My goodness!

[Chris Littlefield <chris@mjr.com>]

	Well,  what a damn good weekend!  When was the last time any of you
remember hearing the Celtics name mentioned positively in reference to the
following terms?


Halfcourt defense
Winning games down the stretch
Unselfish play
Discipline

	Hey, so they beat Denver, Toronto and Philly.  So what? They still
won three games in a row, Denver has been playing everyone tough, Toronto's
arguably a much better team than their record, and Philly whacked Houston
very recently.

	Antoine Walker is playing at an absolutely frightening level.
Franchise players do what it takes for the team to win.  Not shooting well?
Rebound.  Pass.  Get the open man the ball.  Teammate down, bummed out?
Get him the ball, slap him on the butt, psyche him up.  Whole team down?
Become a one-man team.  Be everywhere.  Refuse to let the ball get away
from you.  This is what Antoine Walker has been doing.  And he's been
spectacular!  Walker's really taken on the mantle of leadership.

	This man is the whole package, yet he's still very raw.  He's a
legitimate 4 with, at worst, 2-guard ball-handling skills.  He can score
essentially however he chooses, from wherever he chooses, against whomever
so deigns to get in his way.  He _mauled_ Namby-Camby.  His passing is
wonderful.  His rebounding huge.  He is willing them to victory, and the
other players are swept up in it.  It's great to see.  It's what a
franchise player does.  He will no doubt regress at times (Weatherspoon's
back-back "No Soup"'s last night, for example) but my goodness!  Imagine if
he'd had Tim Duncan to help him out instead of Travis Knight?   Easy.  Stop
that.  Sorry...

	Billups has turned clutch, and not just on offense.  I can't
remember the last time the Celts did _not_ get absolutely mauled by the
opposing teams' star point guards.  He had much help, but Billups did an
excellent job containing both Stoudamire and Iverson, arguably two of the
best scorers at that position.  Team defense helped, but Billups played a
major role.

	McCarty had a great game.  He still scares me, but hopefully last
night was a start, not an aberration.  It is my hope that Mercer and
Bowen's injuries prove to be blessings in disguise.  Greg Minor played very
well last night.  Hopefully someone will see that and take him off our
hands.  Same goes for Dee Brown.  Problem is, who do we package with them
on a 2 for 1 trade, and to who, for what?

	This team is playing real defense with a purpose.

	I'm happy right now.  They need to win 2 of 3 next week (Toronto,
Jersey, Jersey) and get to .500 to be ready for the maulings to come once
LA, Phoenix, Detroit, etc., roll into town.

	I'm not saying the C's are playoff bound, but with every win, they
will be more and more willing to accept the sacrifices the system and the
coach demand.  Because winning is worth it.  It will feed on itself.

	Thanks Bill, for the recaps.  Keep'em comin'!


Chris