Re: Heat play-by-play guy

[opi@unesco.org]

Hi Mark:

Another great post.

Well I'm surely looking forward to the Denver draft pick (the longer we can wait
the better I think), but still  believe we can break even on this trade without
it.

Fort seems remarkably intelligent as well as a true Carlton Fisk work ethic and
team-spirited New England type guy. Don't write him off just yet! He was fourth
in the league in rebounding at barely 23, and he can probably conjure a clear
picture of himself leading the NBA in rebounding consistently before he is
through.

Give us a couple years and this list will all be reciting Texas Gene's "one can
of whup-ass if by land (the Fort), two cans of whup-ass if by sea (Battleship
Potapenko)" post-game summaries on a pretty regular basis. If this were 1970s
style ice hockey it would be far more obvious, but the "bruise brothers" Fort
and Vitaly are already willing to carry Paul Pierce and Antoine on their
shoulders toward superstardom if they only could.

We have a basically disfunctional blend of attitude and character right now plus
a yappy lapdog coach, but I truly appreciate watching this young nucleus grind
through a difficult injury-filled first half without the slightest hint of
whining or dissension. They've left it to Internet geeks like me to bitch and
moan nonstop for them. They've kept trying to win as a team while not letting
defeats and boos get to them and incite them into pointing fingers like scottie
pippen girlie-men. Obviously I admire the captain the most for this team
cohesion, since he's arguably the biggest racial boogie-man Boston has ever
seen.


****

"Berry, Mark S" wrote:

> Couldn't agree more, Joe. I didn't mean to elevate the Nuggets anymore than
> they are, just point out that Issel seems to have made some pretty good
> personnel decisions. The Nugs certainly seem to be a team on the rise,
> providing they can either re-sign Mercer or turn him into another quality
> player. One caveat: They do not have a first-rounder this year (Orlando has
> it) or, most likely, next year (Celtics have the option to take it, with
> some protection for Denver).
>
> We're a better team since the Mercer-Fortson trade, and so is Denver. I
> supported the trade from the beginning, but circumstances since it happened
> certainly seem to point to a lopsided edge to the Nugs. Fortson's injury
> forced Toine to the PF spot, where it now appears he is destined to spend
> 35-40 minutes per game. It also opened the door for Adrian Griffin, who
> charged through and now also seems like a 30-40 mpg guy. There's no way
> anyone could have known all of this was going to happen.
>
> Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it), it did
> happen. So the Celts are left with Fortson, scraping for backup minutes, on
> the last year of his contract. The Nugs have Mercer, averaging 20 ppg
> (admittedly a one-dimensional 20), in the last year of his deal. Let's
> assume both teams decide to trade these players. In all honesty, who will
> get the better return? You'd have to believe the Nuggets.
>
> So we're left with Eric Williams (a cap disaster who just can't play
> anymore) and, maybe the saving grace, Denver's No. 1 pick in a future draft.
>
> Through no fault of Pitino's or Fortson's, the landscape of this team has
> changed. Walker is the PF. Period. Griffin is going to play big minutes.
> It's becoming more and more clear that Fortson is the odd man out. I expect
> him to leave either via trade before the deadline, by a sign-and-trade after
> the season or simply by walking as a free agent. Personally, I hope we
> salvage something and deal him at some point.
>
> And Joe, you're right about the Celts. Injuries have crippled them. And I'll
> second your opinion of Kenny. He's been great. When he, Pierce and Toine are
> healthy, this team can be a headache for anyone.
>
> I really didn't mean to get into this Fortson-Mercer thing again, but I do
> think it's shaping up as one of those "who knew" bad trades. Not because
> Mercer's gone (we're better without him), but because in the end, we didn't
> get equal value in return.
>
> Mark
>
>         -----Original Message-----
>         From:   opi@unesco.org [SMTP:opi@unesco.org]
>         Sent:   Wednesday, January 26, 2000 2:16 PM
>         To:     Berry, Mark S; Celtics@igtc.com
>         Subject:        Re: Heat play-by-play guy
>
>         "Berry, Mark S" wrote:
>
>         > (You know, considering that was Issel's assessment of Battie, and
> that he
>         > also concluded Fortson would be hampered by the new rules, that
> LaFrentz
>         > wouldn't be another BWS and that Van Exel would mature into an
> effective PG,
>         > I'm beginning to think Mr. Issel just might be a pretty good judge
> of NBA
>         > talent.)
>         >
>         > Hoping for  a win tonight,
>         >
>         > Mark
>
>         Hi Mark, nice post overall. I just wanted to interject that the
> Nougats have
>         only 18 wins and are five games out of the playoff race at the
> season's
>         midpoint. But the more important point of comparison is that they
> haven't had
>         any real injuries this season other than Billups (who sports a
> forgettable
>         .337FG%).
>
>         As for the Celts, start with the fact that Paul Pierce has basically
> missed ten
>         games (included the two games he left after 11 or fewer minutes). If
> you assume
>         our 1-9 record in those games would be closer to 5-5 had he played,
> then the
>         Celts would be 23-18 (good for second place in the Central among
> other things).
>         Then you can add that the Celts have had injury DNPs from Griffin (9
> games and
>         counting), Fortson (25 games), Potapenko (3 games), Eric Williams (5
> games and
>         counting), Cheaney and McCarty (8 games) as well as Barros (4
> games).
>
>         This season is kind of a testament to Kenny Anderson's guts. He
> hasn't missed a
>         single game despite the hamstring injury. Antoine too, but he's
> known to be
>         pretty durable.
>
>