Re: Article out of Denver on Battie, Billups, Draft.

["JLyell" <jlyell@concentric.net>]

I think you're overestimating the short term need for a center.  In
Pitino's system it's much more important to have good guards than it is a
good center, and i think that building the team around a franchise
backcourt is the way to go, even if it means suffering without a great
center for the time being.  Wesley and Eisley are both very serviceable
point guards, but certainly not people you would build the franchise around
> for long term success.  
> 
> 
The Bulls have shown you don't need a top notch center if you have stars at
other positions who can come through in the clutch, but a decent mobile,
physical player would be nice.  Also Pitino 's run & shoot style got its
ass whipped by a more intelligent, better prepared athletic Arizona team,
and twice by So. Carolina. Only time will tell if the Celtic's have any
Bird or Jordan type assassins with ice in the blood that come through in
the clutch.



> The year before this season (team that won the title), the center was
Mark Pope, who was better than Prickett and Mohammed but still not a top
notch center. Both teams were good enough to ger to the NCAA finals because
they
> were very guard oriented with quick forwards, and the center was never
more than a role player.
> 
> So even if McDyess is as good a center as Billups is a point guard (which
may or may not be true), why go with the center over the point guard when
deciding who to build the team around?
> 

Based on the ability to adequately fill the other position with a decent
role player.  Dallas had Kidd & Jackson but didn't do squat, maybe it was
chemistry, maybe the need for a decent big man ?  I don't expect any of the
current Celtic players to be the next Bird , Magic or Jordan, so I think we
need build the most versatile, athletic,  team possible with a few stars &
several decent role players like John Paxson, Steve Kerr, D.J. , M.L. Carr,
Jerry Sichting, etc.  If we have guys that can play 1&2, 2&3, 3&4, & 4&5 we
can throw a lot of different looks at teams depending on who is on that
night.  The Celtic teams of late have not had a lot of versatility.  Barros
& Brown can't play the point,  & are defensive liabilities at the 2  we got
scorched by Sprewell, Rider, Stackhouse, Richmond for 35+ on too many
occasions last year, Williams style is an inside game, but he gets killed
on D, the center position is a mess. Billups & Mercer will definitely help,
but we need to move some of the other deadwood.