Re: Maybe he just needs his spinach

[damekmo@teleport.com]

>What do you base this on, Paul? Have you examined his knee lately? Are you an
>orthopedic surgeon?

No but I date an orthopedic surgeon and we went out Saturday night, ate
Thai, and I'm telling you, I was sitting up all night long talking about
Popeye's knee. Man...that guy's in trouble.

>The guy is still young, and if Danny Manning can still contribute after THREE
>blown ACLs, I don't see why Pops can't.

Manning's much more of a finesse player who had tons of offensive talent to
make up for his physical problems. He also had an outside game. Popeye's a
short banger with mediocre skills all around. Take away anything at all
from his ability to bang inside and he's gone. On defense, take away any
lateral movement and he's zero on defense. His offense? Has he got one away
from the basket? Away from the physical play? Is his offense any good at
all? What offense? Look, here's what we came up with Saturday night/Sunday
morning. I don't get the "value" of Popeye Jones. He's a mediocre player.
Period. Right now, if the Celtics pick up a bruiser power forward, Battie
backs him up and Popeye never sees a second of playing time. El Busto is
better than Popeye right now. Jones was never effective as a backup
center...ever. I  just don't get the attraction to Popeye Jones. He's ok.
That's all. Now, he's ok with a scar on his knee. Here's my fear: Popeye
Jones comes back, he plays his usual mediocre game and when Pitino tries to
move him, all he hears is, "You know...the guy played better before he was
hurt." I'm afraid that there's some sort of mass hallucination that's gone
on about Popeye. Everyone seems to think he can play. There's no way to
explain it. Even if the guy comes back at full strength...zero
effect...he's still no good and people blame the knee injury. If he comes
back and plays below his "capabilities" he's Pervis Ellison. Package him
right now, while he's worth something, before the spell is broken.

Paul M.