Re: New Comments from Boston Sports Guy

[Ryan W <ubiquitous_am_i@xxxxxxxxx>]

Not picking on you, Egg, but this whole thread
discussing whether Bill Simmons knows anything is
getting a little boring.  Is this a Bill Simmons (and
what he does or doesn't know) listserve?  

What I think we should be talking about is this closed
door meeting that took place after the Clipper's game,
when Ainge, at Carroll's request, gave the guys a pep
talk.  Here are the most interesting parts of the
article from the Globe (and I would appreciate--as
would this list I assume--any additional information
you might have concerning this closed door team
meeting).



A team source who was present for the meeting
recounted what happened, a couple of hours after it
took place. Ainge opened the meeting by telling the
players he recognized "this year's been tough" and
that "a lot of different things have gone on."
According to the source, Ainge then said, "I just want
the veteran guys to know this is their team."

The meeting continued with Ainge questioning the
players. Ainge turned to captain Paul Pierce and asked
what he thought of the game. According to the source,
Pierce said nothing. Ainge next turned to Mark Blount
and asked what he thought of the game. Blount said,
"It was long."

***Not the best response from Pierce, but Blount's was
priceless (it was actually a really long game--about 3
hours long).  My question is this:  Why did Pierce
remain silent?  Was he pissed at that last play where
he shot too soon?  Or does he hate Ainge (and what
he's done to the team; remember Pierce's alleged
comments to Vescey) and didn't want to even
acknowledge him?  Or maybe Pierce has quit on the
team...(I hate to say that, but it's a possible
interpretation).


Ainge later went around the room and praised players.
He turned to seldom-used Jumaine Jones and said, "I
believe in you." He turned to rookies Marcus Banks and
Brandon Hunter and said, "I know you can play."


***Jumaine's heart must have been warmed by Ainge's
comment (mine was).  It's also good to know that Ainge
hasn't given up on him, especially when he's better IN
EVERY AREA than Walter.  I was just looking for his
comment to McCarty ("Walter you're killing us.").  And
it's also nice to see that he hadn't forgotten about
Marcus and Hunter, though it would have been better if
he would have directed his "I know you can play"
peptalk to Carroll instead, since Carroll's the one
who refuses to play them.  All in all, though, I
thought this was Ainge's best move since taking over;
though I wonder if it'll have any effect on the
guys...



Ainge concluded the meeting by addressing how poorly
the team had played recently. He talked, in general,
about how to play the game. More specifically, Ainge
mentioned the need for better passing and the effort
required to get open on the wing. He also told the
Celtics they needed to play harder.

According to the source, Ainge's words appeared to
have little impact on the veterans, judging from their
facial expressions. Ainge responded by noting that
"most of my words were not directed toward the
veterans." When Pierce was asked what was discussed,
whether it pertained to the team's play against the
Clippers or larger issues, he took his time
formulating an answer.

"We just talked about the game and what we thought we
could have done better," said Pierce, before Celtics
public relations director Bill Bonsiewicz stepped in
and excused the captain so he could visit with friends
and family.


***I just wish I knew what was going on in Paul's
head.  Egg, this whole story was reported to the Globe
via a team source.  Can you tell me if that source is
reliable and what you have heard regarding this
meeting?  Specifically, how did the guys react to it? 
Were there any raised voices and shows of emotion? 
Did anything get settled or was it more of a harm?


"We can play more consistently," said Ainge. "We can
avoid the droughts. A lot of it is our mental
toughness, fighting through adversity on the court.
It's bad calls, bad passes, substitutions, bad shots.
Anything that can distract us, we're allowing to
distract us."

Ainge noted that the Celtics' frustrations were clear
from the way they carried themselves on the court. He
views the current problems, the ones that have
produced just one win in the last 11 games, as "more
emotional than execution." "It's not like I'm
panicking, but [body language and disposition on the
court] is something that has to change in each
individual as they grow as players," said Ainge. "It's
contagious both ways, good and bad. It's been a
difficult season with difficult circumstances. But I
believe in them and I believe they can play better
than they're playing."


***I enjoyed the subtle shot at Carroll with the
substitutions comment.  It was also good to see Ainge
acknowledge the bad body language on the court (he had
to be talking to Pierce with that one).  Finally,
here's what our NEW LEADER Ricky Davis had to say
about the meeting (from the Herald), prefaced by
another comment by Ainge.


``Everyone had the opportunity to say how they felt. I
think it was good. Whether it translates into wins or
not, I don't know. But communication is good. I just
think it's important for us to play to win and play
like winners. If we can do that with what we're going
through right now, it'll say a lot about each of these
guys as people and as players.'' 
 
     Said Ricky Davis, ``We talked about everything.
Guys got to have their say. We're going through a hard
time and some things had to come out. We wanted to put
it all on the table and clear it all up so guys can
come out with fresh plates and come out and play hard.
We have to get everything behind us so we can move on
and accomplish what we're trying to accomplish. We
have to stay together and come out and be
professional.'' 


***These are the words of a leader.  Somebody had
mentioned whether it was possible that Pierce ever
acknowledges a younger man as the LEADER on this team.
 That's a good question.  I don't know.  Paul already
respects Ricky.  I think that it will all depend on
how Ricky plays though...if he's scoring 20 and really
helping the team win, I don't think there's any
question that Paul will recognize Ricky's leadership
on the team, which in turn will get everyone else to
recognize that leadership as well.  I guess we'll see
how the rest of the season plays out, but from the
Ricky's comments in the paper, I'm starting to think
he's the only guy on this team who really gives a damn
anymore...

Ryan

P.S. During the Clipper's game, Ainge was talking
about our picks in the upcoming draft and ended the
conversation by saying, "basically we have a lottery
pick."  Now, was he saying that all three picks put
together equal a lottery pick...or was he saying that
this team ain't making the playoffs?





--- Eggcentric@xxxxxxx wrote:
> < Time to trade him (SG) in for a new sportsgeek. 
> He could probably get a 
> job at
> the NYT err... Globe now. > - JHill
> 
> Honest, Jim, I am disappointed in you.  Remarks like
> the above are offensive 
> and reek of second-rate, at least to me.  You and
> the other narrow-minded 
> posters who have been so quick to dismiss Bill
> Simmons along with just 
> about every other sports writer in America who has
> had the audacity to 
> differ from your parochial/homer wishful thinking,
> are looking pretty 
> petty these days.  
> 
> This list has turned south faster than the Celts
> have, because in the end, 
> few of you wanted to hear anything but good news. 
> And simply put,
> there ain't none.  So just keep killing the
> messenger(s); maybe it will make
> you feel better, more macho, smarter, etc. etc. etc.


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