Re: JB - still begging for a point guard

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

I watched the Spurs-Kings game last night and thought the same thing.
You know what else crossed my mind? That Paul Pierce should spend the
entire offseason studying Peja Stojakovic video. That's the type of
player Pierce should be - a scorer. A finisher. He's not a point
forward. Peja knows what he does best, and he does it. He finds open
shots and knocks them down. His drives are under control and effective.
Pierce could be that kind of player. One thing he needs, though, is a
point guard. We're still harping on this. How long has it been? James
isn't the answer. Banks might not be either. Like I said yesterday, I'd
like to see Jiri there. I trust Kestas on Jasikevicius, which brings me
to something else...



Danny Ainge had a conference call for season ticket holders yesterday,
which you can listen to by calling a number you can find at the C's Web
site. Here are some highlights:



1.	Wants to become a team like Sacramento or Minnesota, without a
top-50 all-time player like Shaq or Duncan, but still with a chance to
win a championship.



2.	Last 25 championship teams included top-50 players of all time.
Have to be lucky to get one of those players. But it's possible to
develop a team like Minnesota or Sacramento, without a top-50 all-time
player, that can win a championship with group of all-star players
playing offense and defense.



3.	Can't win just with defense. No team in history won a
championship without being top-15 in offense, and if you're 15th, you'd
better be No. 1 in defense.



4.	Believe we are younger, more athletic, more tradeable assets
than six months ago. A lot still to do.



5.	We have a mid-level exception this summer, two first-round
picks, Raef Lafrentz coming back, and Chris Mills' expiring contract.
Owners are willing to trade that for a player that, in essence, is
another mid-level exception.



6.	Believes by training camp, will have team better than last year
and improving with a chance to compete. Believes this year's team can
make the playoffs. Says that's important because playoffs produce
heightened learning curve.



7.	Excited about Mihm, Davis, Welsch, Banks. Excited about nucleus
and draft and free agency and Lafrentz.



8.	Need five players on the court capable of dribbling, passing and
making good decisions. Plan is to get more all-around basketball
players. Not defensive or offensive specialists.



9.	Believes continuity and consistency are very important, but you
have to get the talent first.



10.	Think Carroll likes rebounding presence of Mihm. Obie liked
McCarty more to space the floor. Mihm has to stay out of foul trouble.
Thinks Brandon Hunter will get more minutes. Carroll says he has a
different body than anyone else on the team - a space-eater. Needs to
learn defensivee and offensive schemes. Will play a larger, but not a
large, role.



11.	We struggle against pressure defense. We have 2-3
non-ball-handlers on the court. You can afford one, but not more than
that.



12.	Can't mention any free agents, but we do have our eyes on some
guys. Competing against 29 other teams. Don't always get guys you
target. Has eyes on a front-line player, a space-eater, and believes we
need leadership at point guard. I like taller, longer point guards. Jiri
Welsch can play PG and we'll see him playing more PG. Wants a veteran
player who can provide outside shooting, passing and leadership.



13.	Coach... have an idea of the perfect coach, but don't have any
names that fit that perfect coach. Difficult to find coach with
offensive philosophy of Ainge and defensive philosophy of Obie. Wants
experience, some with success and some with failure. Someone who can
teach offensive game and put Pierce in position to utilize his talents
better offensively. Does not ever see himself coaching.



14.	Planning on using mid-level exception, but don't want to spend
money just to spend it. Can't waste mid-level exception on a player who
would tie hands 4-5 years. Exception and Mills contract could fill both
needs - big guy and point guard.



15.	Draft picks... Valuable because can use them or trade them. Lot
of teams trying to acquire picks. Players have caught his eye. Picking
18-25, have to do your work. Papile just got back from China some
late-first, second round prospects there. Prospects in Europe. Lot of
options.



16.	Players have responded well to Obie's departure. Ainge met with
them as a team and individually. There will be some changes - utilized
Mihm more in the first game under Carroll. Will see some different
pick-and-rolls. Worries about Blount because he was so loyal and
indebted to Obie. Told Blount he loves him just as much as Obie did.
McCarty welcomed Carroll with open arms. Pierce seems happy.



17.	Some players excited about change. Looking forward to variations
in defense, not so much fronting or blitzing pick-and-roll.



18.	Not disappointed in Marcus Banks at all. Believes today he is a
quality backup point guard. Will try not to lose patience with Marcus,
but always keep options open. Planning on him being top-notch PG, but
not there yet and would be surprised if he was there next year. Needs to
be more consistent and be a better leader.



19.	Pierce... Paul should not have to shoulder more responsibility.
Conception created by media. Team fifth in league in shooting
percentage. Plenty of offensive players around him. Scouting report
catching up to Pierce... Keep him off FT line. Trap him when he puts the
ball on the floor, because he doesn't make good decisions. Paul has
struggled with that. Dates back to last year. Needs help from point
guard who knows how to get him the ball in the right positions. Still
reverting to old habits, dribbling through 2-3 guys and turning it over.
It's a process. Paul is learning. When defensive pressure mounts, he
tries to shoulder the burden, and he shouldn't. Last night, might have
been a blessing having Paul on bench with foul trouble, because team
came back in fourth quarter without him. Experienced point guard would
make a big difference.



20.	Play Ricky Davis more? John Carroll said after the game, it's a
tough call who to play-Jiri or Ricky. Jiri best defender. Ricky more
big-play type guy. Plays with great energy and is a big-time shot-maker.
Three best players are Jiri, Ricky and Paul. Difficult to get all three
on the court consistently. There are plans of playing Jiri at the PG and
getting all three on the court. But what probably see is whoever has the
better game going will get crunch-time minutes.



21.	Kendrick Perkins... Really anxious to see him play. Plan going
into this season was he would not get PT. Weighed 305, 20 percent body
fat, vertical leap 23 inches. Now 279, 15 percent, vertical up to 27.
Kendrick loves his body now. His intensity level has picked up. Think
this kid is not going to be a special player - Olajuwon type - but
believes he can be a solid starting player and, hopefully, by next year
or year after will be in rotation.



That's it. I couldn't be more pleased with all of those comments. Sorry
if they're poorly written, I was typing as I listened. Great stuff from
Ainge and I'm completely confident in the direction he's taking the
team. Sounds like the trade deadline could be exciting with the Mills
contract out there. Ray, it's time to start speculating about targets at
PF and PG.



Mark









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Kestas wrote:



Anyway, I know I've been harping about this (along with WayRay), but I
really
hope they can snatch up Jasikevicius. He's a dazzling 6-4 PG and a very
good
shooter, too. He's straight out of the Sacramento mold, which I think is
what
Ainge is trying to accomplish. Btw, did anyone see the Kings-Spurs game
last
night? What a pleasure to watch the Kings (and to a lesser extent, the
Spurs)
play...The tempo of the game was so fast, and the level of basketball
skill so
high... we haven't had anything like this around here for decades.





Mark