Re: Purgatory

[Sean Giovanello <sgiovanello@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Well, I think the blame goes to both Ainge and OB, as well as the bill 
of goods the team tried to sell the fans this year.

For Ainge, its for extending a guy like OB in the first place.  OB 
doesnt really develop guys - he squezzes the max from what they have.  
He has been especially successful in this regard when dealing with 
marginal players.  Why do you sign this guy to an extension when you are 
planning to draft a PG and a project?  Why give him three years unless 
he is on the same page as you - play the young guys and build for the 
future while trying to put a respectable product on the court. 

For OB, it was not being smart enough to recognize that with a 3 year 
deal it made more sense to see if some of these guys could play this 
year so that in years two and three you might have a better chance of 
winning.  Its for refusing to play the young guys and dissing Hunter 
after how well he played the other night.  Its for starting Walter and 
reverting to OB ball.  Its for never giving JJ a shot.

Welcsh has a future in this league.  Mihm has shown me enough in his 
time on the court that he deserves more.  Jumaine Jones is a good 
basketball player and he was buried from the beginning after OB got the 
excuse that he was hurt.  Your dissing of the talent is short sighted 
indeed.  I do not like the addition of Raef and am certainly not sold on 
Ricky Davis.  However, we need to see these guys get some time before we 
know it.  You say OB had the audacity to question whether these guys had 
the talent to constitute a future championship team.  One, we never got 
to see Perkins, Banks, and Hunter on the court together to decide.  So, 
he and we never got to answer that question because OB had already made 
up his mind.  Face it, there is a fair bit of overturning still to go on 
this roster and thus it is imperative that we see what we have this 
year.  STuff we need answered like 1) Is Banks really the PG of the 
future?  2) Is Mihm worth keeping?  3) Can Hunter play in the NBA? 4) Is 
Ricky Davis part of our future or is he destined for another stop around 
the league?  5) Can Jiri be what he has shown flashes of?  Instead, we 
got to see Walter huck up bricks, Blount prove he is not a third center 
but rather a backup center, and rent a player Mike James parlay his time 
here into a slightly bigger and longer contract next year...

Eggcentric@xxxxxxx wrote:

> We are somewhere between Heaven and hell. Fans conveniently blame 
> Obie, but those more familiar with the intricacies of the team (the 
> players, other NBA coaches, the national media) completely sympathize 
> with Obie. 
>
> Ainge threw Obie one too many curve balls bringing him groceries 
> that never fit his diet, or for that matter, many team's diets. Banks is 
> fast, LaFrentz and Welsch are slow, Mihm and Jones are slugs (slow
> learners), Hunter is one-dimensional... no mix, no simpatico.  More 
> importantly, no court-visioned PG nor classic PF. 
>
> Obie had the audacity to question whether Banks, Pierce, Perkins, 
> LaFrentz, Hunter (the future lineup most of you want to see) had
> the talent to constitute a future championship team.  But he never 
> kidded himself, he knew our talent was/is veeeeeeery mediocre. 
> A stronger bench? It all depends on how rosy your glasses are. 
> Why wouldnbt our bench be stronger since we have two authentic 
> NBA starters and thirteen NBA benchees.
>
> Ainge may recognize athleticism, but Obie was the master at knowing 
> his players and extracting the very best out of 2nd rate talents such as 
> Blount, Welsch, James, McCarty. He was responsible for our skim milk 
> being able to masquerade as cream. 
>
> > From the get go, Ainge and the owners wanted their cake and eat it too.  
> They wanted to not only feather their future nest (while raising ticket 
> prices and remaining near the luxury tax) but make the playoffs this year, 
> too.  <<''Just let Obie do it<<'' became their mantra,  no matter how much 
> they
> insulted him or changed the face of his team.  
>
> Ainge's constant muttering of how he and Obie were on <<''the same 
> page<<''.... nada, never, nunski.  Of course Danny never has told a fib or 
> made
> one mistake in his life... just ask all our listers.   What a shame he just 
> canbt get along with anyone except for the Celt owners and the naive fans 
> who have bought into his MO.  Davis, Banks, LaFrentz, Pierce, Hunter ... 
> isn't 
> that the future lineup the fans hope to see?  If so, it certainly was never 
> Obie's idea for this year or next, nor do many outsiders feel that group
> to be a Championship lineup of the future.   
>
> On Jan. 13, Davis scored 33 points.  Post game, Obie dissed his performance
> and many wondered why.  There was a reason why he did that.  Since then the 
> two players most affected by his presence have just about collapsed. Both 
> Pierce and Welsch have shot under .300.   Wonder why? If you have to ask, 
> you 'll never know.  But here's a clue - Ainge has sold our team for 
> helter-skelter athletisim when chemistry should have been a prime 
> consideration.  Atlanta has athletes and look where they are.
> And please, don't justify this season by expecting more next season from 
> our eclectic collection of explosive embryos.  Ainge's callous tactics have 
> set us back several years.  But just keep blaming Obie as you justify the 
> lottery again and again and again.  Wake me in 2008.