Re: Mercer/Battie

["Jim Meninno" <jim_meninno@hotmail.com>]

It's not like I said that I'd trade Mercer to get Battie if he were on 
another team or anything.  Only that I don't think Mercer is the kind of 
player you sign, regardless of money, because you can't afford to lose him.  
Let me put it this way.  What does Mercer give you that you couldn't get for 
less money by trading him?  You don't need to be 6'7" to hit a jumper off a 
screen.  You don't need to be able to jump out of the building to finish on 
the break.  As far as driving with authority, I rarely see him do this, 
although when he does it is quite impressive.  More often I see him throw 
himself into the pack and heave up some sort of blind reverse scoop shot 
that usually doesn't go in or get him to the line.  I think he's overrated 
by most because he can jump so well.  It's the Sportscenter effect.  Just 
because you see him do some things that remind you of a young Michael 
Jordan, doesn't mean that he'll ever develop the toughness, intelligence or 
desire of Jordan.  In short, I don't think he's shown enough to prove he's 
worth more than an average starting shooting guard's contract (even SI's #11 
ranking is only slightly better than average).  Let me be clear, my 
preference is to sign Mercer, and I hope he accepts a contract that lets the 
Celtics do that.

Now, the skinny 6'11" jumping jack, Tony Battie.  I like Tony, but I'm not 
making him out to be more than he is.  I'm not saying that he should he 
should be a starter or get a bigger contract than Mercer.  Only that he's 
the kind of player that you could lose if you're not careful with Mercer's 
contract.  I'm not so dismissive of Battie's talents as you are though.  He 
is not one of these big guys that doesn't know how to play the game.  He was 
smaller in school, and it shows.  He's much better putting the ball to the 
floor than most guys his size, and has a good shooting touch, which is 
almost unheard of for a big guy these days.  Naturally that also means that 
he needs to learn post moves and, especially, defense.  He's got good 
natural shotblocking instincts and a good nose for the ball on the offensive 
boards.  For what it's worth, he can also jump out of the building.  I think 
he could be the sixth man everyone's looking for.  Closer to McHale than 
Hondo.  It's the type of lineup where he could come in for anyone from V 
down to Mercer, and have everyone else slide down one spot.  It would be a 
shame to lose him just to have a slightly better shooting guard.

Jim

>From: peter delevett <pdelevett@amcity.com>
>
>Don't understand this feeling AT ALL. Battie has yet to prove he can
>consistently perform at this level -- he gets manhandled in the post, and 
>we're all looking at him in terms of "potential" and "development." Mercer 
>is already among the top dozen at his position (don't believe me, look at 
>Sports Illustrated, which has him rated #11). Just take a look at their 
>stats.
>
>You can get a lot of 6'11, skinny jumping jacks who don't necessarily know 
>how to play the game -- see Keon Clark, for instance. Sizeable guards who 
>can drive with authority, jump out of the gym and display a sweet jumper 
>don't grow on trees.


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