Foul Ball

NBA officiating keeps getting worse and worse and worse…. It’s like the stockmarket. How low will it go?

The Gabe Pruitt saga just added another twist. According to Gabe, Doc wants him to “concentrate” on running the offense and not focus on his offense (which Doc already knows that he has). That directive involves a contradiction of sorts and certainly confuses the PG issue rather than simplify it!

An effective PG must always be an offensive threat…. to keep his defender honest…. to prevent his defender from sagging off and congesting the interior.

No wonder Gabe has been reluctant to establish his offense! How can he hope to lose his man and penetrate the paint (to disrupt interior defenses etc.) if his defender sags off? An effective PG must be able to create separation from his defender, must be a threat to penetrate the paint and must have an outside shot to keep his defender on the perimeter.

Gabe’s development will be hampered as long as Doc “muddies” the waters with confusing directives. Tonight Doc gave Gabe the green light to “make something happen”. That should be his daily directive rather than…. take control and run the offense (but don’t look for yours)…..

pob and pruitt tho not great are showing good things. and walker is mini-powe.

I bet if T-Back sees Bobby Jackson he’ll be quick to run.

POB just certified himself on the 12 man roster tonite! Well he’s getting close to that point. Not one bad game so far. All 3 were pretty decent.

The odd man out needs to be Scal. For 2 years we have had him and his $3M salary to package in a trade with some youth. Our youth are stepping up. He’s a good teammate, a guy that tries in practice but come on, he’s taking a spot on the team that a more deserving youngster needs to fill.

I realize this takes me off Scal’s Christmas list but so be it.

Let Gabe be Gabe!

I didn’t see the game, but from the box score, Miles only played nine minutes, but had four rebounds and two blocked shots. So I’m asking whoever saw the game… is Miles a keeper? Are there real expectations he can produce? Or is he headed out the door?

I agree that it is time to cut Scals. I would rather keep Walker and Miles on the roster than cut one of them just because we’re paying the guy.

Brian Scalabrine is a superb, gifted athlete who masks this ability to make his teammates look better. He defines grace and perfection. Not many players, if any, would be willing to mask their All-Star abilities for the good of the team. His contract should be extended immediately and he needs to receive maximum playing time. He is literally the glue that holds the Boston Celtics together. I also have some wonderful stock tips which I will reveal to all at a later date.

Brickowski said:
  NBA officiating keeps getting worse and worse and worse…. It’s like the stockmarket. How low will it go?

Totally agree with you. Two quick dirty plays by Artest, one by McGrady. Almost a fight between Pierce and Artest on the floor. Someone is going to get hurt or the wrong guy is going to get suspended because the refs do nothing to stop it. Players are fined for technicals and other stuff. They should start fining the refs the same amount they fine a player for the same infraction that is missed.
To me Artest should have been tossed, fined and suspended a few games. The ref that didn’t make the calls should receive the same. Then maybe they’ll start doing their job.

Aside from the chance that someone will be hurt, the terrible officiating makes the games unplayable and unwatchable. I could barely watch the second quarter of last night’s game.

I have to rake my eyes when i see SCAL in the game…

terrible game last night…lol i was on a Houston Rockets Forum and thier fans were whining that the celtics were dirty and the refs blew call after call in favor of the celtics…I dont know what theyre watching but artest was downright pahetic, it wouldve been one thing if it was the regular season, but cmon this goon thinks he’s better than PP or something and he managed to sneak a cheap shot to each of the big three..
and to the person asking about darius…Im suprised he ended up getting playing time at all, it just seemed to me last night he might be the odd guy out

re halfman/halfoyster; To bring legitimacy to your characterization of Scal as supremely gifted, recall that none other than Michael Jordan (as a GM with the first pick in the draft) once voiced that Scal was receiving serious consideration as his first pick. Nuff said?

I simply cannot understand why a 6’9" NBA player cannot make a layup, after several tries!

Last night showed the versatility of the Celtics they can play finesse style or power style.

“That directive involves a contradiction of sorts and certainly confuses the PG issue rather than simplify it!”

And that trait about Rivers surprises you because??

scal is either pressing or he’s not practicing his shots. come on scal-wake up.

That directive involves a contradiction of sorts and certainly confuses the PG issue rather than simplify it!
Gabe’s development will be hampered as long as Doc “muddies” the waters with confusing directives.

I have no idea what’s confusing about that directive. He was ordering the kid to not look for his own shot, was giving him the red light, as they say.

But even if it was, it wouldn’t be nothing new. Coaches are not trying to win pre-season games or making the players looking good. Very often they are doing the opposite, putting the players in though or peculiar positions to see how they perform.

moskqq said:
  The Gabe Pruitt saga just added another twist. According to Gabe, Doc wants him to “concentrate” on running the offense and not focus on his offense (which Doc already knows that he has). That directive involves a contradiction of sorts and certainly confuses the PG issue rather than simplify it!

An effective PG must always be an offensive threat…. to keep his defender honest…. to prevent his defender from sagging off and congesting the interior.

No wonder Gabe has been reluctant to establish his offense! How can he hope to lose his man and penetrate the paint (to disrupt interior defenses etc.) if his defender sags off? An effective PG must be able to create separation from his defender, must be a threat to penetrate the paint and must have an outside shot to keep his defender on the perimeter.

Gabe’s development will be hampered as long as Doc “muddies” the waters with confusing directives. Tonight Doc gave Gabe the green light to “make something happen”. That should be his daily directive rather than…. take control and run the offense (but don’t look for yours)…..

I hope Doc doesn’t do the same thing to Pruitt that he did to Rajon Rondo, the point guard of the World Champion Boston Celtics. By the way, Rondo was the pg of the World Champions his second year in the league and he played maybe half of his first year. I hope Doc doesn’t ruin Pruitt’s career like he did Rondo’s. Could it possibly be that Doc is concentrating on one of the parts of the game that Pruitt needs to improve on at that position? Also I don’t think Pruitt was hesitant or so confused by Doc that he forgot to take and make the winning shot in last nite’s game, a play probably called by I wonder who.

Rondo and Pruitt are as different as players as apples and oranges so comparing their respective handling is overly simplistic. Rondo came to us as a PG, Pruitt as a SG (with hopes of becoming a combo guard). One could shoot, the other struggled with his shot. Neither should have been asked to shoot at-will, but when the second unit was struggling on offense, Pruitt should have been encouraged “to make something happen”…as he was yesterday when HIS shot won the game.

I am, of course, accepting Gabe’s version of what Doc mandated when he told Gabe to forego his offense and get others involved. Yet Gabe was criticised for not being aggressive enough (a contradiction?)…you figure….

moskqq said:
  Rondo and Pruitt are as different as players as apples and oranges so comparing their respective handling is overly simplistic.

They are not apples and oranges. They are both young and learning the NBA game. They are both people. Doc excels at people management. They are only different in their skill sets and playing styles as moskqq says. Each has a list of things they need to improve on and the lists are prioritized. For Gabe the priority now is to become more vocal. That doesn’t mean Doc is telling Gabe to go on the court and yell at his teammates and to forgo all other aspects of his game. We can’t take a statement of Doc and read all sorts of things into it that may not exist.