Re: Cofman: Moiso Having Difficulty

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

    Great points, Mark. Bottom line, Moiso at least has the talent to be a good
defensive player and thus an impact player who helps his teammates play better.
He definitely has a massive upside, to the degree that his defensive effort to
date could not be at a lower starting point. If he's any kind of championship
coach (which he is), then Pitino could get through to him.

    I've come to the conclusion that Fortson wasn't very mobile at all on
defense, after watching some more tapes very recently. My point wasn't that
Boston needs him more than they need Battie, but simply that I respect and find
it easy to root for any player who gets close to 100% out of his talent, as
opposed to a young guy who gets multi-million dollar raises without ever doing a
thing in the NBA (like ranking fourth in the NBA in rebounding or putting up big
scoring/rebounding numbers against the Lakers like the 6-7 Fortson has on his
resume).

    BTW over the course of the past year, I never felt that Fortson was a whiner
or bad chemistry player under the circumstances.

---

"Berry, Mark S" wrote:

> Hi Joe--interesting post.
>
> I don't want to sound like a Moiso apologist here, because I have as many
> doubts as anyone about the guy, but I'm going to reserve judgment until I
> see more of him. Still, I wanted to counter a few of your points.
>
> You're right about those UCLA teams being stocked with talent and poorly
> coached. It's one of the reasons I believe Moiso's numbers are so ho-hum
> (although not as terrible as they've been made out to be). The team had a
> lot of high school stars and no direction. They performed like one of those
> high school all-star teams--quick shots, no passing, no inside-out attack on
> offense (hmm, sounds familiar). At least partially as a result, the team's
> two best players--Moiso and center Dan Gadzuric put up run-of-the-mill
> stats. I'd argue that a good coach would have meant much improved production
> from those two players because the coach would have insisted upon it.
>
> Also, you mention that Moiso's production paled in comparison to other
> lottery picks, but I'd say that's not entirely true, either. Check out the
> stats for Mike Miller, Dermar Johnson and Joel Przybilla. Hardly
> earth-shattering, and I'd say pretty comparable to Moiso's. Look at Kenyon
> Martin's stats his first three seasons at Cincinnati. Or Stromile Swift's
> his first season at LSU. Or Marcus Fizer his first two seasons. Keyon
> Dooling. Moiso's stats are typical of the new NBA philosophy on
> drafting--draft potential ahead of proven production. That's why two-year
> workout warriors like Moiso go ahead of four-year plowhorses like Etan
> Thomas. You know what you're getting in Etan Thomas, and it's solid, but
> it's never going to be spectacular. With Moiso, the risk is greater, but the
> potential payoff is much higher.
>
> Finally, I know you and many others on the list are big Fortson fans, but am
> I the only one who thinks he cared (cares) more about his stats and minutes
> than winning? All I ever hear from the guy is how he can put up better
> numbers than so-and-so if he just gets the minutes. I don't remember him
> ever saying "I have to improve my defense and not foul so much," or "I
> really need to have a better understanding of the offense." He always was
> blaming his lack of playing time (never mind he was always in foul trouble)
> or the officials and never taking responsibility. It's great to get 10
> rebounds, but at what cost? What if the man you're supposed to guard scores
> 20 points? What if you break off offensive plays early to hit the offensive
> boards? What if your constant fouling puts your opponent at the line early
> in the game? What if your grousing about playing time hurts team chemistry?
> Fortson may well put up some big numbers in Golden State this season, but I,
> for one, won't miss him.
>
> Mark