re: Shooting for dollars (or Pavlov's dogs)

[wayray@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Bill Fitch is rolling in his grave.  And could Good Egg be making
a sneaky reference to the Celtics plans to draft Pavel Podkolzine.
Probably not.
Ray

> This little motivational ploy (Pavlovian conditioning) of keeping our 
> millionaires 
> focused on the "vision" has Doc Niednagel written all over it. 
> 
> The good news is that we will not be facing Kidd and Martin tonight and
> might even come out with a win... but watch Rodney Rogers steal our 
> thunder.   It should be a really interesting game.   Word has it that
> Walter so enjoyed his five days of windsurfing in the Bahamas during 
> the 5-day break.     
> 
> Egg
> ----------------------------------
> Nets remain a threat
> No kidding, Celtics can't afford to slip
> 
> By Shira Springer, Globe Staff, 3/26/2004
> 
> WALTHAM -- It is unusual to see an NBA coach finish practice by handing 
> out hundred dollar bills to multimillionaire players. But interim coach John 
> Carroll did exactly that as the Celtics wrapped up practice yesterday 
> afternoon, doling out Ben Franklins to winners of a free throw shooting 
> contest. Carroll wanted to provide extra incentive when players stepped 
> to the line. Besides, on the last of five days without a game, the coaches 
> had to find a fun, creative way to keep the players focused.
> 
> Judging from the close, spirited conclusion of the Chucky Atkins-Walter 
> McCarty matchup, the approach appeared to work. Atkins gleefully walked 
> away the winner after sinking his last shot.
> 
> "That's expected," said Atkins. "Free throw shooting is going to be 
> important for us. We've got five road games left this season. If you look 
> at the stats, we're averaging 94.8 points per game and opposing teams 
> are averaging 96.5 points, so games are usually going to come down to 
> the last one or two possessions or a free throw here or a free throw 
> there. We're going to need to hit our free throws."
> 
> With a playoff berth on the line, Boston will look for every advantage it 
> can get, especially with two games against Atlantic Division rival New 
> Jersey over the next four days. The Celtics are 1-5 against the Nets 
> since the start of the 2002-03 season, not including playoff losses. 
> And the last two seasons New Jersey has knocked Boston out of the 
> playoffs.
> 
> Needless to say, the rivalry has been one-sided. But tonight, the Nets 
> will be shorthanded, with Jason Kidd on the injured list (left knee bone 
> bruise) and Kenyon Martin doubtful (left knee tendinitis).
> 
> Without Kidd, the Nets lose a veteran point guard who leads the league 
> with 9.5 assists per game. He also ranks in the top 10 with 1.8 steals 
> per game. Martin is the Nets' leading rebounder with 9.8 per game and 
> the No. 2 scorer at 17.4 points per game. But the Celtics know so-called 
> role players Lucious Harris, Kerry Kittles, and Rodney Rogers, and leading 
> scorer Richard Jefferson, have caused them trouble in the past.
> 
> In his one game this season against the Celtics, Harris had 14 points and 
> 6 rebounds, well above his season averages. Jefferson has averaged 
> 16.5 points and 5 rebounds against the Celtics this season. Kittles has 
> averaged 12.5 points and 3.5 rebounds against Boston, while Rogers 
> contributed 9 points and 2 rebounds the only time he faced his former 
> team this season.
> 
> "We can't look past the fact that they don't have those two guys [Kidd 
> and Martin] and that this will be an easy game for us," said Paul Pierce.
>  "We've got to take every game like we're a desperate team, which we 
> are, no matter who's on the team." Boston expects New Jersey to run 
> regardless of who is in the lineup or who is on the sideline coaching. But 
> under interim coach Lawrence Frank, the Nets don't always run their 
> Princeton offense and look more for mismatches.
> 
> "I look at [tonight's] game as a street fight," said Carroll. "We just have 
> to find some way to win. I don't really look at it like the last couple 
> years. 
> In my opinion, circumstances are just so totally different. You don't have 
> Martin guarding Antoine [Walker]. You don't have Byron Scott. You don't 
> have Jim [O'Brien]. You don't have Eric [Williams]. It's a whole other thing. 
> 
> I just look at it like they're in our way and they are stopping us from 
> getting where we want to go, and we have to beat them twice.
> 
> "I look at it more like a college season and we're trying to make the NCAA 
> Tournament. It's like you can't lose now. You have to make a statement 
> every single game. If you lose, you're just making life more difficult for 
> yourself. And we don't have enough games left to bail ourselves out if we 
> do lose a game." . . .
> Pierce missed the last 20 minutes of practice after aggravating his 
> strained right hip. "It's still a little sore," he said. "I kind of tweaked 
> it 
> again. I don't think it's anything that will keep me out of the game. I don't 
> 
> even think it will slow me down."

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