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

["R. Singh" <keltsfan@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

I went to see "21 Grams" this weekend.  Great film but after the movie
my friend stated that there are just some things just to painful to make
a film about.  Maybe that's what folks think about the Celtics right
now. It's just too painful to think about them...

Ravi

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-celtics@xxxxxxxx [mailto:owner-celtics@xxxxxxxx] On Behalf
Of Berry, Mark S
Sent: Monday, January 26, 2004 11:58 AM
To: celtics@xxxxxxxx
Subject: Hunter, Obie and Pierce... my unsolicited opinion on the
Celtics at a time when no one seems to be paying attention


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