RE: Fan disappointment, "patience with youth", and crunch-time

["Sampath, Venkatesh" <Venkatesh.Sampath@microcell.ca>]

Nice post, Thomas. However, are we talking about the same Billups? The
person I saw was very good at defence and causing turnovers, but having
done that, he would dribble the ball up very quickly to the other side
and just stand there, dribbling. The number of times he drove to the net
were few and far between, at least in the games I saw him play. 
I still consider the deals we got - Billups and Brown for Anderson and
Jones perhaps the best that Pitino has made (and that's not saying much
when you consider that he practically threw Eric Williams away). It is
unfortunate that Popeye's knee is gone for this season, but hopefully
he'll be able to contribute starting this November, giving us that
much-needed inside presence. Even with the way Billups has performed in
April, I would like to remain with Anderson.
 
There are three things that are causing this season to go haywire for
Boston:
1) The crazy schedule - how many times in the past have you seen teams
regularly scoring in the 70s? 
2) Lack of team chemistry. 
3) Ignorance about one's role. 
Perhaps 2 and 3 can be combined together, but it is going to take time
(and practice). 
Take tennis, for instance. Just because you excel at playing singles and
are in fact a singles champion, does not mean you'll excel at doubles.
Doubles play is a team effort and the partners need to know how to mesh
together. Add three more players into the mix and how complicated can it
get? Look at the Boston Celtics .....!!

venkat (yeesh, how much more patience do I need)
>----------
>From: 	Thomas Murphy[SMTP:tfmiii@worldnet.att.net]
>Sent: 	Thursday, April 15, 1999 4:05 PM
>To: 	Celtic list
>Subject: 	Fan disappointment, "patience with youth", and crunch-time
>
>It is truly a shame to hear that the fans have decided take out their
>disappointment in the team on Antoine Walker as unfairly as they did last
>night. Walker deserves credit for handling it as well - and as maturely -
>as he has. I don't care how much money he makes, no individual who hustles
>and scraps like he does should be subjected to such treatment.
>
>But the Coach should recognize that he (Pitino, that is) shares at least
>some of the blame for this turn of events. Pitino has allowed the
>perception to persist that he plays favorites and that Walker is the
>"teacher's pet" and allowed liberties (on the court and off) that, if
>exercised by another player, would get that player slapped down hard by
>Pitino. The latest dust-up with Anderson only serves to reinforce this
>perception. Now, whether this perception is correct or not is another
>question, but it seems clear that the perception is out there and only adds
>to the considerable burden that has already been placed on the young Walker
>by his captaincy, his large contract, last year's all-star appearance, and
>Pitino's weeding out of veterans. It seems to me that a good part of the
>negativity coming from the fans is in reaction to this perception of Walker
>as Pitino's favorite, leading the fans to (unfairly) come down extra hard
>on Antoine.
>
>Also, Pitino has a conveniently cloudy memory when it comes to the question
>of fan impatience. Now he's preaching patience with youth, but this is the
>same man who pulled the trigger on the Billups deal in order to get older
>quicker. Ellie Cutler made a series of nice observations a little while
>ago, one of them concerning the value of "patience with youth" with regard
>to Chauncey Billups, who is so far having a spectacular April. In case you
>missed it, here's some of what he's done:
>
>* Recorded 22 points (11-11 FT), a game-high 9 assists and 5 rebounds
>against the Golden State Warriors on 4/12
>* Hit the game-winning running bank-shot with 3.9 seconds left, totaling 16
>points, 6 assists and 4 rebounds, in an 82-80 win over the L.A. Clippers on
>4/4
>* Posted a game-high 30 points, hitting 7-of-10 three-pointers, and 3
>assists against the Minnesota Timberwolves on 4/2
>* Registered a career-high 32 points (10-18 FG, 4-9 3FG, 8-8 FT), 5 assists
>and 3 rebounds in a 113-110 win over the Seattle SuperSonics on 4/1
>
>Now I can't pretend that I had any special foresight on this matter. In
>fact, I was just as excited about the Kenny-Chauncey deal as anyone else,
>and I think for basically the same reason: it was a deal that was intended
>to help leap-frog the Cs past the growing pains of youth. Pitino was
>impatient to win - NOW - and this was a deal that was presented to us as
>making it possible. If anyone is guilty of creating ridiculously high
>expectations it is Pitino himself. Unfortunately, it seems that Walker is
>going to bear most of the brunt of fan disappointment because Pitino has
>for the most part been unwilling to accept responsibility for his role in
>creating heightened expectations.
>
>On the subject of Chauncey, does it seem to anyone else that apart from his
>obvious deficiencies (vision, tempo, distribution) and strengths (defense,
>energy, quickness, size, range on his shot and ability to get to the rim)
>as a point guard, that perhaps what the Celts miss most in Billups' absence
>- apart from his defense - are his abilities as a go-to guy: someone who,
>when the game is close and the clock winding down, had the strength,
>quickness and skill to get to the hoop and more times than not come away
>with - at minimum - a trip to the line. I just quickly scanned the Celts'
>record in games this abbreviated season and here is what it says regarding
>wins and margins of victory:
>
>February
>games decided by less than 10 points: 4-1
>games decided by 10 points or more: 2-4
>
>March 
>games decided by less than 10 points: 2-4
>games decided by 10 points or more: 2-10
>
>April
>games decided by less than 10 points: 1-3
>games decided by 10 points or more: 3-2
>
>Obviously, The Cs did well in close games back in February, when Pierce's
>play was impressing the league, not only due to his numbers but also
>because of his instrumental role in pulling out some close ones.
>Unfortunately, since then (for whatever reasons) Pierce no longer appears
>to be the same "go-to guy" he teased us with in February.
>
>In March the team was getting pasted on a regular basis but did let some
>close ones slip by, losing at home to NJ by 2, in Indiana by 3 and at home
>to Chicago by 3. Another loss to Indiana by 8 was never that close, as was
>also the case in the win over Denver (by 8). The lone "clutch" win was in
>Philly (by 6) when the press helped us to some easy hoops in the closing
>minutes against a team playing without its starting backcourt (Iverson,
>Snow). 
>
>So far in April the Cs pulled out a closer-than-it-should-have-been game at
>home against the Bulls (by 6), largely on the strength of a shot-clock
>beating 21-footer by Potapenko - hardly the shot to depend on down the
>wire. Two losses, one to Milwaukee (by 1, the "no luv" game) and last night
>to Atlanta (by 7) could and arguably should have been pulled out by the
>Celts at home. The result in the loss in Orlando (by 7), despite occasional
>spurts, never truly seemed to be in doubt. 
>
>The Cs' difficulties in close games is all too understandable. Walker's
>shot is too erratic (as are his free-throws despite recent improvement),
>Kenny is too physically slight to get the calls, Ron's game is still
>(despite progress) too one-dimensional, Vitaly has trouble getting the ball
>or holding on to it once he gets it, and it seems that Pierce (for whatever
>reason) no longer seeks to assert himself. Billups - despite his youth  -
>understood that when the game was on the line the best place to take the
>ball is to the hole. For all his other faults, he also had the skills and
>ruggedness to force the refs to make the calls and the ability to knock
>down the freebies. Although I'm not pleased by it, I can appreciate the
>irony of the fact that Rick's itchy trigger-finger may have not only cost
>us the "defense-first" point guard that he seems to hunger for today, but
>perhaps also the one dependable crunch-time player from last year's team.
>
>Best wishes
>-Tom Murphy
>
>PS: Belated congratulations to the folks in Portland! It was good to see a
>squad that actually plays like a team dismantle NBC's anointed ones. I'm
>rooting for a Blazer-Pacer Finals!
>
>