celtics roundup

Thu Jul 13 15:15:09 CDT 2006

Delonte is not a point guard, Mark.  Not on his best day.
He's a terrific utility guy, can make plays, do all the small
things, and even hit some big shots.  But he's not a true
PG.  Telfair was being asked to execute on a slow-down,
half-court team full of unmotivated head cases, one year
out of high school and with a crippling hand injury.  Those
factors might have had something to do with his "numbers."
Those clips on youtube aren't just of flash passes, a la jason
williams.  They are of controlled speed, consistent penetration,
rhythm passes for dunks and layups, and full-court upfield
passes of the kind that no one on the Celtics (other than,
weirdly, Kendrick Perkins) can throw.  If you want the celtics
to be a fast break team ever, than this is the guy.  As far as I'm
concerned, the only way Telfair can fail is if A) he's such a 
complete defensive liability that they can't play him; and B)
if his own offense is so pitiful that teams can overplay him.
I really doubt either will ever, or has ever, been the case.

Josh
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Berry, Mark S" <berrym at BATTELLE.ORG>
To: "The Boston Celtics Mailing List" <celtics at igtc.com>
Sent: Thursday, July 13, 2006 4:05 PM
Subject: RE: celtics roundup

> You're assuming Telfair is something he hasn't proven to be yet. There
> is a reason he was available. Portland liked Jarret Jack and Steve Blake
> at least as much. Jack and Blake both had better numbers than Telfair
> last year.
> 
> I know he can make highlight reel passes. I don't know that he's a
> better player or point guard than Delonte West at this point. Delonte
> started 70-some games for a better team, put up excellent numbers and
> was the second most important player on the team last year. Telfair lost
> his starting job, put up bad numbers on a worse team and was deemed
> expendable.
> 
> Now ... If Telfair reaches his full potential, he could be a great point
> guard. But just moving from Portland to Boston doesn't automatically do
> that. Believe me, I'm hoping he turns into that player. I really, really
> am. If he does, Delonte makes a great swing guard. But Telfair still has
> a ways to go to prove it to me.
> 
> Mark
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: celtics-bounces at igtc.com [mailto:celtics-bounces at igtc.com] On
> Behalf Of Josh Ozersky
> Sent: Thursday, July 13, 2006 3:57 PM
> To: The Boston Celtics Mailing List
> Subject: Re: celtics roundup
> 
> Mark, 
> 
> I know you like Delonte and everything, but on the best day
> of his life he couldn't have beaten Telfair as an 8th grader.
> I am surprised that you are so skeptical about a player who 
> nearly everyone regards as true born point guard, in a period
> when such players are as rare as plutonium.  I'd like to see
> how many minutes West gets at the 1 after Telfair has been
> in camp a week.  We've been needing this guy for ten years.
> 
> Josh
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Berry, Mark S" <berrym at BATTELLE.ORG>
> To: "The Boston Celtics Mailing List" <celtics at igtc.com>
> Sent: Thursday, July 13, 2006 1:27 PM
> Subject: RE: celtics roundup
> 
> 
>> Josh, he's a great passer. We know that. But there's a lot more to
> being
>> a great point guard than just that. Look at his numbers the last two
>> years -- not good. In fact, he really only had one good month last
>> season -- and the team was 1-10 that month.
>> 
>> He might mature into the player Ainge thinks he can be, but it's far
>> from a sure thing. Yes, he came from a bad team but that cuts both
> ways.
>> Believe me, I'm not dismissing his talent. I do think he has a chance
> to
>> be good. But I'm not ready to say he's our starting point guard or
> ever
>> will be. He was a second-year guy, just like Delonte last year, and
>> couldn't hold Delonte's sneakers.
>> 
>> Mark
>> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: celtics-bounces at igtc.com [mailto:celtics-bounces at igtc.com] On
>> Behalf Of jozersky at optonline.net
>> Sent: Thursday, July 13, 2006 11:45 AM
>> To: The Boston Celtics Mailing List
>> Subject: Re: celtics roundup
>> 
>> Flashy sideshow?  Are you kidding?  Telfair is one of the top five
>> natural point guards in the league right now.  I don't think you
>> appreciate what he is.  Check this out:
>> 
>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rI9GATF5yLg
>> 
>> I'm against the Iverson trade just because it would take the ball
>> out of his hands.
>> 
>> Josh
>> 
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Berry, Mark  S" <berrym at BATTELLE.ORG>
>> Date: Thursday, July 13, 2006 10:49 am
>> Subject: celtics roundup
>> 
>>> A few things today:
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> --- Pierce has agreed to his extension. That locks him up for the
> next
>>> five seasons. That's a perfect deal for the Celts. His deal will be
> up
>>> just as he starts to decline. At no point in that contract should 
>>> he be
>>> untradeable. Good deal.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> --- Big Al quietly got better every game in Vegas. He was buried 
>>> prettyquickly out there, but I think it's reasonable to expect some 
>>> rust from
>>> him after being off for so long. I'm still not willing to hinge
>>> everything on him, but he deserves some credit for improving 
>>> throughoutthe week. He has taken some unfair shots this week.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> --- Rondo has been the most pleasant surprise of Vegas for me. I 
>>> wasn'ta fan of picking him up, but it sounds like he's playing 
>>> well. I still
>>> question just how good he can be without even a Kidd-level outside 
>>> shot,but it sounds like he has been impressive.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> --- I hope Philly trades Iverson to someone else soon. I hate this.
>>> Simmons in his chat yesterday said he'd trade Ratliff, Green, 
>>> Jeffersonand a No. 1 for Iverson. That deal would make me sick.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> --- I said it before ... Ainge better be right about Telfair. If not,
>>> that trade could go down as a really, really bad one. Brandon Roy has
>>> been impressive by all accounts. If Telfair is just a flashy
> sideshow,
>>> Ainge will regret that move. I'm not saying that's the case, but 
>>> I'm not
>>> convinced Telfair only needed a change of scenery.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Mark
>>> 
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>> 
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