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Re: Purgatory
At 06:17 PM 1/27/2004 -0500, you 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.
Well, so maybe they don't, but who says that this the complete crew?
But you have to let them sort themselves out, see what they can do in game
situations, and Obie wasn't doing that. If you stay with the
EWill-Blount-McCarty-Pierce-Walker-Delk-Battie crew, how will you ever find
out? How will you ever progress?
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.
And what did we have before the trades? A lineup of Hall of Famers?
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.
That's highly questionable. Blount I could give you, though I'd say it's
mostly his hard off-season work that's responsible for the improvement
(ironically, triggered by the trade to Denver). But McCarty?! And let's not
forget who brought James and Welsch in - it certainly wasn't Obie's idea.
Unless you're trying to make a very tortuous argument that Ainge brought
complete slugs James and Welsch in, and Obie made them into pretty good
players. But in that case, why couldn't he make Joe Johnson, Kedrick,
Forte, Sundov, Wolkowyski and many others into good players if, as you say,
it's all due to his coaching skill? On the whole, I'd claim just the
opposite - that he mostly screws up players - unless you think making
everybody but the center and the superstar go to the 3-point line and stand
there waiting for a kickout constitutes good use and development of our
players.
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,
We figured that much out, and that's why he's gone. And who cares if Ainge
can get along with everybody? What is this, kindergarten? His job is to
assemble talent to win basketball games. So far he's done pretty well in
increasing the talent level of this club. And even if they don't all mesh,
none of them is a gross burden of the Vin Baker variety.
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.
But Ainge brought in Welsch and LaFrentz who you said were slow, so where's
the penchant for helter-skelter athleticism? Sure, Davis is super-athletic,
but he's much more than just an athlete. And I thought it was Obie who
wanted his players to have the mobility to play his helter-skelter defense?
Didn't you predict that Obie won't like Mihm due to his alleged lack of
lateral mobility?
You're sounding more and more like Peter May, who still can't get over his
love affair with Eric Williams and Obie's chemistry. That team was going
nowhere - it had reached its zenith 2 years ago with the EC at its weakest.
EWill and Battie weren't getting any younger and healthier and Antoine was
subjugating the team to his whimsical game while drawing/demanding a max
salary and delivering much less than a max-salary performance. The EC is
getting better and will be better still in the next few years. What would
staying with Obie's plan have accomplished? We've been over this a million
times. If you wanted ugly basketball, the bottom half of the EC playoff
brackett, an early exit from the playoffs every year, and general
stagnation, then Obie is your man. But it wasn't enough for the owners and
for most of the fans.
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.
I guess we'll see who's right, won't we?