11/05/24
May 16, 2002
Pitino Proud Of Celtics:
Rick Pitino has nothing but praise for Jim O'Brien and the Celtics, who have turned things around since he quit last season and are in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Then again, Pitino always said he'd have the C's at a championship level in five years. Then he left town and everyone dubbed him a charlatan.
Well, five years after he came to Boston, here they are. Celtics-Lakers anyone? This train is bound for glory...
posted by Conquistador to basketball at 01:49 PM - 3 comments
Pitino had a good eye for talent, so full kudos there. Uh, wha? Paging Travis Knight. Here's the 1997 draft. Pitino had two cracks at it and came up snake eyes. Billups is turning into a decent player, but not good enough to justify a #3 pick. He's always looked like a 2 forced to play point guard. Mercer might put up 20 ppg for a bad team, but he'll never be able to carry an offense or find his own shot. I don't know if Pitino was impatient with them or not: he was probably sick of partying with them. Pitino's eye for talent overlooked Danny Fortson, Eric Williams and David Wesley. O'Brien took last year's team (essentially-- Rodney Rodgers and Tony Delk come on board late in the season) and won 49 games. He and Dick Harter (Harter credited O'Brien with the "Xs and Os" of the defenseive gameplan in the Globe this week or last) have the team believing in defense. That, coupled with the guy who looks just like Kenny Anderson have made for a great season. Celtics-Lakers yes. This plane is definitely crashing . . .
posted by yerfatma at 07:10 PM on May 16, 2002
Good, not great. And you missed the "impatient as hell" bit. He didn't overlook Danny Fortson, he traded for the guy... then he got bored with him and sent him off to Golden State. Similar issues with Williams. Similar issues with Griffin, Bowen, etc. I wouldn't want Pitino back, and it'd be a stupid NBA team that hired him. But I'm realistic about what he is. I always figured he had the college coach's necessary knack for spotting raw talent, but he also kept expecting people to improve like they do from ages 18 to 22... and you can't count on that in the NBA.
posted by Bryant at 02:30 PM on May 17, 2002
Pitino had a good eye for talent, so full kudos there. On the other hand, he was also impatient as hell, so he loses some points for moving the good talent out of town. Bowen was starting on the Spurs; I drool at the thought of Bowen and his defense on this year's Celtic team, with Harter charting the way. Speaking of Harter, that hire is pure O'Brien -- and Harter's made as much difference to the Celtics organization as anyone.