Jones Contract

["Todd W. Crane" <tcrane@isis.unc.edu>]

Daniel Forant Sr wrote:

Will Jones get a contract? Celts continue to play well without Walker
and
leave Wizards in the dust. McCarty showed what he's capable of with his
endless energy. To bad the season isn't just beginning.

Reply:

Yes, the C's are playing well, but it has little to do with Walker's
absence.  The real reason the C's are player better is becasue they are
doing a MUCH better job pushing the ball up the court on offense.  For
that, we must give credit to Dana and Damon.  They are simply doing what
RP wants his point guard to do:  Get the ball and push the damn thing up
the court quickly.  That could be taken as a criticism of Kenny
Anderson, but I think this guy will appreciate what the up tempo game is
doing for this team and come back next season conviced that he needs to
do a better job of pushing the ball up court.  If he doesn't, I'm hoping
RP waste little time in giving Jones the starting PG spot.  Unlike most
teams in the league, the C's offense triggers their defense.  A few easy
buckets lead to effective trapping which leads to more points.  He
hasn't done it yet, but RP just might bring back the fast break offense
single handedly to the NBA.

 I would argue that Walker's absence cost the C's the Philly game.  The
76er's killed the C's on the glass down the stretch to pull out the
win.  With AW in the game, the C's likely come down with a couple of key
rebounds and win that game.  Don't get too excited.  Wins over
Washington and Chicago are great, but they merely show that the C's are
better than the scum teams of the league.  Let's see how they perform
over the final games, all against playoff or near playoff caliber
teams.  I have a feeling the C's will miss Walker's hustle on the boards
a couple of more times before the season is over.

In addition to the improved point guard play, the emergence of Battie as
serious defensive force has also keyed the recent quality play from our
boys.

Todd