Re: Just when I was feeling better. A few thoughts.

[opi@unesco.org]

damekmo@teleport.com wrote:

> >... Pitino on new bruiser Danny
> >Fortson: ''I think he'll be in foul trouble [with the new rules]. I think
> >Vitaly Potapenko will be, too. But we have five legitimate frontcourt
> >players this year so we can withstand foul trouble.''
>
> I find this troubling. Pitino seems pretty certain about both players
> inability to play effectively under the new rules. There doesn't seem to be
> a doubt in his mind. Both of these guys need to be physically agressive at
> both ends of the floor in order to make a difference. And yes, there is
> greater depth in the frontcourt, but I'd feel a lot better if Pitino was
> forcing the other team's hand concerning who was on the court and when.
> But...perhaps it's a case of Fortson/Pot or Walker/Battie starting/playing
> more minutes against different lineups and more favorable matchups.
> Paul M.

Hi Paul, I think regardless of foul trouble, there will be pretty much the same
rotation. For example, a Battie+Walker might work best against a team like the
Knicks (minus Ewing). Remember that Fortson played just 28.3 minutes last year
and Vitaly played even less at 27.9 minutes, so it's not as if Pitino isn't
used to having starters spend significant time on the bench, regardless of foul
situation. I think all those guys should stay aggressive despite the new rules.
They are just kids, so eventually they will have to learn to absolutely avoid
the stupid fouls.

Bear in mind that the Celts will likely also draw more fouls than last season
as well, with the addition of Fortson and Eric Williams. Last year Danny
Fortson averaged 4.6 trips to the line, which would have been second on the
Celts team ahead of Paul Pierce (4.1). Fortson even out shot Paul Pierce from
the line (.726 versus .713) and is a career .756 shooter in his two pro
seasons.

In this sense, I'm not sure I care if Fortson averages 6 fouls per game
provided he does it over 28.3 minutes and gets 11.6 rebounds. Bottom line: if
that's the downside of this whole deal, then the Celts did well.  Whenever a GM
is searching to pluck a double figure rebounding forward from another club, you
whould definitely expect certain serious trade offs in the exchange (too old
like Horace Grant, too undisciplined like Coleman, zero offense like Ben
Wallace), and that's if you are lucky enough to find one these guys (there may
be fewer than 10 forwards in the entire 30 team league who unselfishly produce
at least 8 rebounds per game, much less 11.6 over a season).

I do agree it would be nice to have an extra true center all season. Once
Pervis goes down, I'd expect the Celts to quietly re-sign Eric Riley or
Shintzius, since they both know the system.

****