Re: Another Win

[bird <birdw@aloha.net>]

>From: Alexander Wang <awang@MIT.EDU>
>
>Stith looked great today.

Yeah, he sure did.  I'm as impressed with him as you seem to be, 
Alex.  He plays D and can score -- and is smart about how he scores 
(i.e. taking it to the hoop, drawing fouls, spotting up for the three 
on the penetration).  He's made a few more errors in the past couple 
weeks than he did earlier in the season, but he still seems solid.  I 
also noticed him banging in the middle for the bound.  Wish more C's 
would do that.  The play you mention in the Clipps game when he drew 
the contact on that three attempt with the shot going down was just 
great.  Walker gave him the ball, and you could almost see the look 
of "OK, Bryant -- do something with this!" on his face.  And Stith 
did.  Good play.

I think Joe's criticism of Stith is valid, though: that he lacks 
consistency from game to game, sometime scoring 18, sometime going 
1-6 on field goals.  Part of that is the Jekyll and Hyde nature of 
the whole team.  I hope the other major part of it is something that 
can be improved, like maybe it's a matter of chemistry and getting 
the whole team to look for matchups and the like.  Who knows?  One 
thing's for sure, though, Stith is no stiff.  I can't see calling a 
guy who leaves it all out on the floor, plays D and can score a 
stiff.  Just don't see it.

>Randy Brown is a good addition
>because he's so solid at the defensive end. I have to admit that when he's
>dribbling up the floor against pressure, he looks shaky in a way that Kenny
>never does.

Yes.  Let's face it -- Randy Brown is a limited player.  He's not a 
great ball-handler, and he doesn't shoot that well.  On the other 
hand, he's a defensive ballhawk and he does know who to pass to, and 
when, and how to deliver the pass.  All in all, that's not too bad, 
not too bad at all.  The trick will be to mitigate some of the things 
he's not good at -- like having Walker bring the ball up, which 
Walker is skilled at.  I also think that Brown will be better when he 
can be a bench player, helping to spark the C's defense in a way that 
he doesn't seem able to do (as well) when he starts.  (Actually, when 
Anderson comes back, I'd love to see him, Herren and Brown split the 
minutes pretty evenly, say 16 minutes each.  I doubt that'll make any 
player happy, though, but the team might be able to get a really good 
mix of talents at the point guard committee.)

>I saw today why people are down on Pierce, because he really
>attempted quite a few ridiculous degree of difficulty shots. He also failed
>to run back on defense if he drove it and thought he was fouled, which is
>something we always bash Antoine for.

All too true.  The numbers are there (23 ppg, 45% fg, 43% 3fg, 6.3 
rpg, 3.4 apg, 1.6 spg) but imagine how high a percentage he could 
shoot if he took better shots?  How many more assists could he 
average if he dished even more on the penetration?  How many more 
steals he could get if he got back on D after a busted offensive 
play?  Ah, well, he's doing pretty well what with being stabbed and 
all.

Pierce's upper body (especially his arms) look a lot less defined and 
buff than last year's incarnation.  I hope this isn't a matter of 
Pierce expecting to be a 2 guard and molding his body that way and 
now playing more small forward.  I guess in Pitinoball it doesn't 
matter that much.  It might be from the stabbing, too.  He does look 
quicker slashing to the hoop, maybe that has something to do with it.

To be fair, here are some Pierce numbers that just aren't going to 
cut it if they continue for the whole season: 69% from the charity 
line (not good, especially if he's going to take it to the hoop/draw 
fouls more), 3.8 turnovers per game (leads the team).  I'd love to 
see his assists and steals go up, too, just because I believe he can 
find opportunities for teammates, and get in passing lanes and force 
turnovers.

Good win against a young, talented, but ultimately outmatched 
(especially in the West) Clipper team.  (If they can manage to keep 
their talent around (ha ha -- good one), in a couple of years they'd 
be pretty good, though.)

Regards,

Bill (Celticus "tirdius")