10/17/2008: Preseason Game 6 vs New York

[wetsthebed]

[mrautobahn]

For the life of me... I can never understand how a guy like Curry who makes millions... cannot pay a few thousand dollars for a top notch dietitian and personal trainer...

I mean dude! You got a potential heart problem...

[OBisHalJordan]

i think with curry it comes down to desire. i am look at his rebounding numbers. rebounding is a game of position and energy. sure athleticism helps but it isn't necessary. curry has no heart. that seems to be a trend among big men--curry, blount, coleman, POB, Vinny Baker, etc--a lot of guys could have been a lot better. maybe its because they don't love the game they just figured **** it i am 6-11, 7 feet why don't i play basketball. curry is a bum. between wince last night and curry today the Cs are facing some of the lames fake stars the league has to offer.

[Kids Are Alright]

So what's the deal with the captain? Where's Paul Pierce? C'mon, light it up!

[SonicYouth34]

Curry is just lazy, he has so much talent in the low post and he's just wasting it. Glen Davis looks like a stick figure next to him.

[Charcoal Filtered]

Was Miles on the bench tonight? Another site is saying that he was released.

[wbc17]

Any update on Rajon? Hope he's alright

[AlCelticFan]

I don't think the sprain was a big deal.

...

The Knicks looked solid tonight. I am happy for them that they got a coach to come in there and make some sense of that roster. It should make the rivalry more fun between us, that's for sure!

[EvadedHavoc]

Was a boring game overall.

Wilson Chandler thou looked very very good.

[supergallinari]

eddy curry is a joke.

him standing next to glen davis just shows how disgustingly obese he is for a professional athlete.

[Jammer]

Some observations:

1. 42 free throws for the Knicks, 19 for the Celtics. This is how Atlanta and Cleveland were able to beat the Celtics in the playoffs. Sometimes, perhaps the League does want one team to "Feel Good."

2. Glen Davis is an overachiever, and the Celtics have been lucky. Unless he can hit the outside shot that teams give him (like David Lee of the Knicks has learned to do), he is pretty much a third string PF, which the Celtics don't really need with KG and Powe ahead of him.

3. Darius Miles is a bit slow for SF (when talking the elite teams), and doesn't seem strong enough to post up the elite PF's. He also doesn't have an outside shot, despite what one of the Portland posters defended Miles with in a previous thread. I also stand by my earlier assessment of Miles, he doesn't have an outside shot.

4. Until JR Giddens and Bill Walker develop outside shots, they will be limited in terms of any contributions that they can make as perimeter players against elite teams.

5. Pruitt is a tease. One minute he looks like a potential third string point guard, who can play occasional SG, with decent defense, and the next minute he looks like a clutz (many plays from Knicks game, bad shot selection, stupid passes).

After 6 pre-season games Pruitt's stats are not encouraging:

18.5 mpg; 4.8 ppg, 36.7% FG, .667% FT, 1.7 rpg, 2.7 apg, 1.17 steals per game, 2.2 fouls per game, 0.8 TO's

Although the assists, turnovers, steals and defense are encouraging, the field goal % and ppg are not.

6. A big problem not discussed is just position and setup. I thought that the entry passes to Kevin Garnett were horrid. What I don't know, but a Celtic coach would know, was whether Garnett was just getting in bad position, or the Celtic guards were not smart enough to set up angles where Garnett could catch the ball in a better position to do something once he caught it. I think that it's a combination, but I thought that this was a big problem.

7. Team rebounding has not been good, although O'Bryant has been encouraging.

8. Don't know if I would still try to trade for Joe Smith with a combination of Scal +
two of (Pruitt, Davis, Giddens, Walker), which would be a 3 for 1 trade.
But I'm thinking about it.
Of course, you could cut Darius Miles if you did that deal.

9. Tony Allen and Eddie House look great, as I expected. Fantastic signings and value.

10. Ray and Paul look great, Kevin doesn't seem to be getting the ball in the spots he can do damage. I think it's a combination of Garnett's positioning and the guards just not setting up the right angles.

[Jammer]

To end on a positive note:

The starters look really good, with the exception of where Kevin Garnett seems to be catching the ball on offense,

Tony Allen and Eddie House are stellar,
Patrick O'Bryant looks like a good, not competent, but GOOD, backup center,
Powe is Powe (that makes 9);

and the search will continue for the 5th guard (looking like Gabe Pruitt right now),
backup to backup SF (behind Tony Allen, looks like will be Giddens or Walker, not Miles);
and one more big (Davis ?).

Making Scal,
Giddens or Walker,
and Miles or Cassell Inactive,
with one of Miles or Cassell likely not making 15 man roster.

*

[cloverleaf]

Good posts, jammer, but I think you're being a little too tough on Pruitt.

[Celtsfan1980]

The Knicks' board has 40 pages on the game, while this board has 12 posts. I thought that was funny.

[joneb]

i think with curry it comes down to desire. i am look at his rebounding numbers. rebounding is a game of position and energy. sure athleticism helps but it isn't necessary. curry has no heart. that seems to be a trend among big men--curry, blount, coleman, POB, Vinny Baker, etc--a lot of guys could have been a lot better. maybe its because they don't love the game they just figured **** it i am 6-11, 7 feet why don't i play basketball. curry is a bum. between wince last night and curry today the Cs are facing some of the lames fake stars the league has to offer.

It's ludicrous to include POB amongst this list of under-acheivers. Whereas the rest of the group have proven track records that span numerous NBA games and seasons, POB has barely had a chance to get his feet wet. Patrick has admitted that his past commitment level was lacking when he first signed with Boston. Nellie's lack of support and commitment to his improvement probably contributed greatly to POB's lack of fire in the belly. But the kid was just 20-21 years old, so give him a break. Now that he has better support from his organization and better teammates to provide motivation, he is currently in a position to thrive. Who amongst us can say that our work ethic was exemplary at such a tender age? Your attempts to characterize him categorically as being heartless with such a limited track record to draw from is unfair and overly reactionary. Did you happen to see POB diving to the floor for loose balls in each of the last two games? You need to find a different axe to grind.

[Kefa461]

Let's hope Rondo is ok

[Jammer]

Good posts, jammer, but I think you're being a little too tough on Pruitt.

The reason my criticism is so sharp, despite his lowering his turnovers, playing good D, and racking up assists,

is that where he used to be part of the Inactive 3,

Pruitt now is vying with Glen Davis for the roles of 10th and 11th man.

So, when Doc calls Pruitt's number,

like when Doc called Sam Cassell's number last year;

it means that two of House, Tony Allen, Rajon or Ray Allen aren't hitting;

and that Doc needs a scorer to come off the bench and make some shots.

Whether Pruitt plays alongside Tony Allen and Eddie House like he has in pre-season,

or just with Tony or Eddie,

he's expected to make his shots, but also facilitate the offense so the other players

get their shots at optimum locations/angles.

So, I critiquing him more, Pruitt has moved up from 15th man to 10th or 11th.

So, more is expected of him.

My feeling is he is not available in trade, as his defense is miles ahead of Cassell,
who is probably just an insurance policy/assistant coach/guru at this point.