Re: Garrity v. Goog

[davide <david.moskowitz@yale.edu>]

Hmm, Garrity, Bradley, Doleac, Laettner, Ferry?  
Again, I don't think these comparisons are coming from basketball.  Doleac
is a strictly back-to-the-basket post-up center, who spends little time
outside of the paint, and certainly doesn't have the wing or outside
capabilities of Laettner or Ferry.  As for size, I believe his about 6-11,
265?, so I don't see him getting pushed around by anyone but the most
mammoth of NBA centers.  And Nazr has been on weight loss program since
8th grade!  Senior year of high school he checked in at over three bills.
I think you're a absolutely right about his finishing problems, though;
his disturbing tendency to fade away from the basket must be corrected
(he's had it forever) or he will never score big in the league.  
In my opinion, the only centers worth drafting are Olowokandi, Traylor, 
and Doleac.  And I don't think Doleac merits a #8 or 9 pick.  I'm not too
high on Keon Clark (I don't think he will go as high as projected,
either), who has a history of problems we don't need.  What do people
think of Rashard Lewis paired with Walker in the frontcourt?  If we could
pick up a legit big man (not a star, but some beef and rebounding), I
think we could get away with it.  Then maybe a shooter like Bryce Drew
with the first 2nd rounder?  Okay, I'm biased due to my connections with
Valpo, but I'd like to see someone that clutch in Celtic Green! 
peace,
davide 


On Thu, 23 Apr 1998, Jo Hironaka wrote:

> Elgin Booth wrote:
> 
> "Pat Garrity is in the mold of a Tom Gugliotta, although he may be more
> of
> a small forward."
> 
> ****
> 
> Although I hope Pat Garrity is the next Bill Bradley (the definition of
> an intelligent basketball player), from what's been written he may not
> even be as good an athlete as Michael Smith, the 30ppg Mormon kid that
> the Celtics drafted ahead of both Tim Hardaway and Shawn Kemp back in
> 1989 (I think it was 1989).
> 
> Of course, one never knows for sure about these things. I’ll admit I
> hardly even noticed that Gugliotta was anything special back when he was
> at NC State.
> 
> As for Michael Doleac, I could again be wrong but I personally still see
> him as a slightly inferior Danny Ferry/Christian Laetner type 6-11 guy.
> He has a nice instinct for where rebounds will bounce etc., but IMO his
> butt is not nearly thick enough to post up or box out most (if not all)
> the starting centers in the NBA not named "Travis".  Ditto for
> Kentucky's Nazr Mohamad (IMO, his waist is cut way too narrow for more
> weight training to make a sufficient difference). Plus, in the NCAA
> final, I was very disappointed to see Nazr finish his paint moves with
> weak layups high off the backboard, even when he had a clear path to
> dunk or draw a hard foul.
> 
> There is a specific reason why I love big butts so much.  Like others on
> our list (e.g. Greg-O), I regard it as a historical inevitability that
> we will see annual NBA finals clashes between the Celts and Lakers
> beginning at the dawn of the next millennium. Even if Antoine Walker can
> cancel out Love Shaq's occasional 43 point 16 rebound outbursts, IMO our
> Celtics still would have a very hard time getting to a seventh game
> against the Lakers (once it goes to seven, we all know which team will
> prevail..). IMO, the Lakers really just have better talent than what the
> Celtics have or can realistically afford to add to the team, barring a
> lottery miracle.
> 
> So getting to my point about my adoration of big butts, in addition to
> being a huge Sumo and Opera fan (honestly), I think the only way the
> Celts can win the NBA championship as a so-called "Donut" team (no
> center) would be to acquire a couple of wide bodies (Greg Kite types) to
> hack Shaq with 12-15 shooting and non-shooting fouls (hip checks, arm
> locks etc) per game, in addition to running the rest of the Fakers
> ragged with our full-court press while turning the Fleet Center’s
> air-conditioning system to "off".
> 
> The reason I strongly feel this way is because:
> 
> 1) The Celts can't afford to sign a great "double-double" center anyway,
> nor can we afford IMO to blow all our remaining cap money on over-paying
> the FA centers out there. For example, if the Celts go permanently over
> the cap to add a Matt Geiger this summer (plus re-sign AW), does anyone
> on this list seriously think that we would match up adequately with the
> Lakers? Fuhgettaboutit!
> 
> 2) This is not an original opinion on the list, but I think the Celts
> would be far better off adding a shotblocking/rebounding power forward
> combo (hopefully Popeye plus Outlaw/Ratliff). IMO, by adding an
> unselfish role-player (a shot-blocking version of Paul Silas) to help
> Antoine Walker dominate the boards, we just might have enough to raise
> number 17 thru 20 to the rafters (provided the Celtics eventually can
> rank in the top five in FG% allowed like all other Pitino-coached
> teams). Then we'd be dangerous. Who would want to play a team like that
> over a seven-game series?
> 
> Okay blah, blah, blah....I’m done.
> 
> 
> "Go Bird, Ainge and Cowens in 98 Playoffs"
> 
> 
> JoeHironaka
> Paris
> 
> ****
> 
> 
>