wolves game

["ryan nelson" <ryanmnelson@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Thanks to ESPN I was able to catch the C's last night and I had a few
comments:
 
1.  is the NBA really that bad?  Wow, I have never seen so many missed
open jumpers by both teams.  Banks looked like he was trying to break
the basket on one play.
 
2.  jiri was awesome in the second half.  He ran, he passed (I assume
everybody saw blount drop a pass for a layup), and played decent D.  It
was contagious.
 
3.  I liked the way Carroll worked the subs and I was biggest anti-obie
person because he was the worst in-game coach ever.  I liked the fact
that carroll changed his starters in the second half and went with what
he thought were the hot hands.  As much as I wanted to see Hunter in the
second half, I give carroll credit for sticking with combinations that
were working (well maybe not so well in the third).  Why change
something if it is going well?  The only criticism is that I would have
liked to see him take Pierce out for a few minutes and let him gather
himself (although he was rebounding well).
 
4.  What is the deal with Pierce?  What has happened to him?  Not only
did he shoot horribly, but he took terrible shots.  None within the flow
of the offense.  It's like we had two different teams on the court,
Pierce and then the other 4 players.  I am starting to worry about Paul.
Two years ago he had that fire/drive and you could see it.  I remember
when Tommy Heinsohn said he was the best "scorer" the Celtics ever had
and I actually had to stop and think if that was true.  Now it is easily
dismissable.  He is more Dominique now than Havlicek or bird.  What can
carroll do to get Pierce back to being Pierce other than maybe benching
him?
 
5.  I went to the Bulls-Sixers game on Saturday and those two teams are
awful.  I was amazed at how few of the players seemed to try or even
care.  You could definitely see the effects of long-term guaranteed
contracts.  Eddy Curry could be a beast.  He was dominant in the first
half (20 points) and then disappeared (bad conditioning).  If he puts
his mind to it, he could be unguardable.  Also, I hate to say this but
Hinrich is for real.  He always had his head up and made the extra pass
every time.  Danny should get this guy somehow, he would be perfect for
what the Celtics want to run.  Think the bulls would take Mccarty, Ricky
Davis, and a #1 for Hinrich (one can hope, right)?  Also, Jamaal
Crawford is the worst player/ball hog in the NBA.
 
rmn
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------
Ryan M. Nelson
 <mailto:rmnelson@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> rmnelson@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
H: 215-735-6722  C: 415-596-4024
Wharton School of Business
University of Pennsylvania