Houston, we have a problem?

[Joe Hironaka <j.hironaka@unesco.org>]

Thomas Murphy wrote:

> Houston's stats are solid: 82 games started, .483 fg .436 3pts 19.7 ppg. His
> acquisition would mandate moving Pierce back to SF (where he can block shots
> and board, which I think would be best for all concerned).

Hi Tom:

    I like Allan Houston a lot because he's strong, he's tough, he's playoff
hardened and he's clutch. But one thing that always surprised me about him
though, is that his key non-scoring stats (assists, rebounding and steals) are
pretty prosaic by starting NBA shooting standards. To wit, he averaged just 2.7
assists, 3.3 boards, 0.79 steals last season in a whopping 38.6 minutes per
game. All three numbers were actually considerably above his career averages.
This apparent lack of well-roundedness compares less with his fellow Y2K Dream
Teamers than with the bottom half of starting NBA shooting guards last year.

    For example, a guy like "Paulina" Pierce averaged 10.48
assists+steals+rebounds last year, versus Houston's 6.79. Pierce also averaged 4
times as many blocks per game, for what its worth. Even "Antoinette" Walker
averaged more assists (3.7) and steals (1.48) than Houston has averaged at any
time in his career, whether on good or bad teams. Also, Houston's never averaged
20ppg in a season.

    I guess you can't judge everything by non-scoring stats (the Celts REALLY do
need more toughness and a great outside shooter at guard), but you probably can
make a case that Allan "Apollo 13" Houston might not have been selected to the
Dream Team if he played in, say, Texas instead of the Apple. Imagine the hype
Michael Finley (6.3 boards, 5.3 assists) or Steve Francis (5.6 boards, 6.6
assists) would get if they played in New York or LA.

    I don't know if I'm agreeing with you or disagreeing with you. It's hard to
belief a playoff-hardened veteran with a great jumpshot like Houston could not
help the Celtics turn things around.

Cheers,

Joe

p.s.  I'll agree to stop using corny player nicknames if Way and friends stop
referring to Stromile Swift as "Swifty".  I  was actually nearly tempted to use
the Allan "Whitney" Houston putdown, but it doesn't really apply.