Re: Mercer/Battie

[Daniel Forant Sr <dforant1@nycap.rr.com>]

All this talk of Mercer stems from the fact that we think we have better
players than we do. Mercer is not worth the money he and his agent may
think he is. He's a shooter. About 42-43%, and he seems to run out of gas
late. Ever notice, he comes out fast, bing, bang, then gone in the 4th. His
overall stats are decent but nothing that makes him stand out. His jumping
is great, so be a high jumper, because it doesn't help him be a better ball
player. Trade him and Anderson for what we need to make us better. Battie
should stay and will develop. He shows lots of promise. Talk about being
athletic.

ML Carr's disappointed because of the season results. What does he know
about round ball? He shouldn't be allowed interviews. He was useful when
the Celts were a wreck and looking for lottery players. His usefulness is
over.


Jim Mininno wrote:
At 07:01 AM 5/5/99 PDT, you wrote:
>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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