Sunday, February 29, 2004
'An up-close-and-personal report on the Celtics ...': Reader No. 1 actually A.) went to a Celts game B.) saw them win Friday and C.) was sort of impressed. Reader No. 1:
"1. I owe Chucky Atkins an apology. With him at the point, the team is a little closer to the uptempo Danny Ainge vision of the future, at least in the first quarter of games. But...
"2. At crunch time, Paul Pierce was back to bad habits, going one-on-one and taking bad off-balance fadeaways that rimmed out. Paul, I know how you feel after Trader Danny's demo job, but trust your teammates a little more. On the other hand, Pierce looked happier on court than in the last 2 weeks (a 20 point lead at halftime will do that for you).
"3. There's a reported Pierce gripe that the Celtics took too long to discover Brandon Hunter. I QUITE AGREE! Maybe the Celtic staff should have been reading this website, considering Hunter's remarkable college stats at a non-marquee school, and what he did in the Shaw's Summer League. You read it here first!!! ... He might be the difference between Ainge suceeding and failing...
"4. The Fleet Center on weeknights is now full of kids, including Reader #1's youngest on Friday (she wore her Antoine Walker jersey, but was tactful when Trader Danny walked past us). Credit to Celts' management for advancing this trend.
"5. This group as constituted is not a playoff team, but there are a couple of signs of hope. A lot more work to do. Giving minutes to Hunter, Jiri Welsch et al is a step in the right direction."
Hub Blog's response: Only thing I have to say relates to point #4. Glad kids are having a fun time. But their increased attendance indicates to me a lot of tickets are being given away, either by the Celts or corporate types or both.
"1. I owe Chucky Atkins an apology. With him at the point, the team is a little closer to the uptempo Danny Ainge vision of the future, at least in the first quarter of games. But...
"2. At crunch time, Paul Pierce was back to bad habits, going one-on-one and taking bad off-balance fadeaways that rimmed out. Paul, I know how you feel after Trader Danny's demo job, but trust your teammates a little more. On the other hand, Pierce looked happier on court than in the last 2 weeks (a 20 point lead at halftime will do that for you).
"3. There's a reported Pierce gripe that the Celtics took too long to discover Brandon Hunter. I QUITE AGREE! Maybe the Celtic staff should have been reading this website, considering Hunter's remarkable college stats at a non-marquee school, and what he did in the Shaw's Summer League. You read it here first!!! ... He might be the difference between Ainge suceeding and failing...
"4. The Fleet Center on weeknights is now full of kids, including Reader #1's youngest on Friday (she wore her Antoine Walker jersey, but was tactful when Trader Danny walked past us). Credit to Celts' management for advancing this trend.
"5. This group as constituted is not a playoff team, but there are a couple of signs of hope. A lot more work to do. Giving minutes to Hunter, Jiri Welsch et al is a step in the right direction."
Hub Blog's response: Only thing I have to say relates to point #4. Glad kids are having a fun time. But their increased attendance indicates to me a lot of tickets are being given away, either by the Celts or corporate types or both.
