RE: How far out there is this idea?

["Thomas Murphy" <tfmiii@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

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>Date: Tue, 27 Jan 2004 18:54:35 -0500
>From: Snoopy the Celtics Beagle <snoopy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>Subject: How far out there is this idea?
>
>>I don't recall what--if any--personal relationship they had as players,
>>but would Dennis Johnson make a good head coach for
>>the C's?
>
>That's presuming that Wyc Grousbeck doesn't fire Ainge and ask Obie to
>come back.  :>)

That's exactly what led to Obie's resignation I bet... he went to ownership
with a "it's either him or me" speech and now we see the result.

I empathize with all you Obie fans out there, but IMHO this is one of the
best things to happen to the Celts in a loooong time.

So much for the "is it Obie or Antoine" debate: the real answer is that is
was BOTH.

Obie was a survivor first and foremost. That does not mean he was evil, just
that he knew what to do to insure his survival and that came first, whether
the team would benefit or not.

He was loyal to his players, and that will always help in the survival game.

He had certainly memorized Mike Fratello's rules on "how to always have a
chance of winning a game without ever having a chance of winning anything
meaningful in the second season." In other words, what we have come to know
as "Obie ball": slow the game down and chuck up threes. It "worked" for the
(mostly) talentless Cadavaliers under Fratello, and has been working for
unimaginative coaches around the league ever since. It is the epitome of a
minimax strategy, minimize the maximum risk, that is playing it safe but
also don't risk something innovative that might give you a measurable
advantage. Now if you have Shaq and Kobe, you can afford to play it safe and
win, but if you don't then all you are doing is insuring mediocrity... and
*surprise* that is exactly what we got under Obie.

Ask yourself this: is playing Walter McCarty 40+ minutes a game at PF
anything other than asking for mediocrity?

Now, I know, mediocrity looked great compared to the madness of King
Pitino... but that is all that it was: mediocrity. Even the owners
recognized that. And that is why Ainge was hired to begin with, and why
Ainge is still standing after Obie gambled for perhaps the first time in his
basketball life and risked it all on a showdown with management.

The whole reason Obie was here to start the season is likely due to the fact
that he had ownership on his side to start the season and Ainge, although
dealing from a position of relative strength, was really only a first among
equals. So although Ainge had the green light remake the team (and remember
the news report that Ainge himself had to pull a "it's either him or me"
with the ownership to finally actually get the Twon deal done after some
cold feet on the part of ownership) he was not the enfant terrible that some
would have us believe. He had responsibilities and his authority had limits.

Sure, Ainge has messed with team chemistry. Sure Ainge has made moves with
an eye on how they work out a few years down the line. But Ainge ALSO gave
Obie a three year deal--he made it clear from the get go that Obie had the
freedom to develop players, develop chemistry, and for god's sake develop an
offense for a change. Obie mouthed the words "teamwork," but he kept singing
his own survivalist tune. I think it really set in after the second trade.
It was then that Obie metaphorically pulled his head into his shell (by
playing Walter primo minutes, something he had refrained from up to that
point) and dug in his heals. What's just happened is merely the ratification
of what Obie set into motion after the Davis trade. "It's either him or me"
and to Obie's surprise it was "me."

Xmas came late, but better late than never.