the real problem

[Alex Wang <awang@mit.edu>]

I think all this talk about Kenny's inadequacies and bringing Mercer or
Pierce off the bench obscures the real problems.

1) Lack of defense. Potapenko can handle his own man which is a big 
upgrade, but the power forward position is still weak. Point guard
is another problem. Pierce is a pretty good defender and Mercer is OK.
The opposing team either penetrates with the point guard, posts up,
or throws it into the power forward and waits for the double team.
I don't think that Battie at the PF is the defensive solution at this
point; he may develop into it but in the meantime more help is needed
here. 

2) Defensive rebounding. If we could add a dominating defensive rebounder,
we could fast break more and avoid all those putback dunks that the 
opponents get.

3) Interior scoring. The idea of playing Mercer off the bench just means
we'll have more balance between a jump shooting first unit and jump 
shooting second unit. We need more high percentage offense and a way to
get defenders in foul trouble and draw double teams. (Potapenko does that 
but he doesn't pass out of them well yet). 

Anyways, I don't believe that Battie is the 35-minute per game solution
at power forward, at least not on a good team. I'm not sure why people
are upset about the idea of trading Mercer for a power forward because
whether the trade makes sense or not depends entirely on who the power
forward is. 

Alex