RE: OK, I've collected my thoughts...

["Berry, Mark S" <berrym@BATTELLE.ORG>]

Well, Warwick already answered this, but... Battie played for a team where
he was the absolute focal point of everything they did offensively. Moiso
battled for the ball with Gadzuric, Kapono and Rush. That was part of UCLA's
problem.

You can't go by college numbers. If you did, you'd say Battie was a better
player than Tim Duncan.

Mark 


	-----Original Message-----
	From:	John Lyell [SMTP:johnlyell@hotmail.com]
	Sent:	Friday, June 30, 2000 1:47 AM
	To:	Berry, Mark  S; celtics@igtc.com
	Subject:	Re: OK, I've collected my thoughts...

	Mark I don't know how you can say Moiso is more talented than Battie
when
	Battie put up much better number in college.


	----- Original Message -----
	From: "Berry, Mark S" <berrym@BATTELLE.ORG>
	To: <celtics@igtc.com>
	Sent: Thursday, June 29, 2000 6:42 AM
	Subject: OK, I've collected my thoughts...


	> Jerome Moiso is fine by me. I wanted no part of Courtney
Alexander. No
	> defense and selfish, not to mention a thug. He would have been
terrible
	for
	> this team. Haven't we learned that yet? At least Pitino has.
	>
	> As soon as Przybilla went off the board, I resigned myself to the
fact
	that
	> the draft pick would not make a significant difference in this
team.
	Having
	> said that, if you're going to gamble in the draft, I would think
you could
	> do a lot worse than taking a shot on an athletic 7-footer who runs
like a
	> deer, is left-handed (always a plus for big guys) and can play
three
	> positions if needed. He is a big-time talent. The question is, can
he do
	it
	> every night. If he can, he'll go down as a steal.
	>
	> I was shaking in my shoes when Vecsey mentioned the O'Neal offer.
Three
	No.
	> 1 picks is too much. I'll take Moiso, thank you.
	>
	> Let's stop the Battie comparisons. They have vastly different
games. Moiso
	> is infinitely more talented than Battie. Hopefully Moiso finds the
"on"
	> switch, because Battie doesn't have a clue. Moiso will be a factor
this
	> year, and he could turn out to be a real force. The thing you know
you get
	> with Moiso is the measurables: He's big enough, athletic enough,
runs well
	> enough and shoots well enough to play the power forward spot
offensively
	and
	> defensively. If he adds a little polish and consistency, he's a
pretty
	rare
	> commodity. Would anyone be that surprised if he is a better player
than
	> Marcus Fizer or Chris Mihm three years from now? Not me.
	>
	> Now, I'm not just looking through green-colored glasses. I was
frustrated
	> last night because I thought there were deals to be made to make
us
	better,
	> and we didn't make them. Milwaukee added Jason Caffey and Joel
Przybilla
	to
	> a team that only lacked interior defensive presence (sound
familiar?), and
	> they only gave up Jason Collier and a future first-rounder, while
dumping
	> unwanted Tractor Traylor and J.R. Reid. Watch out for the Bucks.
That's
	the
	> kind of deal I would have liked to have seen the Celts make. Of
course, it
	> sounds like Przybilla wasn't even a consideration for Pitino, who
said he
	> would have taken Moiso even if Przybilla were still there (I would
have
	been
	> shopping for a new television set if that had happened).
	>
	> By all accounts, it sounds like the Euroshooter we traded for in
the
	second
	> round can fill a role. He's a shooter with good size and some
experience
	> playing the point. He's weak defensively, so he'll fit right in.
One of
	the
	> Celtics' really overlooked weaknesses is perimeter shooting, and
this guy
	> may be the best shooter in the draft. He's not a starter, but he
should
	help
	> in a well-defined role.
	>
	> More good news: Pitino said Gaston wants him to be aggressive in
bringing
	a
	> winner to Boston. I'm hoping their lack of aggressiveness in the
draft
	means
	> they are after bigger game. Here's hoping, again, that Pierce
moves off
	the
	> untouchable list and we can bring in some more help in trade.
	>
	> Finally, on Walker playing point guard: Why not? He basically
handled the
	> ball when Barros was in there anyway. He has the ability, and he
could
	> present tremendous matchup problems. Can he guard Stephon Marbury?
No, but
	> who can?
	>
	> Sorry so long, but I tried to summarize a lot of stuff swirling
through my
	> head. My evaluation of the draft? Not bad, with the potential to
be very
	> good. And I'm hoping Aug. 1 is when the real fun starts.
	>
	> Mark
	>
	>