Re: Nugget lining

[Danny Fung Yee Lim <dlim@utkux.utcc.utk.edu>]

Gene, leave it to you to put a good spin on a likely sad situation. It's
going to be very tough to make the last playoff spot. We have to overtake
Cleveland to get it and Washington, Milwaukee and Detroit are all in
better positions than us to do that. I don't know. I haven't given
Cleveland much credit for what they have done thus far and will stubbornly
continue not to. I mean, I just don't think they will continue to do as
well as they have. On the same vein, Detroit and Milwaukee will probably
improve as their players get to know each other better. Washington is a
tough one. They have immense talent but we might catch up with them a bit
as they are out. They can be such a good team, when everyone's healthy,
but yet they are not. Curious. I think they are playing somewhat on cruise
control, which is weird because they haven't done anything to earn the
confidence. I tell you who they need. They need a character like Williams,
Barkley, or somebody that's willing to step up and say something.  

Us? Well, the one thing that really stands between us and a truly
memorable team is our darn halfcourt offense. Our percentages are abysmal.
We are doing everything a winning team should be doing, getting a good TO
margin, getting fairly consistent rebounding, getting more shots than the
other team, good homecourt record. You see, everything but good shots. 

Speaking about the draft then. Antawn Jamison has really impressed me. He
is rebounding very well, shooting at a tremendous percentage and getting
all the loose balls. Most importantly, he hits the shots when they count
the most. But having said that, we probably won't get him at ninth. Who
else is there? Let's see, Lafrentz, soph Hamilton of UConn, Sesay of Ole
Miss, and the center from Pacific (I forget his name). There looks to be
quite a bit of talent out there, but a lot of it raw. Who do you think
will fit our team? - Danny 

On Thu, 12 Feb 1998, Gene Kirkpatrick wrote:

> The loss to Denver may end up being a significant number.  While I want
> to win them all and snare the eighth spot in the playoffs, I don't think we
> will.  At present, we sit in the ninth spot of the lottery.  Depending on
> who comes out, we may very well get a very good player--or be able to
> deal at that time.  I certainly favor keeping Mercer and trying for a Michael
> Stewart or ?? to shore up our front line.
> 
> As with last year, injuries have really hurt our big men.  Ellison and
> Rogers would make quite a difference; and Knight, if consistent, would
> help, too.  Only DeClerq has played near his potential.
> 
> Gene
>