Praise for O'Bryant

Yesterday I suggested there was possibly reason for cautious optimism about O’Bryant. This was because we hadn’t yet heard anything negative about him from Clifford Ray, who’s been working with him on a consistent basis for months.

On that same note, today’s CelticsBlog links include one from Perkisabeast.com, where Ray is interviewed for some six minutes. He’s asked about O’Bryant specifically, and again he says nothing negative about him, although reading between the lines, he seems to have plenty of messages he’s trying to drill into O’Bryant head about successfully having a long-time career as an NBA center. It’s a fine interview, if only to get a more thorough understanding of Ray, who not surprisingly, shows himself to be a classy guy.
http://perkisabeast.com/blog/2008/10/01/the-guru-speaks-clifford-ray-and-the-way-of-the-beast/

I want to see some video clips.

KG and PP were also praising him in the video interviews on Celtics.com

One of the reasons I was cautiously optimistic when O’Bryant was signed, certainly more than many who posted here, is because of KG. I love Perk, and his effort on D and the boards is credit to him alone, but honestly, how many of Perks hoops last year were the result of stepping up into the gap left by the help defender to receive an easy dish from KG for a thunderous dunk? Did Perk just learn that shot last year? Clearly not, the easy looks he got were mostly the result of KG. In fact, due to Kendrick’s penchant to wind up for every hoop, he actually missed alot of easy conversions which would have given him even more hoops.

If POB is as athletic as they say, and has an ounce of Bball IQ, assuming he is out there with KG and not replacing him, all he has to do on offense to be effective is hang around the rim, and finish as well as Perk did last year . I am not sure of his skill in this area, am interested to see it, but it struck me as very reasonable at the time of the signing that POB could do a competent job dunking the ball off KG feeds and that that impact alone would raise his game from what has been seen so far in his career, just as it did to Perk’s.

Easy does it. That comment wasn’t unsolicited. From the way it reads Doc was asked how OBryant was doing. After two days…Doc being Doc….what did you think he was going to say? I’d love to see Danny outsmart everybody with OBryant working out, Miles getting all the way back (90% of way back doesn’t make the team) and Pruitt, Giddens, Walker all making contributions. But that would be just too fortunate. OBryant can’t really be any worse than Kandiman or Pollard can he? He won’t be PJ Brown but I’m not sure PJ can keep bringing it.

Wildblue did you watch all 3 videos on Celtics.com ? There is a video of these comments from Doc, PP and KG, not just a transcript.

On this blog I’ve read O’Bryant was dog-meat – a lazy stiff who couldn’t cut it against mediocre college forwards, and would be run out of the Celtics’ training camp so fast your head would spin. So if Doc and the starters think he’s doing okay, I’ll take that for a guy who’s only needed for a few backup minutes each game.

One guy Doc didn’t seem all that optimistic about was Pruitt. He said he had to beat out House and Cassell and he had to be more assertive in running the team. He also said he was a young guy who would get there, but the chances of him suiting up when the season starts don’t sound great.

I drool at the thought of an athletic legit 7 footer coming off the bench, playing alongside KG. I can’t wait to see some footage

Okay so he had a good practice. I mean its great news. Better than hearing coach complain about him being lazy. However until I see him play in games that matter I’ll predict he’ll only be playing to pick up fouls for KG.

If Doc keeps praising O’Bryant, I’ll start thinking the young man is trade bait.

…and yet the CAUSE FOR CONCERN…"if he learns how to play alongside KG….

I don’t think there is any cause for concern with O’Bryant. Low risk, high reward.

The cause for concern is Perkins’ shoulder, not O’Bryant.

Coach Cliff Ray- work that magic baby!

Suferdad, what happened to Pruitt and why is he done?

Cassell is the one who is done. The Celtics just haven’t realized it yet. Also, if Miles pans out, I would cut Scalabrine long before I cut Pruitt.

Having said that, I remember so many folks here saying that Pruitt was going to be better than Delonte West. LOL LOL.

Having said that, I remember so many folks here saying that Pruitt was going to be better than Delonte West. LOL LOL.

Why are you laughing? Little early to tell.

I don’t know. I remember some people hoping Pruitt might turn into something. I was one of them. Still am. But none of us ever saw Pruitt play enough to have anything like a strong opinion. We just were hoping Ainge had seen something. We wanted to see an upgrade over Cassell and House.

Perk’s shoulder problems are not going to go away; they will keep recurring sooner or later next season so we better get another Center ready for when the time comes. The only way Perk will live with a happy shoulder is if he quits playing basketball. Se lets accept reality and have a plan B in place. If a was a betting handsome dude, I would take bets on it happening, but Im only one of the two. Peace! ;)

2nd day of practice. too long to go. the fans are ready for the season. good for us.

[post deleted for cursing]

Seems like old times. ;)

Man, I wish we’d drafted young Gasol last year instead of Pruitt.

it’s funny how O’Bryant’s market value has varied during this offseason. a graph would be good to show the ups-and-downs :)

his stats over the past 2 seasons are ****, and when he came in people were like “Patrick who?”

then about 6 weeks ago there was news that Pat has been working out with Clifford Ray and his market value skyrocketed. i, for one, thought that if he fulfills his potential then he could supplant Perk as starting centre (highly unlikely though). however, i’m sure i’m not the only one who thought that.

then news came in about Perk’s shoulder and everyone was throwing up trade suggestions.

great fun! :)

Can anyone help me. Is there any way I can get the telecast of the pre-season games. It’s going to be another exciting year. Thanks

C33…get directv and it’s package…you’ll get’m all

O’Bryant’s market value has not skyrocketed. It’s the same as it was when we got him. Remember Don Nelson loved him in his first couple weeks of practice in GS.

POB’s ultimate contribution to this team will depend upon how well he integrates with his teammates. Since KG is our most valued defender and since the cornerstone of our ascent to #17 was due to our sterling defensive realignment, POB WILL have to learn to play effectively alongside KG.

Practice aside, the preseason performance of POB should be a better indicator as to whether Danny has plucked another gem off the scrap heap! It should also indicate whether training camp has helped Sam Cassell become a TEAM player and not just a solo performer.