RE: As Good As A Win

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

Thanks! I think there have been some excellent posts since Obie stepped
down. Seems like it shook everyone up in a good way.

Mark 


-----Original Message-----
From: Shawn Niles [mailto:shizzjr@xxxxxxxxxxx] 
Sent: Thursday, January 29, 2004 1:07 PM
To: Berry, Mark S; celtics@xxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: As Good As A Win

As always Mark, right on target. Your posts have become my favorite ones
to 
read.


>From: "Berry, Mark  S" <berrym@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
>To: celtics@xxxxxxxx
>Subject: Re: As Good As A Win
>Date: Thu, 29 Jan 2004 09:10:05 -0500
>
>Here are my thoughts on last night:
>
>
>
>1.	Tough game to judge, because the officials took it over. Way too
>many whistles. That was one of the most poorly officiated games I've
>watched this season - both ways.
>
>
>
>2.	McCarty... Less, but still too much. He was awful. The team
>blitzed and fronted a little less last night, meaning Walter was more
>responsible for his own man defensively, and the Pistons went right at
>him every time. Walter was terrible defensively, offensively and every
>other ively. If Carroll is objective at all, he'll see that. If Walter
>continues to get big minutes, we'll know Carroll is just playing guys
>out of habit.
>
>
>
>3.	Chris Mihm... Not much made of this yet, but it looks like Mihm
>may be the biggest immediate beneficiary of the coaching change.
Carroll
>seems to place more of an emphasis on rebounding (imagine that!) and he
>stuck with Mihm for long stretches. Chris responded with 16 points and
9
>rebounds. He was extremely active. He hangs around the basket, moves
his
>feet and keeps his hands up to catch the ball. They may have thrown it
>to him on post-ups twice, but he did his damage without any plays being
>run for him. He still has to avoid bad fouls. He had two last night
that
>were boneheaded.
>
>
>
>4.	Mark Blount... He salvaged his game in the second half, but in
>the first half it looked like he was lodging a one-man protest of
Obie's
>departure. He was terrible in the first half, and one of the reasons
the
>Pistons got back in the game. Played better in the second half.
>
>
>
>5.	Brandon Hunter... Got six first-half minutes, played OK, and
>never reappeared. I watched him on the defensive end, and he was
moving,
>helping and doing a fine job. This kid simply has to get McCarty's
>minutes. The sooner the better.
>
>
>
>6.	Mike James... He hit the two late threes, but other than that
>was terrible. What is he bringing to the table right now? Jiri Welsch
is
>the best point guard on the team. He's the best penetrator, best
passer,
>best shooter, headiest player... I strongly believe a Banks/Welsch
point
>guard rotation would help a lot. You'd have your two best penetrators
>getting all the PG minutes, and it would free up more time for Ricky
>Davis. I'd be starting Banks-Davis-Pierce-Blount-Mihm, with Jiri being
>the backup PG/SG and Hunter being the backup big man.
>
>
>
>7.	Jiri Welsch... Doesn't anyone else think this kid is a point
>guard? He penetrates with his head up, under control, always ready to
>pass. He sees the floor, moves well without the ball, hits the open
shot
>and defends. And if you play him at PG, you get him on the floor with
>Pierce and Davis. As it is, we rarely see the team's three best players
>on the floor at the same time. That's a problem.
>
>
>
>8.	Paul Pierce... Not bad, by his recent standards, but not good
>either. He seems to have lost all instinct for good shot vs. bad shot,
>when to pass, when to drive. Teams have figured out how to play him -
>pressure him on the perimeter to take away the jump shot, and when he
>drives to the basket, step in to take a charge or force him to turn the
>ball over. Pierce absolutely refuses to pull up for a short jumper.
When
>he gets past his man, he puts his head down and heads for the hoop at
>full speed. If he'd just stay under control, he could make a living off
>of 15-foot jumpers. But he's always out of control. Sadly, he's part of
>the problem.
>
>
>
>9.	John Carroll... I like that he seems more committed to
>rebounding and willing to play Mihm big minutes. That's good. But he
>also seems obliged to play Walter more than he should, and he's locked
>into Mike James at point guard. That's bad. At one point in the first
>half last night, we saw a lineup of James, Banks, Pierce, Walter and
>Blount. That's very bad. And don't talk to me about foul trouble. Two
>fouls in the first half is not foul trouble in the NBA. Carroll, like
>Obie, seems to forget they get six fouls (that always drove me crazy
>about Obie). More good things... Less fronting, less blitzing. Very,
>very good. Fewer three-pointers. Very good. We'll see how his rotations
>shake out.
>
>
>
>10.	The media... I can't believe there isn't anyone out there with
>an ounce of vision. I'm especially disappointed in Bob Ryan and Jackie
>Mac. Everyone talks about the disparity between the West and the East.
>Do you think that's because the West has more players like Eric
>Williams? Please. Look at the top teams in the league - Sacramento, San
>Antonio, Minnesota, L.A., Dallas - they're full of talented, versatile
>offensive players. They're big up front. No one believes they're among
>the league's best because of their outstanding role players. You can
>find role players. Ainge is trying to find PLAYERS. And he's doing a
>good job. If Obie was that great a coach, he'd have coached these good
>offensive players into being good defensive players. Instead, he quit.
>That says a lot more about Obie than it does about Ainge.
>
>
>
>11.	Finally... Enough about the Eastern Conference Finals. That
>season was an aberration. The conference had never seen such upheaval
in
>the standings. The traditional powers all collapsed at the same time.
>Teams like the Celtics, Nets and Pistons - who had been non-factors
just
>a year earlier - filled the void. Someone had to. But never has there
>been a greater disparity between the two conferences than there was
that
>season. Never. That was fool's gold, and I can't believe that in
>hindsight, people like Ryan can't see that. Last season they were a
>mediocre, borderline unwatchable team that lucked into the perfect
>first-round matchup. And then they get swept by the Nets. Ainge wasn't
>pulling a Jerry Krause and breaking up the six-time champion Bulls. Why
>can't people see this???
>
>
>
>Mark

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