Disgusted. That is the only word to describe how I feel after what went on Thursday night in game three of the Celtics and Pacers tilt in Indianapolis. No energy was displayed on the court other than a brief appearance by Marcus Banks at the end of the first quarter, and no hustle was evident other than Kendrick Perkins in a brief appearance at the end of the first quarter.
Personally, I hope Antoine gets suspended for his scuffles with Jermaine O’Neil. Suspend him the whole series for all I care: I would rather his minutes went to Al Jefferson and Kendrick Perkins anyway. In fact, the same goes for Gary Payton. I say plant Payton on the bench and throw Banks out there until his tongue is dragging on the court, and then insert Delonte West at the point until Marcus is ready to go back in. Forget about these veterans and their so-called veteran presence. Their presence has been the ability to stand around and watch Indiana kick their behinds.
Here is the list of off-season moves I want to see:
Antoine Walker: Let Antoine go to the Knicks (they already have four power forwards. Isaiah Thomas must think you get bonus points for having them on the roster.), or the Clippers, or anywhere else. Enough of his firing up three-pointers. He was a nice little spark at the end of the season and sold some tickets for Wyc Grouseback and his ownership group. His presence only retards the development of Jefferson and Perkins.
Gary Payton: He is a defensive liability, he appeared hesitant to take the ball to the rim after the five minute mark of the first quarter, and where the heck was the fast break? The point guard position belongs to Delonte West and Marcus Banks. Payton served his purpose, now let the money be cleared off the cap.
Mark Blount: I hate centers who play eighteen feet from the basket and are afraid to mix it up inside. Say what you want about Raef LaFrentz on the offensive end of the court, but the knee-less wonder hits the boards hard. Anyway, since the Celtics already have LaFrentz, why do they need another player whose range limits him to inside the three-point circle? Danny Ainge should cross his fingers and pray that Jim O’Brien and the 76ers are still enraptured enough with Blount to take him off their hands.
Paul Pierce: Danny Ainge, your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to find a trade partner with a superstar on the trading block who is willing to trade for Pierce. Pierce needs to adapt to the Celtics running game, which is a shame that he is so hesitant to do so, because he is pure scorer who would benefit from the style of play. Pierce is taking a pretty short-sighted view as the running game is only going to give him more easy lay-ups and wide-open transition jumpers. Whatever. Just get him out of town if he will not adapt.
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SHORT CIRCUIT:
Who is the number five starter for the Sox now that Schilling and Wells are on the disabled list? I say Abe Alvarez, the impressive young lefty currently pitching well for the Pawsox. Names thrown around have included Jeremi Gonzalez (ugh!) down at Pawtucket or lefty recall Lenny DiNardo who spent most of last season stashed in the bullpen after they picked him up as a Rule 5 draftee (meaning they could not send him down to the minors without offering him back to the team they drafted him from first).
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YANKEE WATCH:
Kevin Brown. What was it the Yankees fans said last year after the Sox traded for Schilling? We have Javier Vazquez and Kevin Brown, so we come out ahead in the deal. We wanted Vazquez and Brown anyway. Yeah, how is that working out for you?
Anyway, I watched Brown lose to the California nee Anaheim nee Los Angeles Angels in his last start. Brown only gave up three runs, but he looked bad. The Angels, if they played smart, could have and should have scored seven or eight runs off of Brown in the first three innings.
* * *
Personally, I hope Antoine gets suspended for his scuffles with Jermaine O’Neil. Suspend him the whole series for all I care: I would rather his minutes went to Al Jefferson and Kendrick Perkins anyway. In fact, the same goes for Gary Payton. I say plant Payton on the bench and throw Banks out there until his tongue is dragging on the court, and then insert Delonte West at the point until Marcus is ready to go back in. Forget about these veterans and their so-called veteran presence. Their presence has been the ability to stand around and watch Indiana kick their behinds.
Here is the list of off-season moves I want to see:
Antoine Walker: Let Antoine go to the Knicks (they already have four power forwards. Isaiah Thomas must think you get bonus points for having them on the roster.), or the Clippers, or anywhere else. Enough of his firing up three-pointers. He was a nice little spark at the end of the season and sold some tickets for Wyc Grouseback and his ownership group. His presence only retards the development of Jefferson and Perkins.
Gary Payton: He is a defensive liability, he appeared hesitant to take the ball to the rim after the five minute mark of the first quarter, and where the heck was the fast break? The point guard position belongs to Delonte West and Marcus Banks. Payton served his purpose, now let the money be cleared off the cap.
Mark Blount: I hate centers who play eighteen feet from the basket and are afraid to mix it up inside. Say what you want about Raef LaFrentz on the offensive end of the court, but the knee-less wonder hits the boards hard. Anyway, since the Celtics already have LaFrentz, why do they need another player whose range limits him to inside the three-point circle? Danny Ainge should cross his fingers and pray that Jim O’Brien and the 76ers are still enraptured enough with Blount to take him off their hands.
Paul Pierce: Danny Ainge, your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to find a trade partner with a superstar on the trading block who is willing to trade for Pierce. Pierce needs to adapt to the Celtics running game, which is a shame that he is so hesitant to do so, because he is pure scorer who would benefit from the style of play. Pierce is taking a pretty short-sighted view as the running game is only going to give him more easy lay-ups and wide-open transition jumpers. Whatever. Just get him out of town if he will not adapt.
* * *
SHORT CIRCUIT:
Who is the number five starter for the Sox now that Schilling and Wells are on the disabled list? I say Abe Alvarez, the impressive young lefty currently pitching well for the Pawsox. Names thrown around have included Jeremi Gonzalez (ugh!) down at Pawtucket or lefty recall Lenny DiNardo who spent most of last season stashed in the bullpen after they picked him up as a Rule 5 draftee (meaning they could not send him down to the minors without offering him back to the team they drafted him from first).
* * *
YANKEE WATCH:
Kevin Brown. What was it the Yankees fans said last year after the Sox traded for Schilling? We have Javier Vazquez and Kevin Brown, so we come out ahead in the deal. We wanted Vazquez and Brown anyway. Yeah, how is that working out for you?
Anyway, I watched Brown lose to the California nee Anaheim nee Los Angeles Angels in his last start. Brown only gave up three runs, but he looked bad. The Angels, if they played smart, could have and should have scored seven or eight runs off of Brown in the first three innings.
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