Re: Thoughts about the latest trade...

[j.hironaka@unesco.org]

Michael Joseph Byrnes wrote:

> 3) Are the Celtics building the right kind of team?  There's been a lot of
> talk about rule changes this year which are aimed at opening up the game,
> and favoring athleticism over bulk and physical play.  But, in the last
> year, the Celtics have gotten rid of athleticism (Mercer) while picking up
> huge, physical players (Potapenko, Fortson).  Are they bulking up pne year
> too late?  If the officials are serious about calling more inside fouls
> than they have in the past, won't Fortson and Potapenko be in constant
> foul trouble?  And, in a game where less banging is permitted, won't
> Fortson's height (or lack thereof) become more of a factor?  Of course, it
> could be that these rule changes never really take effect...

Honestly, I don't think any basketball fan, coarch, or league official
actually believes rugged inside play has made the 1990s game less enjoyable
(or even low scoring).

The problem isn't rugged inside play, and so beyond a certain point I don't
believe it will be penalized as much as we fear. The real problem (obviously)
is that  players blessed with height + talent typically enter the league
without developing an effective inside game. Duncan took it nice-and-easy and
covered all his bases before entering the NBA (after 4 years in the ACC).
Camby did not. On the whole, the majority of big men these days are doing what
Ralph Sampson did in the 1980s, which is to apply to the NBA for on-the-job
basketball and manhood training. If McHale and Robinson had taken the same
shortcut (declaring early), they probably would have had less successful
careers too. That goes for all tall guys who aren't also very wide.

Next year, I think you will justifiably see more whistles for holding cutters
into the lane. But that's about it as far as penalizing interior position
defenders. I think the rules will affect guard play more than big men.

Don't worry about our big men, worry about Paul Pierce (I'm not worried, BTW).
Remember that we have 550 pounds of whup-ass in Potapenko and Fortson, as
opposed to 460 pounds in Ringo and Battie. I've reviewed an approximately
equal number of games (more than 20) involving Potapenko versus Riley/Ringo,
and my conclusion is that Potapenko keeps the stray elbows and hand checks to
a minimum simply because he holds his ground really well. It's really the man
he's guarding who's flailing around theatrically and getting majorly stressed
out and bruised.

Don't worry about what happened in Fila-la Land. Although I didn't watch any
games, I can imagine that VP might foul a lot when he's caught reaching in on
a lot of low-rent YMCA fast-flowing games. Plus reach-in fouls always happen
in proportion to how poorly conditioned and/or unfocused you are. It's
something one does (or at least I do) to make up for the humilation of letting
a defender get a step on you. I've attentively watched enough games from last
year to not worry about Potapenko. He could get called for a lot of fouls at
first, but I know his game can adjust without hurting his aggressiveness more
than say 1%. Eric Riley on the other hand....

Look I'm often wrong and I'm really just another basketball couch potato, but
I think you can actually trust me on this. VP is my favorite player and my
wife's favorite player (even more than Paul Pierce who looks, acts and smiles
sheepishly just like her basketball-playing kid brother). I've watched and
rewound so many plays involving Vitaly that it's ridiculous. I've even asked
two different Ukrainian colleagues at work (people from 152 nationalities work
in my office building) to pronounce "Po-TA-pen-ko" for me. This "battleship"
was born to wear the Boston uniform and none other, just as I believe Fortson
was.

Anyway, to the extent that the new rules will be enforced, it's going to
mostly benefit wings who can create off the dribble and move without the ball.
For big men, I actually think you will see more offensive fouls (backing in
etc.) than defensive fouls.

Maybe I'm wrong, but if asked I don't believe any league official will crack
down on straight man-to-man interior defense as a shortcup to get scoring back
up. Maybe certain rookie officials, but not anyone with any experience from
the 70s or 80s. So while these new rules may be a legitimate concern for the
Celtics, I'm not worrying about it yet. It's certainly not a reason to
question this trade. Our prima donna, fall away jumper, soft play days may
have looked "pretty", but they are officially over.

What time is it? It's old school Celtics basketball time.

Joe

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