re: Nazr vs. Battie.

[bird <birdwl@earthlink.net>]

> From: GuyClinch@AOL.com

> Battie has certainly has had a couple double digit rebound games. And if 
> you
> stuck him on a woeful team like Atlanta of last year without Theo or 
> Mutumbo, he
> would likely put up some big numbers.

I'm not so sure.  I hope Battie becomes a strong presence in the middle; 
he hasn't shown such so far.  Maybe he has had a few double digit rebound 
games, but did he average such numbers over 20-30 games? Not yet.  
Discounting Nazr's performance over a similar span is valid, as it _is_ 
only 20-30 games, but hold Battie to the same criterion.

> The Celts need a shot blocker first and foremost. Walker gets plenty of
> rebounds..

Yet we are still outrebounded in the games we lose -- how can you say 
"Walker gets plenty" and imply that the team doesn't need rebounding help?
   I don't see it.

> How are we going to compete without a legit shot blocker in the front 
> line?
> With a small lineup..you NEED a shot blocker. Who is going to block the 
> shots?
> Walker? Joe Johnson?!

See below.

> We discovered this problem with the great rebounding lineup of Fortson 
> Vitaly
> and Walker. <g> I can't believe folks on this list would give Battie up 
> for
> him.

The Walker-Fortson-Potapenko line-up (3-4-5, I guess) never happened on a 
regular basis -- surely no more than a few minutes at a time, if ever.  I 
never saw it, at least.

> Also I am not sure the Celts are that small.
> We are around 6'7 and 225 average NBA sizes for a team.

Waitaminnit.  If small line-ups "NEED" shotblockers, and we aren't that 
small, then you imply that we don't need shotblockers, correct?  In the 
end, I agree mostly with Alex Wang -- The C's ought to be planning 2-3 
years further than just next year -- giving up a potential shotblocker for 
a rebounding widebody may be a good thing in the long run.  Shotblocking's 
great, but even good shotblockers average 3-4 a game, though they do 
affect the other team's shot selection, beyond that number.  Rebounding 
may be a more fundamental area for the team to address first.  Bottom line,
  though, it's all about talent: is Nazr or Battie better?  Who knows?  We'
ll see in the long run, but I hope management is at least exploring these 
things, though I'm not so naive that I hope they wear their hearts on 
their sleeve (by telling us that our centers "suck" or some such) and 
announce their play before even getting a chance to play it.

Regards,

(The Celtic "Tird",
  Celticus "tirdius")