Re: a bolder prediction

[Ryan W <ubiquitous_am_i@xxxxxxxxx>]

Gene, I agree.  After seeing Brandon these last two
games, he does have that leadership quality.  As
Pierce said in the paper, he's somebody you want to go
to war with (Pierce also said he was pissed that they
hadn't found out about Brandon earlier).  As someone
else mentioned, our level of play simply increased
when he was on the court and decreased noticeably when
he was off it (as I call it, the Walter effect).  

But I'm taking Gene's prediction to the next level. 
Not only is he/will he be one of the leaders on this
team, I think he'll be one of, if not the best, player
on the team.  I'm talking about All-Star games, I'm
talking about leading the league in rebounding.  Why? 
This guy has incredible hunger and guts...and it's
rubbing off on the team, as well.  Combine that with a
brain (who knew Brandon could pass this well) and
surprising quickness for a man with such a HUGE body. 
Also, I don't give a lot of credence to those who say
he's too small...ya ever heard of Ben Wallace?  The
only thing he's lacking right now is an 15-18
jumpshot....but just listening to the way the guy goes
about working on his game, I have no doubt that he'll
have a jumpshot in the next couple years as well.  So
you heard it hear first: Hunter, our new next best
player.


Now, some random thoughts...

Funny how two of Ainge's throwaway moves (Hunter in
the late 2nd round and Atkins) have given this team
life again.  Maybe Ainge does have a plan (but let's
see what happens over the summer); but then again,
sometimes the best plan is the one you don't plan on.

As another poster commented, Atkins is just a much
better player than James was.  I think we, as Cs fans,
colored our perception of Atkins unfairly due to the
smoking Kenny gave him in the playoffs.  Of course, we
also forget how good Kenny was for this team (he, more
than the loss of Rogers, was the reason we didn't play
as well last season), but I digress.  Going back to
Atkins, the one thing he gives us is a competent
pick-and-roll player, something we haven't had since
Kenny left.  The only downside to Atkins' game is the
lack of defense (Kenny smoked him for a reason);
that's why it's important that Carroll next
concentrate on getting Marcus primed for a defensive
stopper role for the remainder of the season.  

As for those advocating a tank job; I agree with
Cecil, shove it up your ass (to paraphrase).  Players
play to win and as a fan I watch to see us crush the
opponent.  Now, if we happen to miss the playoffs and
grab a great player because of it, then good for us. 
I'll celebrate our good fortune then (conversely, I
don't see the point in "cheering" for that good
fortune at this point, it's not like it will help). 
But till then, lets fight for every win.  And hey, I
think we could beat Indiana if we happened to face
them in the playoffs (especially if Artest's injury
lingers).  It's not out of the realm of possibility
that we get really hot, make the playoffs, have Raef
make a surprise comeback (with 10-15 minutes off the
bench, usurping Walter's role, Raef could both protect
himself from reinjury and really contribute) and win a
couple rounds.    

Ryan

--- gene kirkpatrick <gk_tyler@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> I predict that B. Hunter will assume the E Williams
> function as team leader.  It may take a while, but
> he has the fire and the 100% effort.
>  
> Interesting statement that one of the commentators
> made:  the modern game has passed the Charles
> Barkleys of the world by--as if Barkley could not
> make it in today's game.  Those guys need an
> education; they should start reading the list.  We
> got treated to the many moves of B. Hunter tonight. 
> He just might have insured himself as one of the
> eight protected (I think that's a given now) and
> about 30 minutes a night for a long time.
>  
> Enjoyed the game.  Cheers, Gene
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