Anti-Depressants! Get yer anti-depressants!

[ryanmnelson at verizon.net]

I have had the same hypothesis all year, which is pretty simple: Our players aren't very good.

Unfortunately, I think it is the correct hypothesis.

We lost to Utah who was playing without 2 of their starters (Okur and Kirilenko) and was starting CJ Miles, who was a high school second round draftee from last year who is younger than Gerald Green, Derek Fisher who is so old i believe Magic Johnson replaced him on the Lakers in 1980 (ok, maybe not that old), and jason or jaron Collins (like it matters which one, they both suck).

So we got beat by Derron Williams and Carlos Boozer.

If our guys are so talented, we clearly would have been withn 18 points of a team with two legitimate starters.

We need to clean house before the draft.  That means Doc and Danny.  Though I am not sure who would replace them, I am pretty sure anyone could do just as poorly.

rmn


>From: "Ryan, Patrick S Maj RES USAFR 439 MSG" <Patrick.Ryan at westover.af.mil>
>Date: 2007/02/26 Mon AM 06:52:14 CST
>To: celtics at igtc.com
>Subject: Anti-Depressants! Get yer anti-depressants!

>So what's different?
>
> 
>
>That's the question I posed myself after watching two absolute destructions
>by LA and Utah on our home town team (the games were never close I don't
>care what the scores were when). 
>
> 
>
>While we were still four games under .500 and we were moderately (I almost
>said "fully" - we haven't been fully healthy all year) healthy early this
>season; the games were almost exclusively tight affairs of the "heatbreak"
>variety - losing late after keeping within 4-8 points the entire game (even
>leading). Now the games are lost before they even begin. Double digit first
>quarter leads are not just unsafe, but a veritable invitation for teams to
>calmly put on 10 even 20 point runs to take leads they (now) never
>relinquish.
>
> 
>
>The "Doc is the Devil" camp is, and has been since day one, fully engaged as
>exhibited A, but that is something that hasn't changed. His ability (read:
>lack thereof) has been constant throughout - so if something is rotten on
>day one, it's not going to suddenly rebloom into beauty on day eighty-seven.
>
>
> 
>
>The "what about Wally" or "if we only had Theo (or whoever else) healthy"
>are also hollow arguments. Wally was the second (after Ratliff) one to go
>down - well before Pierce was injured and even when he was healthy, he
>wasn't lighting up either the scoreboard or the defensive stat sheet so
>neither was he the missing ingredient that rendered us (while still a bad
>team) at least respectable enough to not get blown out by 30 every night.
>
> 
>
>The NBA doesn't allow for much mid-season course correction, so while I
>suppose we could have pinned this all on Ainge in either way (his actions
>prior to the streak in assembling this team or his inactions during the
>streak to not make trades), the GM is probably the least likely IN SEASON
>(the GM is most influential pre-and post season to team direction so yes,
>I'll grant he assembled the team that now sucks, but I'm looking at during
>season change here) to effect the course of the way a team plays so that
>doesn't explain the total meltdown.
>
> 
>
>So, it seems that I'm left with two withering conclusions.  One, they are
>tanking on purpose.  ML Carr Redux. Active decision making in the negative
>vein.  Or two, they have lost so much momentum (and in team sports momentum
>is a critical piece of the puzzle as it strengthens and reinforces
>confidence) that no matter what they do they will never regain it through
>this season.
>
> 
>
>Not exactly pure scientific method, but it's the best I can do on short rest
>and with a bad day looming. I know I have no confidence in this team now,
>not one shred. Pierce or no Pierce. Any other hypotheses out there that
>might explain?
>
> 
>
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