Battie, Larry, Refs....

[Todd Crane <tcrane@isis.unc.edu>]

Item #1 Tony Battie:

Battie is much more valuable to this team than Ron Mercer.  I don't know
what RP's priorities might be, but if I were him, my #1 item this off
season would be resigning Battie.  As a bench player, Battie can play
either power forward or center while as a starter he is a legitimate 4.
He is easily the C's best offesive rebounder and surely their only
consistent shot blocker in the post.  There have been comparisions
between Battie and Camby, but with no disrespect to Camby, I think that
is selling Battie short.  Battie is taller, stronger, just as quick, and
has a much more polished offensive game than Camby.  Battie has only
realized about 65 or 70% of his full potential.  As with most of the C's
young players, last year's experience in the RP system combined with a
full off season and training camp as a Celtic will do wonders for
Battie.  If it comes down to money, let Mercer go, but sign Battie.  A
starting lineup of a bulkier Battie, a nasty Potapeko, a slimer more
restrained Walker, the dead eye shooting Pierce, and yes, a healthier
and faster Anderson is one I can live with.

Item #2 Larry Bird:

Larry is a better X's and O's man than people will give him credit for.
He brought Carlisle in to coach the offense because Larry wanted to
focus his time on team conditioning and mental preparation.  Did Larry
make mistakes in the playoffs?  He sure did!  But, so does every coach.
Personally, I would have had one of the Davis boys knock the stuffing
out of Camby and Houston.  It was clear to everyone, that the Knicks
were getting the big time benefit of the calls in game 6, so making the
game extremely physical, especially after NY lost Johnson, would have
been to Indy's benefit.

I'm not sure what Larry is thinking about for next season.  He should
realize that several teams will be better than they were during the
strike shortened season and that his older, slower Pacers may not be
able to keep up.  Philly will be better, Boston will be better, NJ will
be better etc..  So, Larry has some serious decisions to make.  I don't
know what their cap room looks like, but Indy needs more scorers, and
more athleticism very badly.  In a way, I'm glad the Knicks won, because
they play basketball the way it was meant to be played (see Item #3).

Item #3 The Refs:

Fact:  The officiating in the NBA is far and away the worst in all of
the major pro sports.  Why?  The biggest reason is inconsistency.  In
baseball, every homeplate ump has his own idea of the strikezone, but at
least it is consistent from game to game.  NBA refs are woefully
inconsistent from minute to minute.  Furthermore, the idea of the all
star call is ruining the game.  How can teams with younger players
possibly compete if they have to play by a different set of rules.  It's
increadible stupid.  What about illegal defense.  The fans don't
understand it, the players don't, and the refs can seem to make up their
minds either.  There is something fundamentally wrong with a rule that
tells a coach how he has to arrange his five players on defense.  If you
get rid of the illegal defense rule, scoring would increase dramatically
because players like Shaq, Larry Johnson and Mark Jackson would not be
permitted to pound to ball to the floor and back his man down.  The lost
art of ball movement would be rediscovered and the fast break offense
would have a bigger comeback than John Travolta.  Finally, the refs need
to enforce the rules that are in the book.  Namely, an offensively
player should not be allowed to ram his ass into the defender.  In
addition, it's illegal to spend more than three seconds with ANY part of
your body in the paint be it two feet, one foot, or the lace of your
sneakers.  Rid the sport of the back down post up move, non calls on 3
seconds, illegal defense, and "all star" calls and teams will
consistently score 95 to 120 points a game and bring back the grace and
beauty that has been missing in the NBA for about 15 years.  The NBA is
entertainment.  Teams that score in the 80s are just not entertaining.

Todd