10 reasons why Celts will still lose

[Eggcentric at aol.com]

> Right now I'm pretty down about it because of the pitiful defense I see.  
> Yet I think that's coaching
>      - Gene

Interesting posts, Gene.   Is it poor coaching as many feel,   or as I have 
been raving on about ad nauseum, do our young guys just not get it 
no matter how much coaching they receive?   It's the stuff of a
great debate.

Following is a timely column from today's Patriot Ledger.   Note
Mike Fine's comments on Rivers. 
------------------------------
CELTICS’ REPORT CARD: Effort is there, but results are not

By MIKE FINE
The Patriot Ledger

Hopefully for the Boston Celtics, they’ll sit back this weekend, take a deep 
breath and understand that the worst moments of their professional careers 
have come and gone. Hopefully for the fans, the Celtics have regained their 
health, their sanity and a sense of how to play the game of basketball as they 
relax during the All-Star break, about to begin the unofficial kickoff to the 
second half of the season with an upcoming five-game road trip.

This much is true: the franchise-record 18-game losing streak that the 
Celtics snapped on Wednesday was a low point in the history of this team, up there 
with the 1977-78 and ’78-79 clubs that won 32 and 29 games, respectively, and 
were dealing more with fading veterans and short-term patches rather than the 
youth, inexperience and non-stop learning process that marks this team.

It’s tough to grade these guys, for several reasons. Clichéd as it sounds, 
they’ve been working hard, they listen to their coaches and they haven’t 
fractured. They’ve also been seriously shorthanded, having lost Tony Allen for the 
season, as well as Theo Ratliff, whose defense would have been invaluable. Paul 
Pierce and Wally Szczerbiak, the top two scorers, missed extended periods, 
along with Kendrick Perkins and Al Jefferson.

They’re also very young, but the fact is, they haven’t done the job. You’d 
think at some point they could have lucked into a victory or two. This is the 
type of report card a youngster would conveniently leave in his backpack rather 
than show to his parents.

PAUL PIERCE...A

Although he missed nearly half of the season’s first half (24 games), Pierce 
showed his value in his second game back when he scored 29 points in 32 
minutes at Minnesota and nearly led his team to a streak-breaking victory. This is a 
blue-chip player with the heart of a lion, who averaged 33.3 points, 9.0 
rebounds and 6.0 assists in the three games, when he was hurting, leading up to 
his deactivation with a stress reaction in his left foot. He’s so good that the 
team went 2-22 without him.

WALLY SZCZERBIAK...C-

What has Szczerbiak done in the year that he’s been with the Celtics? He wasn’
t healthy from the time he joined them on Jan. 27, 2006, having cut his 
season short for left knee surgery. He hasn’t been healthy this season, with 
numerous knee and ankle injuries. Szczerbiak might be able to play, but who knows? He
’s given them little. When he is on the court, he’s far from the pure 
shooter billing he’s received (he’s at 42 percent), -and he’s not exactly a 
defensive standout.

KENDRICK PERKINS...D+

Before he went down for 10 games with plantar fasciitis, Perkins had one 
11-rebound game and seven eight-rebound games. In 23 games since returning, he’s 
bettered that only once (12 vs. Atlanta on Jan. 24). Now, it’s understood that 
he’s hurt, but that short-arm, low-trajectory hook shot never gets adjusted 
and he seems incapable of consistently contributing offensively while his 
defense is sub-par. Injured, yes. Reliable, no.

SEBASTIAN TELFAIR...D

Telfair came here billed as a youngster with experience, but he’s done little 
to lead this team from the point guard position, averaging fewer than eight 
points per game but, more importantly, only 3.3 assists. That’s 54th in the 
league among guards. Until he begins to play some decent defense, he will 
continue coming off the bench, as he’s done in 20 of the last 25 games.

RYAN GOMES...C+

Perhaps expectations are too high for a second-year player, but Gomes’ 
scoring and rebounding are both up over last season, when he started out as a 
part-time player. It just doesn’t seem like it, and recent rebounding efforts appear 
to have dropped off. Again, an explanation: he’s playing more small forward 
and isn’t as close to the basket. He’s become an effective outside scorer, 
with the best percentage on the team, about 49 percent. But something just doesn’
t seem right with his game.

AL JEFFERSON...A-

Now that he’s healthy, Big Al has arrived. He’s ranked 19th in the NBA in 
rebounding (10.7), 16th in blocks. If rated among centers (he’s actually listed 
as a forward but plays a lot of 5), he’d been fifth in the league in scoring, 
too. He is now officially a rebounding, scoring, defensive force, so chalk one 
up for Danny Ainge.

RAJON RONDO...C

It’s not that Rondo has been dishing out a ton of assists, it’s not that he’
s a great penetrating finisher or an accomplished jump shooter, but his 
quickness is exciting. His ability to disrupt opponents’ offense has benefited his 
team, and his willingness to advance the ball down court has been a welcome 
change from Telfair.

TONY ALLEN...A-

Allen was playing great basketball when he went down with a torn ACL. As much 
as the team’s fortunes have been pinned on the loss of Pierce, the team had 
lost 16 straight without Allen before Wednesday’s win over Milwaukee.

DELONTE WEST...C

Gotta love his hustle and desire and his willingness to play hurt, but West’s 
inconsistency is exasperating. Eleven assists against Washington was followed 
by two against Indiana. Eleven rebounds vs. the Clips, one vs. Detroit. 
Twenty-two points vs. Washington, four vs. Indiana. Defense is adequate, but when 
Ricky Davis hit the game-winning shot against the C’s Sunday, it was because 
Randy Foye beat West on a drive to the basket, forcing a response by Pierce, who 
was forced to abandon Davis.

MICHAEL OLOWOKANDI...C

He is what he is - a big, slow, underachieving center who has had a few 
strong moments in a season of bench-warming.

ALLAN RAY...C-

Probably doesn’t even deserve a grade with his 10.3-minute average, but his 
presence has been valuable in the absence of others.

GERALD GREEN...C-

Can be exasperating. Then again, high school players rarely make a splash in 
the NBA, and Green has improved by leaps and bounds since his rookie season. 
He still doesn’t quite understand the game, but his offensive potential and 
enthusiasm are awesome.

LEON POWE...C

In limited duty, Powe has impressed, but so did Brandon Hunter, John Thomas 
and Justin Reed.

BRIAN SCALABRINE...C+

Yeah, we’ve heard the boos and sometimes we scratch our heads: just what is 
he doing out there? Scalabrine is, however, an accomplished, if not 
exceptionally talented forward who knows the game and can execute. He’s a utility player 
who can do critical guard duty in a pinch (perhaps Kevin Garnett is a bit of a 
load, though) and can knock down a 3-pointer when you least expect it.

THEO RATLIFF...Incomplete

Ratliff was expected to at least provide some critical defense at key times. 
Instead, he earned $265,151.50 for every minute he played before going down 
with his bad back.

DOC RIVERS...B

Rivers works harder than any of his players trying to figure out their 
inconsistencies. He’s been saddled with youngsters who often don’t have a clue, 
older players who have been injured, the disruptions caused by extended absences 
and the inability to create a solid rotation. Now, when a player fails to 
rotate to cover Minnesota’s Davis, consider that Rivers went over that scenario in 
a huddle moments earlier. He has his players prepared. That they don’t 
execute says more about them than him. The fact that he occasionally makes a 
coaching miscalculation is a function of his team’s mediocrity, not his.

Mike Fine may be reached at mikefine at ... .

Copyright 2007 The Patriot Ledger
Transmitted Saturday, February 17, 2007