Game 5 (long)

["Berry, Mark S" <berrym@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I'll get right to it...

1.	I'm going to talk about personnel and strategy issues later, but I
want to say first and foremost that a stunning lack of urgency is what's
killing the Celtics. They come out playing half-hearted defense and
haphazard offense. The difference is night an day. Look at the first and
third quarters last night. The third quarter was typical of the Celtics
throughout the season-intense, disruptive defense. The first quarter was
typical of the Celtics in this series-passive, reactive defense. For the
life of me, I can't understand why this is happening now.

2.	I didn't post it yesterday, but I basically expected what happened
last night. The quotes from the players and coaches after Game 4 were not
encouraging at all. They talked about everything except the central
problem-not playing defense the way they're capable. Typically, when we read
quotes from them saying they "couldn't believe the mistakes they made on
defense" and that sort of thing, I know they'll come out refocused in the
next game. They didn't say those things after Game 4. They seemed to be
distracted by the fact that they came back and made a game of it. Then
O'Brien gave them the day off Tuesday, even though this team is notorious
for regressing when they don't have regular practice time. But when they
have time to prepare, they play extremely well. I know they need fresh legs,
but a film session and walk-through seemed in order. Anyway, I thought there
were bad signs all around.

3.	The half-hearted approach at the start causes so many problems. It
leads to open jumpers and layups, which builds confidence for the Nets. When
they're making shots, they become more active on the defensive end and on
the boards. The Celtics then try to get back in the game with quick shots
and compound the problem. Then playing from behind wears them out. They look
like a different team out there. There's no swagger. There's no cockiness.
Sometimes I don't recognize these guys. I'm hoping a fast start would change
everything, and I think it might. They need to get out of the gates well
Friday, or they're in big trouble. If they can do that, win the game and get
to Game 7, maybe that strut will return to their step.

4.	Kudos to Strick for getting them back in the game with his energy.
Hindsight is 20/20, but Obie probably stayed with him a little too long.
After the Celts cut it to 74-73, the Nets went to that zone and it
neutralized Strickland. Suddenly, he was the guy getting the ball reversal
in the corner and facing semi-open 3-point shots. Not his game. But I can
understand why he left him in because Strick had been giving them energy on
the defensive end. Tough call for Obie.

5.	Kenny was a huge reason the Celts won the Detroit series, but he has
been horrid against Jersey. You can't attribute it all to Kidd either,
because Kenny is missing open shots, passing up good shots and taking
terrible shots. He also has lost that defensive intensity he showed against
Detroit and never seems to come up with those key steals or rebounds he
usually has a knack for. He's playing lousy, and they desperately need him.
Ironic that Kenny started his career in Jersey hoping to lead them to the
Finals, and now he's helping do just that.

6.	The frustration of another slow start seemed to wear on Antoine last
night. He tried to do too much and was in "put my head down and throw it up"
mode. I think he just wanted to make something happen, but it wasn't the
right way.

7.	Pierce's jumper remains MIA, but he again did a great job getting to
the line and this time he knocked them down. But he has to be more of a
factor in the fourth quarter. I blame a lot of this on Obie. The
fourth-quarter offense is give it to Pierce on the left wing, wait for the
double team, and pass cross-court to Rogers/Kenny/Strick. That's it. It
should never be that easy to take Paul Pierce out of the game. Start the
offense with Antoine in the post and let him kick to Pierce. Run
pick-and-rolls with Kenny. Do anything to get Pierce off the ball and try to
get him the ball later in the possession when the double team isn't so easy.
If you insist on just handing it to Pierce, then vary it-let him operate
from the top of the key where he has more options if the double team comes.
But just accepting the double team and passing out of it isn't the only
answer. I can't criticize Pierce, because he's doing what everyone has
harped on him to do-recognize the double team and find the open man (and he
made a couple of very nice passes). But if you know the double team is
coming, do something to get him the ball in a different position.

8.	Obie has been badly outcoached in this series. Using Strickland was
his one really good in-game move so far. He has done nothing to counter the
fast starts-if anything, the team seemed even more unprepared last night. He
hasn't used his timeouts well-we never seem to score coming out of a
timeout. He has made no adjustments to the double-teaming of Pierce. Just
terrible.

9.	Personnel observation... The Celtics desperately-and I mean
DESPERATELY-need Kedrick Brown to pan out next season. That other wing
spot-whether it's Williams, McCarty, Delk or Strickland-is killing them.
They took three shots at it in the last draft, then traded for Delk (no
player has been more misused by Obie. He's usually great at putting guys in
the right roles, but with Delk he's asking him to play point guard and shoot
threes-neither his strong suit). None of the acquisitions filled that hole
this season. And it keeps coming back to haunt them. That's the position
getting open looks when Pierce is double-teamed, and none of them are
hitting. Kedrick could be a huge addition to the rotation if he can play
(which we still don't know).

10.	Did I hear the announcers say last night that Antoine told the team
in the huddle to hit someone? I hope so. Too bad they didn't listen. I hope
he repeats that today and tomorrow before the game. If someone doesn't knock
Van Horn and Kittles on their butts before this series is over, I'm going to
be sorely disappointed. The Celtics should be bullying those guys.

Sorry for the length. I spent a restless night turning these things over in
my head. I just hate to see this season end with the team playing so
passively. It's not the same team we've seen for seven months.

Mark