RE: Just my 2 cents

[OzerskyJA <OzerskyJA@cmog.org>]

Tom, those are great points.  It's good to have you back.  But I would
offer two counter points.  One is that while he is a lousy one on one
defender, Antoine is at least aggressive and active most of the time,
whereas Pierce has the tools and doesn't do the job.  More importantly, the
part of Antoine's game that doesn't get replaced in any of your scenarios is
his passing.  After all these years, we've finally gotten him to the point
where his ability to draw a double team can be routine made into an
offensive asset -- the axiomatic "making your teammates better" that is the
mark of a true superstar as opposed to the one-dimensional ability of a guy
like Houston (or Pierce.)  To me, that's what really defines Antoine's game
at its best.  It's also why I laugh when I hear people compare Nowitski to
Bird.  Bird's passing was why there will never be another like him (even if
Nowitski could score and rebound like Larry when he was forty and crippled.)

Josh Ozersky	
Marketing Communications Specialist 
Corning Museum of Glass

> -----Original Message-----
> From:	Thomas Murphy [SMTP:tfmiii@worldnet.att.net]
> Sent:	Tuesday, December 19, 2000 12:31 PM
> To:	Celtic list
> Subject:	Just my 2 cents
> 
> My top option right now would not be trying to trade Pierce, it would be
> trying to find a coach who is more than a one trick pony. Pitino came in
> with a reputation built on defense and that is where this team has failed
> most spectacularly. Blame the players if you want - but again 'Panama'
> Pitino brought them in. The fact of the matter is that his press does not
> work in the pros - unless perhaps in the special case where you have Pat
> Ewing anchoring it (FWIW I can't imagine Mark Jackson was THAT much better
> defending the point than Kenny Anderson), but my memory is not good enough
> for me to state to what degree the press Rick has tried to institute in
> Boston resembles the one he had in NYC. In any case, I don't remember
> Pitino's Knicks as being all that special on the defensive end - rather it
> was their high-scoring offense that got them into the playoffs.
> 
> Returning to the question of defense, the last two games have been a
> showcase of the limits of Antoine's game. Both games featured opposing
> teams
> with talented power forwards (from the west of course) and both PF's ate
> our
> lunch. Antoine puts up great numbers on what is at best a mediocre team.
> But
> those numbers do not reflect the harm (the "negative externalities") that
> are part and parcel of the Walker package: his inability to defend ANY
> position with any modicum of effectiveness. (I take that to be the
> significance of the previous comment that Walker has no position while
> Pierce can play two positions).
> 
> For all the sniping about PP (with Kenny out I guess he is the new 'flavor
> of the month'), at least he has shown that he CAN defend. (Granted,
> whether
> he is motivated to do so on a team where the tempo and chemistry is set by
> senior psychopath Pitino is another matter. . .) For that reason alone I
> would rather retain Peirce than Walker IF we had to chose one or the other
> (as many of the recent posts seem to imply). But I stress that one should
> not expect any progress - regardless of trades - as long as Pitino is at
> the
> helm. As a coach he basically quit early in year two (i.e., since other
> coaches/teams began exploiting the press) and now too much water has gone
> over the dam.
> 
> IF Walker were to be traded I would focus on obtaining a high-quality
> shooting guard, an all-star or near all-star like a Finley or Houston - at
> minimum an up-and-comer like Bonzi Wells in some sort of package.
> Potapenko
> would be a more than effective center (esp. in the east) if he didn't have
> to constantly cover for a vertically challenged PF (since Vitaly is
> vertically challenged himself!). Neither Antoine nor Vitaly could jump
> over
> a phone book but at least V is at the very least a mediocre defender who
> can
> usually stay with his man one-on-one.
> 
> Put Battie and Moiso at PF next to Vitaly where they are less likely to
> get
> pushed around and can offer help D with blocks. Surely neither could
> perform
> any worse on D as Walker. Now I'll go out on a limb: given Antoine's
> minutes
> V could very likely put up numbers close to Antoine's in points and
> rebounds
> (15-18 ppg, 8-10 rpg) at half the price. Plus - as an added bonus - any of
> the defensive rebounds snagged by either V or Battie/Moiso would have to
> be
> advanced via the PASS!
> 
> Of course, none of this matters as long as Pitino remains in 'control' (I
> use the term loosely), and I don't expect that to change until after the
> season. So basically I'm hoping no major changes take place and that the
> new
> GM will be given a chance to make select three 1st rounders and to gauge
> Walker's worth on the open market sans the BYC. Surely the mere knowledge
> that someone other than Pitino is pulling the trigger will net us better
> offers from other GMs no matter who is being offered for trade.
> 
> Cheers - Tom Murphy