the C's

"Dr. Ryan and Mr. Gomes"

After a short hiatus, your favorite writer is back on the beat. I happened to catch most of the C's game last night, and let me tell you, the C's were definitely impressive. Not from a team standpoint as much as the fact that they actually have individual talent and guys with forseeable upside. Contrast this with the last time the C's were this low in the standings - sometime before the Pitino era when the C's would field a crappy team with absolutely no talent or prospects for improvement (Eddie Pinckney, Sherm Douglas, Rick Fox, and the like). Delonte is now a steady point guard, and he has a chance to be really good. When all is said and done, Perkins will likely become a solid frontcourt starter at worst, and he definitely has a higher ceiling than that. Al Jefferson to me is at this point very iffy. He could become a solid go-to starting center or a backup. But, the potential is definitely there so I will remain intrigued to a certain extent. Gomes is a monster on the boards. With his positioning and desire for rebounds he reminds me of NO/OKC's rising star David West.

A note from that game - Doc infuriated me when he decided to put Gerald Green in the 1st half's closing minute. Not to give the rookie experience, but to avoid giving LaFrentz his 3rd foul (huh?) The C's lead, which they had maintained for much of the half, was immediately turned into a deficit when Green got caught triple teaming down low and letting his man hit a wide open 3 and on the next defensive possession he failed to give the C's extra foul and Portland scored again. Then, in the 3rd quarter, Doc pulled the same crap, and a freshly inserted Green fouled a TrailBlazer on a long (read: improbable) three point attempt with 0.1 remaining in the period - again almost ruining the C's modest lead and momentum. I don't really blame Green at this point - because of his youth and inexperience, but I really do not understand what Doc was thinking. Green played 1 minute total last night. He was certainly not putting Green in there at those moments for game experience nor should he have been really saving his guys from foul trouble or rest. I think I may start copying the celticsblog guys and call Doc by his given name - Glen - from now on. He certainly doesn't coach like a "Doc".