given time who can be counted upon to make open jumpers after not touching
> the ball for long stretches. Dana Barros.  Steve Kerr.  Craig Hodges.
They
> are rarely good defenders. Walter McCarty is probably the Celtics' best
> double-duty defender / three-point shooter, and he can only hit when he
gets
> the ball right on the numbers and perfectly in rhythm. (And then, of
course,
> he's not around to rebound.)
>
> So the system has to go. But who says that O'Brien knows how to install a
> new one? Not much coaching on the basic level goes on in the NBA; the
> practices are short, and mostly stress team defense, which slips
> surprisingly easy without constant drilling. Then there are the installed
> plays. To first start teaching uptempo basketball to players who don't
> already have a solid grounding in it takes a lot more than yelling "run,
> run, run," like Tommy Heinsohn does.  "For a running offense to work,"
Ainge
> told me at Shaw, "all five players have to be committed to it. It doesn't
> just happen." The Celtics of old used to practice full court passes,
filling
> the lanes, making the right decisions at every point of the break. Will O'
> Brien's constipated system accommodate such a radical 180-degree shift in
> midgame? Especially when his favorites are glowering on the pine?
>
> Cross your fingers.
>
> What Do You Hate Most About the NBA Preview Channel?
> I could go on about this for days. Is it that excruciating, unbearable,
> retarded Adam Sandler commercial, which begins "Bibby takes it to the
> hole..." and gets more painful with every second? Or the Christina
Aguilera
> promo? Or that shmaltzy "I'm gonna watch you shine" PR video? How about
the
> "highlights" of women's basketball, still a symphony of klutzy lunges,
> shot-put heaves at the basket, and ready-to-snap ACLs? It would be one
thing
> if they got strippers to play, and had them do it in high heels, as in a
> memorable commercial from some years past - but these women, aside from
> being so slow and mechanical and graceless, are ugos to boot. What a
torture
> chamber this station is!  To make its uselessness complete, it didn't even
> show the Pan-American games.
>
> "The Veteran Forward Hopes to Prove His Critics Wrong"
> These words, which you will almost surely see printed in the Boston papers
> as frequently as "tot-slay suspect" in their New York counterparts, could
> describe either Walker or Baker. Both guys are in major show-me mode:
Walker
> to keep his status (and his salary) as an elite player, and Baker just to
> stay in the league. Both guys are completely capable of performing at a
> higher level than last year's; but can they do it without the deck being
> shuffled? I think Walker needs to play at least some minutes at three.
It's
> not so much that he can't contend with the leagues better big forwards;
> despite his undressing by Kenyon Martin, he did a great job on Jermaine O'
> Neal, and has had good games against other big forwards, few of whom can
> cover him when he faces the basket with a live dribble. But it takes a lot
> of energy out of him, and with 25 pounds less body mass, it will be that
> much harder for him to contend around the rim. But even at 25 pounds less,
> he should still be able to overpower threes. And since few of these are
tall
> enough to block his shot, he should be able to pass out of the post with
> greater frequency - his most valuable skill, in many ways.
>
> Of Baker, what can you say? If he's sober, he can play. But even last
year,
> he showed flashes of competence, and even talent - when he got the ball.
> Baker, I think, is the kind of guy that needs to score some to feel
> involved. That means running plays for him. He's going to have some
> defensive lapses, and he's going to miss some easy shots. If Obie will
stay
> with him, he has a good chance to become a legitimate player again. But as
> with so much else on this team, it will be rebuilding this team from the
> ground up, and going against the very principals that made O'Brien and the
> team succeed to begin with.. How I wish the Celtics had hired a top-flight
> offensive assistant for O'Brien! They're a good team, but their coach, and
> his bosses, have to put them in a position to succeed.
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Josh Ozersky" <jozersky1@xxxxxxxxxx>
> To: "celtics list" <celtics@xxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Sunday, September 28, 2003 2:41 PM
> Subject: Fw: The Celtics Report HOOPSWORLD.com NBA News and Information
>
>
> > New column up about the Celtics -- more than Peter May can say....
> >
> > Josh
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: Josh Ozersky
> > Sent: Sunday, September 28, 2003 5:38 PM
> > Subject: The Celtics Report HOOPSWORLD.com NBA News and Information
> >
> >
> > thought you might enjoy this one...
> >
> >  http://www.hoopsworld.com/article_5413.shtml
> >
> > [demime 1.01b removed an attachment of type application/octet-stream
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> had a name of The Celtics Report  HOOPSWORLD.com  NBA News and
> Information.url]