In defense of Potapenko

["LadyNada" <ladynada@mediaone.net>]

I am tired of all the erroneous comments about Vitaly Potapenko's
contribution to the Celtic's team this season.  All you have to do is look
at the statistics, and watch the games.  Just because V has had two poor
games in a row, you cannot factually say that he has not improved over the
course of the year.  He had an excellent game against the Cavs recently.
You could look at that game to see the best he has done, and look at the
last two games to see the worse he has done.  Overall Vitaly is a superstar
in the making, in my opinion, and based on his current contract, the Celtics
have him for "cheap".

PPG = points per game
RPG = Rebounds per game

            games   mins    PPG     RPG     Blocks  Ave     Fouls   Ave
            
Antoine     77      2835    20.8    8.0     31      .402    249     3.23    
Paul        68      2416    19.7    5.5     57      .838    222     3.26    
Vitaly      74      1707     9.3    6.4     29      .391    225     3.04    
Danny F     50      739      6.8    6.2      5      .100    159     3.18
Look at some other centers:
J. Amaechi  75      1547    10.4    3.2     33      .440    147     1.96
M. Camby    56      1478    10.2    7.8     110     1.96    194     3.46
S. Perkins  77      1566     6.8    3.6     32      .415    129     1.67
R. Wallace  77      2714    16.3    7.0     102     1.32    206     2.67
K. Willis   77      1629     7.7    6.1     45      .584    250     3.24


First of all, Vitaly is 4th of all Celtics in points per game.  Vitaly is
third in rebounds, slightly ahead of Fortson whom we all agree is a very
good rebounder.  Vitaly has almost the same blocks average as Antoine, and I
admit that V needs to improve this number.  However, if you have watched
Vitaly playing, you will have noticed that he is attempting more and more
blocks.  Vitaly has stepped up his defense while at the same time working
hard to keep his fouls down.  In the last two games he got into foul
trouble, but in several games previous to that time, he was staying out of
foul trouble.  Vitaly has also been prompting his teammates to cover their
men, when on defense.  I have witnessed these changes in V's game, mostly by
focusing on his play, and watching replays with my VCR.  The stats also show
that Vitaly has a decent foul ave per game for the position he is playing.

One point made by Potapenko's play in the Cavs game, is that when the
Celtics work to get him the ball, Vitaly can make double digit points and
rebounds in a game.  Vitaly has the potential to put up the same average
offensive points as Antoine and Paul.

In closing, Celtics would be making a grave error if they trade Potapenko.
Good centers are hard to come by in today's NBA.

LadyNada

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