cleveland

[Eric Albert]

Excellent post.  Between your comments and Kim's, I'm
(sadly) lowering my expectations of this group as a
*team*.  Which is, of course, what it's all about.

-- Eric

>Egg wrote:
>
>Eric, that's a very, very good question.   
>
>The Pierce/Walker/Battie/Williams teams were not nearly as
>athletic or deep as our current team.   But the players understood 
>and bought into the Obie/Harter system (even if many fans 
>didn't); they understood basics such as the pick and roll; 
>they understood the importance of decent defense.   Most of
>all, they understood and accepted their ROLES from the
>numero uno guy right down to the 3 MPG bench warmers. 
>
>What folks overlook is that had Ainge or any other GM
>kept that basic team, he would have also had four years
>of drafts, free agent signings, and trades in which to build
>upon that team.
>
>As for our current team, is it possible it could be any more 
>UNBALANCED?   
>
>TOO FEW BIGS, TOO MANY SMALLS
>When Olo, out of default, becomes one of our essential bigs, 
>it's easy to understand why we are 1-5.   
>
>Doc's rotations sure are maddening, but ask any listee who he or 
>she envisions as starters and second unit players, and no two will 
>come up with the same names.   I believe this is due to most of 
>our players being one-way guys (offense or defense) and/or 
>tweeners.   I'm not protecting Rivers here, as I think he's dismal 
>as an X and O type and an in-game tactician. Yet any coach
>would find it daunting to sift through this mess of a roster
>and decide who should start, come off the bench, or collect a DNP.   
>For instance, move Wally to sixth man as many have suggested, 
>and Pierce might very well be triple-teamed rather than 
>double-teamed. Plus if the second unit is designed for fast-break, 
>up-tempo stuff, how does Wally fit into that?    The truth is that 
>neither Pierce nor Wally fit into Danny's vision.   And our third 
>highly-paid veteran, the medically-challenged Theo, is unlikely 
>to even be a factor this season.
>
>TOO FEW CONTRIBUTING VETERANS 
>This is due to a series of inadequate FREE AGENT SIGNINGS
>such as Googs, Scalabrine, Dickau (technically a trade), and 
>THREE MAJOR TRADES for players with huge contracts 
>(Raef, Wally, and Theo) who all mysteriously arrived 
>with major medical issues.   Theo, he of the herniated disc, 
>was off fishing in the Bahamas while the Celts were waiving 
>his mandatory physical in order to save the last year of 
>Raef's contract. 
>
>TOO MANY YOUNG PLAYERS COMPETING FOR TOO FEW MINUTES
>The competition has not been healthy; just ask Delonte and
>Sebastian why they hardly speak to each other.   Our young 
>competitors have had little security,   no clue as to what their 
>particular role is, or even what position they will be asked to 
>play from game to game.   In drafting three first-round high 
>schoolers in three consecutive drafts, and then trading for 
>another (Telfair) in his fourth draft, Danny has done his coach,
>fans, and maybe even the team's owners a disservice.
>Why did anyone think we could come out of it much better 
>than Portland has?
>
>< The plan of the president of basketball operations remains to 
>develop young players, keep the ones he wants and trade others 
>for a piece that can bring the puzzle into focus. > 
>     - Bulpett 11/13
>
>So when does the first piece arrive?