Re: more "train" bashing

[KK <Kestutis.Kveraga@Dartmouth.EDU>]

gil moreno wrote:
> 
> RTC wrote:
> >He's a terrible rebounder on a per minute basis.
> That's because he boxes-out his man first, this being a fundamental move
> if you've ever played the game.  He is a team player above all.  Very
> fundamentally sound, unlike most of the existing celtics.
> 
> >He's jumps as high as my grandmother on a GOOD day!
> Larry Bird couldn't out jump my 4 year old nephew, and yet he managed to
> average at least 7 boards throughout his career.
> 
> > He's not tall enough to be a center in this league and not agile
> enough to be a power foward.
> This description fits Alonzo Mourning as well, and yet his team depends
> on him so much.  He is the reason (together w/ Tim Hardaway) why they're
> up there in the standings.

I probably shouldn't bother responding to these inanities, given Gil's touche
comments, but what the heck...

You wanna talk about what a terrible per-minute rebounder VP is? OK, so far
VP's been averaging 7.6 rpg in 24.4 minutes for us. That works out to .311
rbs/min, or 14.93 rbs/48 min. The Celts' leading rebounder, Antoine Walker, is
averaging 8.5 rbs in 35.4 minutes, which works out to .24 rbs/min, or 11.53
rbs/48 min. 
You say Walker is a sucky rebounder? Let's compare VP to the league's
rebounding leader, Chris Webber. He's averaging 13.4 rpg in 40.1 mpg. This is
.334 rbs/min, or 16.03 rbs/48 min. 

Hence, VP is behind the leading rebounder by 1.1 rbs/48 min.  He IS terrible.
Let's look down the rebounding chart and see just how terrible a rebounder VP
is. The #2 rebounding guy, Tim Duncan, is averaging 12.1 rpg in 38.8 mpg,
which works out to.... .311 rbs/min, or 14.93 rbs/48 min. - exactly VP's
numbers. Apparently, to RTC "terrible" means anything but being #1. High
standards indeed...
(Folks, I know these per-minute comparisons are completely bogus, but the guy
wanted to talk rebounding on a per-minute basis).

Oh, btw, RTC, does the name Laimbeer ring a bell? The guy couldn't jump over a
newspaper, but somehow always managed to be among the league's leaders in
rebounding. Re: height, perhaps such names as Russell, Olajuwon, Unseld, Reed,
(Moses) Malone and Cowens sound familiar? None of these centers is/was over
6-10, yet they were able to achieve a modicum of success in the NBA. Nobody
claims VP is at the same level. However, he was acquired w/o giving up major
assets, and has noticeably helped the team's rebounding: before VP, the
average Celts' rebound differential was -4.5, with him, it's around +5.6.