Lineup

[Alexander Wang <awang@MIT.EDU>]

It sounds like Moiso will be out there after all, which is great. Didn't
Pitino describe him as a "Paul Pierce type talent"? That's a more
optimistic assessment than Pitino's had about any other player other than
Pierce and Walker. He was always careful not to put high expectations on
Mercer and Billups. If we're going to be pressing, trapping and running
nonstop, he should be out there a fair amount. I was worried about all the
descriptions of his cluelessness though.

When all three point guards are healthy, I don't think we should see the
type of stagnation that frequently hit our offense last year. And we should
get mauled on defense less by big point guards with Randy Brown around, and
Chris Herren also being described as a surprisingly good defensive player
by Pitino. The center and power forward positions are still going to be a
defensive liability, though. But we may get more shotblocking from those
positions which should help the overall defense somewhat. 

The crowded lineup is making me think that we may actually see all twelve
active players get significant minutes on most nights, similar to the way
Doc Rivers used his roster last year. Last year Kenny played more than
Pitino wanted him to; he'd be sitting on the bench getting a break and the
offense would struggle so much that he'd have to put him back in. Adrian
also played a ton of minutes in the early part of the season and I don't
see that happening this year. I think that Antoine and Paul still get 35
minutes but everyone else gets around 15-20. Managing the minutes as well
as the injured list will be tough this year. 

The other thing is that I don't think we'll be sitting still at the trading
deadline this season. We've got a crowded roster, a few big expiring
(cap-clearing) contracts, and a surplus of draft picks. I think that for
Pitino, the future is now, and he'll make a move to improve the team this
season by giving up draft picks. I could see us being interested in Geiger,
even after his poor season. Lorenzen Wright makes sense since the Hawks
want to get under the cap. We could pursue Abdul Wahad and Keon Clark but
we'd still need a third team to get around the BYC issues.

All this Garnett talk has given me another idea. Even if you believe that
the Timberwolves need to acquire some draft picks to preserve their future,
wouldn't it make more sense for them to shop Terrell Brandon, who is 30,
rather than Kevin Garnett? By the time they are drafting again Brandon will
be retiring, whereas Garnett will most likely be even more dominant than he
is now. We could trade Kenny Anderson for Brandon straight up (according to
realgm.com) and throw in draft picks. Minnesota gets some draft picks to
help their recovery and a point guard to take over while Avery is getting
groomed to take over, while giving up a guy who won't be around by the time
the sanctions end. We get a top notch assist man who will help us right now.

Alex