Pitino Ball article

["Nathan A." <nj13@navix.net>]

Here's an interesting artlice I found on ESPN's fantasy basketball page. I'm
sorry if it has already been posted, I won't be getting my digest version of
the list until later.
One more thing, add Tyronn Lue of Nebraska to your list of top ten college
prospects for next year. He will be one of the top two PG's in the nation.
Just you wait and see.

Nathan A.

Moonlight Musings: Boston, the 3 point arc, and more...
      By Graham Hays
      Fantasy Basketball '98

      Pitino Ball

      Well, for those of you who have always wondered what a top college
team would
      do against an NBA club, you now have an answer. Apparently they'd beat
the Bulls
      and then get blown out by Orlando, Miami, and New York. Maybe Rick Pitino
      needs to bring in Travis Ford and Jamal Mashburn to get this team back on
      track for the Final Four, er, make that the NBA Finals. 

      All kidding aside, I'm overjoyed that Rick Pitino is back in the NBA
      and has brought some real basketball with him. Anyone who watched
      the game with the Bulls had to enjoy the constant traps and presses
      that Boston threw at Michael Jordan and company. It was refreshing
      to see a team try and do something creative with its defense. Now if
      Pitino could field a team that applied pressure without playing out of
      control themselves, he might have another championship caliber team. 

      In the end that's his plan, to build his system with his players and
go about rebuilding
 in the right way. The problem may come when the average age of his team reaches
the cutoff for renting a car, and his players have enough NBA experience to
realize
      that they don't need to respect their coach. Take veteran forward Tony
      Massenburg, for example, who, upon learning he had been traded, jogged
of the
      practice court clapping his hands in delight. Do you think it was the
clam chowder,
      or the emphasis on running and fundamentals that got to him?

      For now the Celtics are shockingly young, placing the
not-exactly-ancient Pervis
      Ellison, Dana Barros, and Dee Brown into the role of cagey veterans
(at least
      until their salaries can be moved). Antoine Walker is a star in the
making. The
      league may be looking to Grant Hill as it's next showpiece, and
Madison Avenue
      may be looking at Shaquile O'Neal or even Allen Iverson, but Antoine
Walker
      may end up as the NBA's big fish. He brings everything you could want
in a player,
      he can post up and score inside, he can step out and bury the jumper,
he can lead
      or finish the fast break with aplomb, he can crash the boards, and he
can run a
      team's offense from anywhere on the court. The only thing Walker lacks
is the same
      intense fire that drives Michael Jordan or that drove Hakeem Olajuwon
during
      the Rockets title runs. So, while Walker and Pitino might not be best
buddies,
      Antoine is and will continue to be a better player with Pitino urging
him on.
      Remember, before reaching nirvana with Phil Jackson, Jordan matured
under a
      hard-driving Doug Collins. 

      Aside from their Walker centerpiece, the Celtics have the makings of
something
      special. Ron Mercer looks like he'll be a perfect second or third
option for a top
      team. Together with Antoine Walker, Mercer gives you a second scoring
option
      who must be respected anywhere inside the arc. Having your top two scoring
      options capable of hitting the mid-range jumper is increasingly rare
in the 3point or
      dunk world of the NBA. Although Mercer may not be the dominating force you
      might expect from a top five pick, he could be a very good player for
a very long
      time. 

      Walter McCarty, Dontae Jones, and John Thomas, all of whom were acquired
      in the Chris Mills deal, are capable of making a solid run under
Pitino, provided
      they can accept being role players. Thomas is probably the best suited
for this,
      though unfortunately he may be the least utilized. McCarty needs to
play with a little
      more control although I love his passion, and Jones is an intriguing
talent who still
      needs time to get adjusted to NBA play.

      In the middle, however, the Celtics paid too much for Travis Knight.
You just
      can't justify that kind of money for a Travis Knight-type of talent.
Still, they needed
      a mobile center who would not require the ball in his hands, and went
out and got
      one. Did they spend too much on him? Yes. Was it a stupid move? No,
not at all. 

      Considering the success enjoyed by Pitino at almost every stop, I'm
not going to
      question his basketball judgement. Having stated that, I am puzzled at
his handling
      of Chauncey Billups. True, Billups is not a natural point guard and
probably
      shouldn't have been portrayed as one, and true, he did look out of
place during
      much of the preseason and training camp. But Billips is obviously
talented and he
      seems like a good fit for Boston, if they can unload Brown or Barros.
One can only
      wonder why he's being so actively shopped, and make no mistake, when
rumors
      start flying this soon and this heavy about a rookie lottery pick, he
is on the block.
      Perhaps there was a clash of egos with the coach or other players, but
that seems
      unlikely given Billups' nature. Perhaps Pitino just feels that as a
hybrid PG/SG he
      just doesn't have the range for the new 3 point line, though that
seems questionable
      as well. I'll wager that Billups remains in Boston and develops into a
fine player, you
      just have to hope damage hasn't already been done to his pysche. 

      A start has been made, and while the upset of the Bulls was a
wonderful way to
      begin the new era, it's going to take time for the Celtics to make it
all the way back.
      It's also going to take salary cap room, something Pitino is
desperately trying to
      acquire before next summer's free agent blitz kicks off. (Hmm, if
Billups goes,
      wouldn't Damon Stoudamire look good in Celtic green?) Regardless of
contracts
      though, don't write off the Celtics if they only win 30 games this
year. Rick Pitino
      and his trapping, pressing defense are back, and I, for one, think
that makes the
      NBA a much better place.