Re: 5 and then nothing.

[Dan Parker <danp@town.ipswich.ma.us>]

On Thu, 3 Feb 2000 damekmo@teleport.com wrote:

> other coaches would love to have. Look at this team's bench. Game after
> game after game this team's bench just sucks.

Naw, it isn't that bad.


> This is the most unproductive bench in the NBA.

Well, I haven't seen much of the other 28 teams except when they play
Boston, but you could be right with this one.  Boston probably gets as
little of the potential out of its bench as any team in the league.  The
platoon substitution method was a mess.  Players get jerked in and out of
the game based on one play.  It's a wonder they can get anything done in
spurts of two and three minutes.


> Somebody needs to come in off the bench one day and score
> in double figures.

Ah, if only Ron Mercer's ego would have allowed him to come off the
bench...


> Fortson who is simply unwatchable and who, along with his Denver buddy
> Battie is useless. Barros is gone. Cheaney was never any good and he
> continues to prove his worth.

Potapenko, Fortson, and Battie have been up and down all year, and I think
a large part of that is their inconsistent minutes.  I mean, look at how
many mistakes Walker makes in any given game, yet he routinely gets 40+
minutes.  I don't know how you can call Fortson unwatchable -- every time
I see him in a game he does well, though he picks up fouls like nobody's
business.  If you started Fortson and/or Battie and played them 35+
minutes a game and they could play without being afraid of being yanked
after a mistake I think they would become much more consistent and they
could iron out some of the wrinkles in their game.  Pitino's love affair
with Antoine is holding back the development of those two players.

Cheaney and Barros have definitely been disappointments.  Cheaney needs a
big confidence boost.  I'm not sure what happened to Barros.

It's bad, but not *that* bad.

Dan