Re: The man in the middle

["Jim Meninno" <Jim_Meninno@hotmail.com>]

---- Original Message ----- From: OzerskyJA <OzerskyJA@cmog.org>

> what I don't understand, Joe, is if V is providing us with scoring
> and rebounding, why demote him to scrap minutes behind Tony
> Battie?  I think Tony should have to earn minutes away from Vitaly,
> who as you say has become a major anchor for us in the middle.
> (though I cringed when he blew that dunk vs. the bucks.)

One thing I think we need to remember is that Tony Battie was playing
extremely well before he got hurt.  As well and as consistently as anyone on
the team, in fact.  Playing the way he did for those 30 games, he gives you
nearly as much shotblocking as Blount and as good offense as Potapenko.  His
rebounding was better than either guy's too.  Consider the following stats:

Battie Ranks #12 in the NBA in Blocks Per 48 Minutes(3.42)
Blount Ranks #5 in the NBA in Blocks Per 48 Minutes(4.23)

Battie 7.2 rpg in 26.2 min
Potapenko 5.0 rpg in 22.7 min

Battie 8.3 ppg on .553 shooting
Potapenko 7.4 ppg on .475 shooting

In short, he's the only one of the three who can block shots, rebound AND
score.  While I like what I've seen from Blount, at this stage he is not a
very good rebounder and a poor offensive player.  He's shown potential and
was a great pickup, but he still needs work, especially on his offense.
Vitaly has a very useful offensive game with his short jumpers, but Battie
can also knock those down and has more of a close to the basket game.  V has
been a terror on the board for the last few weeks, but I don't see his
minutes slipping when Battie comes back.  Another thing about V is that his
hands seem to have improved lately.  He's developed this knack of knocking
the entry pass away from the man he's guarding and just generally seems
invigorated.  Could be the extra playing time with Battie down, or the head
being put back on the chicken, but it's sure been a welcome sight.  If any
of the big men have to sit, it will have to be Blount.

Jim