Hunter, Obie and Pierce... my unsolicited opinion on the Celtics at a time when no one seems to be paying attention

["Berry, Mark S" <berrym@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Man, the list is dead. Is something else going on right now? Am I missing something important in the sports world? A big game? What?

Anyway, here are my thoughts on some topics of the day with the Celtics:

1.	Brandon Hunter... He looked great Friday night in limited (but not officially garbage) minutes. Used his body, moved his feet, gobbled up rebounds and finished around the basket. Cousy practically gushed, and Cousy never gushes. He basically said, when you're getting killed on the boards night after night, and it's such a glaring problem, how can you not play a guy who may be your best rebounder? He said he didn't see any glaring deficiencies in Brandon's defense, so maybe you live with small things just to get his rebounding in the game. I couldn't agree more. I didn't see yesterday's game, of course, but again it looks like Hunter was all over the glass. Obie keeps talking about how far he has to go defensively, but I think this kid needs to play. A lot. If the option are Walter McCarty or Brandon Hunter at the PF spot, I'll take Hunter. Please. 

2.	Obie... He's killing me. It's like we don't even see the same things. When it looks to me like Marcus Banks is playing well, those are always the nights when Obie yanks him and forgets him. When it looks like Banks isn't playing well, he's in there at crunch time. I really watched Hunter with a critical eye Friday night, and I just don't see the glaring problems Obie is talking about. The kid moves his feet, stops penetration and doesn't get abused by his own man. And he rebounds! I can't discuss his offense anymore. It's clear his idea of offense is to put the ball in the hands of your best player as early as possible and let him create. That's it. It's killing me, and it's killing Paul Pierce. Which brings me to...

3.	Pierce... He's killing the Celtics. He's playing terrible. He's being asked to do way too much, which is Obie's fault. He's taking terrible shots, forcing everything, turning the ball over. He's terrible right now. And Obie isn't doing a damn thing to help him. I'm convinced the Celtics could bring in Jason Kidd, and Obie would have him pass to Pierce as soon as he crossed the half-court line. Pierce is guilty, too. He's the one making the bad decisions and taking the bad shots. Obie is putting him in those positions, but Pierce isn't handling it well. The kneejerk, idiot talking head analysis of "Pierce needs more help and misses Antoine" is ridiculous. Ricky Davis can score. Jiri Welsch can score (although Obie is slowly strangling him, too... and I think Jiri is hitting the wall a little). The big men aren't great, but they've been putting some points on the board. 

4.	Vin Baker... I just want it over with. The sooner, the better.

5.	The PF spot... Give Hunter a chance. Is he a long-term answer? Maybe not. Is he a starter for a playoff team? Maybe not. But he brings more of what this team NEEDS than Walter. I hate Walter. 

6.	Trades... No deals for dead weight like Juwan Howard (unless we're sending back comparable dead weight with comparable contracts). All deals should pass the Ricky Davis test - better talent, better fit, reasonable contract - or be cap-clearing moves. Nothing just for this season. Big picture moves are the key. Kendrick Perkins is a year, maybe two away. But he's coming. That's the timetable we should be working on. Keep shaping the right kind of team and managing the roster/cap with Perkins' impact in mind. Develop Perkins. Develop Banks. Search for a long-term answer at power forward (my target? If he's healthy, Tyson Chandler). Thankfully, I think Danny will do just that.

That's it. Anyone else thinking about the Celtics? 

Mark