Re: Ron vs. Isaiah and Spree.

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

damekmo@teleport.com wrote:
> Now, on to two of
> my favorite players...Isaiah Rider and Latrell Sprewell. I hope Ron Mercer
> is watching both these guys play, especially Rider. Yes, Isaiah is a
> freak...yes he can be irresponsible...yes you can question his
> maturity...but this guy can hit a shot from anywhere on the court; (Are you
> listening Ron?) he's big enough to post up any shooting guard covering him;
> (So's Ron.) he goes to the basket; (Ron?) and when he wants to, he can
> defend anybody (Ron??). Did anybody see the fourth quarter of the last
> Blazers/Jazz game? Isaiah was unstoppable. Mercer has all the tools. 


If you mean the physical tools, sure. Mercer has the size and the hops, but
skillswise, he's well behind Rider. Rider has better range, dribbling
ability, defense, post-up moves, any kind of moves, really. He can pretty
much create, and make, a shot anywhere on the court, in any kind of
pressure. In fact, the only areas where Mercer is superior to Rider are
steals and on- & off-court behavior.  
 
> Maybe
> Ron needs more of an "a-hole edge". Who knows? Now there's no doubt about
> it, Isaiah could explode mentally at any point and the whole thing could go
> bad. It's a chance you take with players like him and Sprewell. The problem
> with trading Ron is that he shows flashes of becoming one of the best
> shooting guards in the league. The problem with Ron is that if you watch
> him play long enough, you come to the conclusion that he never will be. 

Tha's my conclusion as well. He's a nice player to have, but I doubt he'll
ever become a first-tier shooting guard. Portland has better players warming
their bench.