From: "Berry, Mark S" <berrym@xxxxxxxxxxxx> To: celtics@xxxxxxxx Subject: Re: As Good As A Win Date: Thu, 29 Jan 2004 09:10:05 -0500
Here are my thoughts on last night:
1. Tough game to judge, because the officials took it over. Way too many whistles. That was one of the most poorly officiated games I've watched this season - both ways.
2. McCarty... Less, but still too much. He was awful. The team blitzed and fronted a little less last night, meaning Walter was more responsible for his own man defensively, and the Pistons went right at him every time. Walter was terrible defensively, offensively and every other ively. If Carroll is objective at all, he'll see that. If Walter continues to get big minutes, we'll know Carroll is just playing guys out of habit.
3. Chris Mihm... Not much made of this yet, but it looks like Mihm may be the biggest immediate beneficiary of the coaching change. Carroll seems to place more of an emphasis on rebounding (imagine that!) and he stuck with Mihm for long stretches. Chris responded with 16 points and 9 rebounds. He was extremely active. He hangs around the basket, moves his feet and keeps his hands up to catch the ball. They may have thrown it to him on post-ups twice, but he did his damage without any plays being run for him. He still has to avoid bad fouls. He had two last night that were boneheaded.
4. Mark Blount... He salvaged his game in the second half, but in the first half it looked like he was lodging a one-man protest of Obie's departure. He was terrible in the first half, and one of the reasons the Pistons got back in the game. Played better in the second half.
5. Brandon Hunter... Got six first-half minutes, played OK, and never reappeared. I watched him on the defensive end, and he was moving, helping and doing a fine job. This kid simply has to get McCarty's minutes. The sooner the better.
6. Mike James... He hit the two late threes, but other than that was terrible. What is he bringing to the table right now? Jiri Welsch is the best point guard on the team. He's the best penetrator, best passer, best shooter, headiest player... I strongly believe a Banks/Welsch point guard rotation would help a lot. You'd have your two best penetrators getting all the PG minutes, and it would free up more time for Ricky Davis. I'd be starting Banks-Davis-Pierce-Blount-Mihm, with Jiri being the backup PG/SG and Hunter being the backup big man.
7. Jiri Welsch... Doesn't anyone else think this kid is a point guard? He penetrates with his head up, under control, always ready to pass. He sees the floor, moves well without the ball, hits the open shot and defends. And if you play him at PG, you get him on the floor with Pierce and Davis. As it is, we rarely see the team's three best players on the floor at the same time. That's a problem.
8. Paul Pierce... Not bad, by his recent standards, but not good either. He seems to have lost all instinct for good shot vs. bad shot, when to pass, when to drive. Teams have figured out how to play him - pressure him on the perimeter to take away the jump shot, and when he drives to the basket, step in to take a charge or force him to turn the ball over. Pierce absolutely refuses to pull up for a short jumper. When he gets past his man, he puts his head down and heads for the hoop at full speed. If he'd just stay under control, he could make a living off of 15-foot jumpers. But he's always out of control. Sadly, he's part of the problem.
9. John Carroll... I like that he seems more committed to rebounding and willing to play Mihm big minutes. That's good. But he also seems obliged to play Walter more than he should, and he's locked into Mike James at point guard. That's bad. At one point in the first half last night, we saw a lineup of James, Banks, Pierce, Walter and Blount. That's very bad. And don't talk to me about foul trouble. Two fouls in the first half is not foul trouble in the NBA. Carroll, like Obie, seems to forget they get six fouls (that always drove me crazy about Obie). More good things... Less fronting, less blitzing. Very, very good. Fewer three-pointers. Very good. We'll see how his rotations shake out.
10. The media... I can't believe there isn't anyone out there with an ounce of vision. I'm especially disappointed in Bob Ryan and Jackie Mac. Everyone talks about the disparity between the West and the East. Do you think that's because the West has more players like Eric Williams? Please. Look at the top teams in the league - Sacramento, San Antonio, Minnesota, L.A., Dallas - they're full of talented, versatile offensive players. They're big up front. No one believes they're among the league's best because of their outstanding role players. You can find role players. Ainge is trying to find PLAYERS. And he's doing a good job. If Obie was that great a coach, he'd have coached these good offensive players into being good defensive players. Instead, he quit. That says a lot more about Obie than it does about Ainge.
11. Finally... Enough about the Eastern Conference Finals. That season was an aberration. The conference had never seen such upheaval in the standings. The traditional powers all collapsed at the same time. Teams like the Celtics, Nets and Pistons - who had been non-factors just a year earlier - filled the void. Someone had to. But never has there been a greater disparity between the two conferences than there was that season. Never. That was fool's gold, and I can't believe that in hindsight, people like Ryan can't see that. Last season they were a mediocre, borderline unwatchable team that lucked into the perfect first-round matchup. And then they get swept by the Nets. Ainge wasn't pulling a Jerry Krause and breaking up the six-time champion Bulls. Why can't people see this???
Mark