Fortson post mortem

["Thomas Murphy" <tfmiii@worldnet.att.net>]

Once again the trading deadline is drawing near, and for the third time in
three years Capt. Rick "Panama" Pitino has decided that the deck-chairs on
the Titanic are in need of a final shuffle - just in time for a west coast
trip that is likely to put the final coffin nails into any post-season
hopes. Luckily for "Panama", he has been given a golden life-preserver.

Joe, you deserve the credit for being the first to suss out the fact that
Fortson had taken up permanent residence in "Panama's" dog house - despite
the fact that Fortson performed (in the brief time permitted) JUST AS
EXPECTED. You've got to feel for poor Alvin Williams, he's about to enter
that twilight zone between college and pro hoops known as the Boston
Celtics. At least as a 6-5 PG who can't play the point he should fit right
into the "system" that seems dedicated to putting players into positions
and/or roles for which they are ill-suited: 

KA - our "defensive PG" who is not allowed to create on offense,
PP - our SG who has played SF his entire career - until now,
AG - our leading rebounder from the SF spot - at 6-5,
VP - last night's assignment guarding Austin Croshere only the last in a
series of "creative mismatches",
DB - our 5-9 PG who can't dribble, pass or defend,
TB - the latest in a long line of string-bean "centers" who has fallen in
love with the 20 ft jumper,
Waltah - our defensive ace who can't guard ANYONE one-on-one,
and Twon - our captain of course!

Savor this tidbit form Raptor GM Glen Grunwald and see if it sounds
familiar to you; perhaps something you may have heard, oh, about 6 months
ago. . .

"Danny Fortson adds another tough body up front that is crucial to
any team's success in the Eastern Conference," Grunwald said.
http://www.espn.go.com/nba/news/2000/0209/345896.html

Of course, Grunwald merely states what most of us already thought. What
Grunwald neglected to say is that a "another tough body" is even more
crucial to success in the West these days, because that's where all the
premier PF's currently play. Last night's match-up vs Dale Davis is
probably an unfortunate prelude to what will befall the "Twon@PF project"
out on our upcoming western swing: 

DD 7-10 11 rebs 2 blocks 16 pts
Twon 5-17 10 rebs 0-1 3ptr 12 pts. 

To hear Pitino talk about how Twon would be a liability guarding 3s, you'd
think that Twon had done a bang-up job guarding 4s. Can't wait to see Twon
use his "quickness" defending Karl, Vin, Rasheed/Brian G, Othello, and
whoever the GSW and the Lakers suit up. Remember, "success is a choice".

Of course, it is silly to talk of any of our players "guarding" the
opposition given the monkey outbreak scheme they are required to employ. To
me, the greatest indictment of Pitino's tenure is the utter failure of his
defensive schemes which, we should remember, were his calling card when he
took this job. Allowing a league worst opponent shooting % is indicative of
a total TEAM failure and make no mistake about it, the team "defense" is
directed and dictated by "Panama" from the bench - and it positively
stinks, just like this last "trade".

-TomM