RE: add this guy to the top ten

[OzerskyJA <OzerskyJA@cmog.org>]

I guess this is a good time for me to mention my pet peeve
about the draft -- the absolutely irrational, pointless worship
of height measurements.  People really seem to believe, NBA
GMs no less, that one inch of height makes a difference between
success and failure at a given position.  The fact is, real or listed
height doesn't matter at all.  You shoot and block shots with your
hands, not your scalp, at least the last time I looked.  The only 
height that should be measured is that of the arms fully extended
straight up at the peak of a jump.  That's the only height that matters.
Kevin McHale was 6'10, but played at 7'2" because of his arms.
Kevin Willis is 7', but plays 6'9" because of his short arms and tiny
hands.  How can this not be common knowledge in basketball circles?

Cisse sounds like surefire lotto material to me.  There has to be something
terribly wrong with him if gets passed over for the likes of Jamal Tinsley
or Troy Murphy, with no disrespect to those players.

Josh Ozersky	
Marketing Communications Specialist 
Corning Museum of Glass

> -----Original Message-----
> From:	Hironaka [SMTP:j.hironaka@unesco.org]
> Sent:	Tuesday, April 24, 2001 4:55 AM
> To:	OzerskyJA
> Cc:	'celtics@igtc.com'
> Subject:	Re: add this guy to the top ten
> 
> OzerskyJA wrote:
> 
> > He AVERAGED 29 points, 16 rebounds and 13 blocks per game this season,
> > including outplaying Tyson Chandler.  Count him in the top ten.
> > If we get him, it will be a miracle -- but who knows?  Either way, he
> pushes
> > someone good down to us.
> 
>     I have a hunch Wallace and Papile have Ousmane Cisse very high on
> their list, since they follow high school
> and AAU basketball so closely. Like Eddy Curry, Cisse's shrunk a few
> inches since the original hype-machine
> kicked in last year. If he's actually still only 6-7 then Boston might
> think twice, but this guy just sounds
> like a devastating, non-stop athlete with a voracious rebounding appetite.
> BTW (this is truly retarded of me)
> but I was noticing how both Tyson and Curry could easily have poultry
> metaphors attached to their names (as in
> Eddy "Chicken" Curry etc.).
> 
>     What do you all think of the Celtics pulling a "one&one" in this draft
> (one prep player, one veteran guy).
> Makes sense if we want to make the playoffs next year and develop from
> there.
> 
>     One thing about Shane Battier as a guy slipping down (in our minds at
> least), I think in some ways he's got
> fewer question marks than Paul Pierce had in terms of shooting ability,
> height, defense and tweener status. For
> one thing Pierce shrank two inches to 6-6, whereas I'm very confident
> Battier is 6-8 and can handle the ball.
> In fact, without question he seems to be the same height as Elton Brand,
> judging by an old video I watched the
> other day.
> 
>     Battier also is a two-time NCAA defensive player of the year, and put
> up a rare college "double-double" of
> 2+ steals and 2+ blocks. I mean this guy is a "Battie" but with an extra
> "r" (I have no clue what I'm saying).
> 
>     But let's say we decide Battier is the best player available and draft
> him. Then Walker is a part time 4
> and part time 1, rather than the small forward many clearly feel he should
> be. And we'll still need a shot
> blocking and rebounding center in that lineup true enough.
> 
>     Say we take Battier and power forward Cisse? That's a nice balance
> between an NBA ready product and a kid
> with stunning upside as a rebounder/defender. Were that the scenario, I
> actually would reconsider the Toine for
> Theo Ratliff scenario that Alex Wang brought up.
> 
>     You would have a smarter, more defensively intimidating Celtics
> forward rotation of Ratliff, Battier and
> Cisse, although Battier will have to adjust fast if he's going to be a
> go-to scorer alongside Pierce and
> Anderson/Palacio in the backcourt. That might not happen right away, but
> he is a good chemistry and ball
> movement player and a proven outside shooter. A second issue is that it
> locks us in for the forseeable future
> with Bat Girl and friends at center. I don't think there is any question
> it also diminishes the probability of
> making the playoffs next year.
> 
>     Also someone posted that we might be able to "pull another Danny
> Ainge" and draft Yao Ming out of the
> Chinese army. That probably depends on how Dubya handles the diplomacy
> with China. Clearly I would welcome Yao
> Ming any day over "crouching poodle" Jerome Moiso.
> 
>     BTW, I was not surprised at Moiso's preference to hang out with his LA
> friends rather than play in Obie's
> structured environment. In his defense, the LA league actually has more
> talent (that's where Pierce and Palacio
> played last year) as a pickup league (do they even have coaches?) This
> move would almost guarantee "crouching
> poodle" won't dramatically see any change in playing time at the start of
> next year.
> 
>     Joe
> 
> ---
> 
> 
>