Re: #4 in the East

[Francis Hsu <francis@ai.mit.edu>]

First, I have to say I'm pretty optimistic about our chances of getting
into the playoffs, although I'm not as optimistic as you. :)

On Fri, Aug 10, 2001 at 03:17:37PM -0700, gene kirkpatrick wrote:
> 4.  Our new depth, even if some of it is green, will
> keep us from suddenly losing control of games.  We're
> clearly going to be better defensively with JJ, KB and
> Forte playing about 40 minutes.  And their offense has
> the potential to win games for us.

I'm not so sure about defense.  We're talking about replacing Stith, Griffin,
and Carr for Johnson, Brown and Forte.  Defensively, Stith and Griffin were
pretty good and I think it's a hard call to say that three rookies are going
to provide better defense, despite their quickness and athleticism.

Offensively, I am more confident that we will get more from the three rookies.
I also believe that they'll give us better rebounding, especially when you
consider that Eric Williams will not be playing as many minutes this season.

> 4.5  Part of that depth is the vast improvement we
> should see in Palacio and Blount.  Don't underestimate
> the impact of guys who play a role much better than
> last year.

I expect that Palacio, Blount and Pierce should show improvement.  I HOPE
that Walker shows improvement, as well.  Walker's performance from season
to season is infuriatingly hard to understand.  Whether he takes 150 3's or
600 3's, he gets about the same points per shot each season.  In the
99-00 season, his 2pt % was 47.1% and 3pt was 25.6%.  Last season, his
2pt % was 43.9% and 3pt was 36.7%.  I seem to remember a quote from Walker
after the 99-00 season saying he probably should have taken like 200 less
3's, yet he ends up taking 200 more the following season.  And I keep
thinking that he's on the verge of having a breakout season.  It's very
annoying.

Aside from the three rookies, I think the biggest unknowns at this point are
Battie and Anderson.  I have not heard a peep of news about either of them.

Francis