Re: Obie did it

["Berry, Mark S" <berrym@BATTELLE.ORG>]

Alex asked: 
Why did they draft Moiso then? I don't know why you're so sure about this;
do you have any evidence on this thinking? The one thing Pitino repeatedly
brought up before last offseason was the lack of athleticism in the
frontcourt, which he wanted to upgrade. Blount and Moiso were supposedly
steps in that direction, as was the attempted acquisition of Jermaine
O'Neal. I doubt that Wallace considers it "mission accomplished" though. If
anything, Chris Wallace seems to be more "athleticism driven" than Pitino
was, raving about "pro body" Billups and coveting McGrady back in 97, as
well as guys like Keon Clark and Shawn Marion (and Moiso) who are frontcourt
players that can jump out of the gym. If rumors are accurate, he tried to
trade Walker for Ratliff also. 

*********************

Why did they draft Moiso? I believe at the time that they planned on trading
Toine after this season, when his BYC comes off, and Moiso was drafted to be
the replacement. I honestly believe that was the grand plan. I'm not so sure
anymore.

Everything they ever say about Walker is: "Antoine's our power forward."
When they discuss Moiso, it's: "He won't be taking any power forward minutes
away from Antoine." It just seems that they are dead set convinced that
Antoine is the power forward. Period. How long have they had to try Battie
at PF alongside Antoine? They never have. It's as if the Fortson thing was
the one and only shot at it, and that didn't work, so they're giving up.
They tried to get O'Neal and Ratliff, but they wanted both guys to play
center, not power forward. Shawn Marion is a small forward. I'm not
questioning their desire to add athleticism to the frontcourt, but it's as
if they're committed to adding it "around" Walker. "He's the power forward,
he's undersized and he has trouble defensively, so we have to surround him
with athletic shotblockers." 

The thing is, the one advantage an undersized team should have is the fast
break. But the Celtics don't use that as an advantage (Antoine refuses to
run the floor in offensive or defensive transition). If they're worried
about Antoine "slowing them down" at small forward, there's no need to
worry. They don't run anyway.

But I don't want this to turn into a Toine-bashing. I'm willing to accept
him for what he is as long as we try him at small forward. I'm not willing
to accept him any longer at power forward. I'm tired of seeing this team get
sand kicked in its face by 80 percent of the NBA. It's time to realize that
the one thing that was true in the NBA at the beginning remains true today:
Bigger is better. Big teams win. Small teams lose. Some point to the Bulls
as the exception, but those Bulls teams had Horace Grant and Dennis Rodman
at power forward. They understood the importance of size and strength in the
post, even with dominant players like Jordan and Pippen.