Re: New stuff at Celticland

[Kim Malo <kmalo19@idt.net>]

At 10:28 AM 8/17/98 PDT, "Jim Meninno" <jim_meninno@hotmail.com> wrote:
<snip>
>Last year the team defense was hampered greatly by the lack of a shot 
>blocking center.  I don't think the point guard is going to stop these 
>lay up drills, no matter who we have.  Billups was a fine defender, but 
>that didn't make much of a difference in the lay up parade.  On the 
>other hand, if you added a Mutumbo to the team, the defense would be 
>completely transformed.  

Actually it's not so much a shot blocking center per se as the absence of
any body in the paint even pretending to discourage them, IMO.

However, I do disagree that better PG defense would have no effect on
stopping them. Not the root problem, but better defense in preventing the
ball from getting into the lane out of the press or on the break would help
a lot. Or even harassing the opposing PG enough to slow things down and let
the rest of the defenders get in place to help out. Billups was a better
defender, but largely hampered by inexperience, so I don't hink you can take
it too far with how much difference he did or didn't make. 

-Kim

Kim Malo
kmalo19@idt.net