Re: Bskball.com Column

["j.hironaka" <j.hironaka@unesco.org>]

At 06:53 21/09/01 -0400, Jim Metz wrote:
>           My point here, is that, if we really want to make a serious
>playoff run this year, it would be worth carrying a point guard, in case
>Anderson and Brown don't get out of the gate.
>            The best basketball the C's played at Shaw's was when Khalid
>El-Amin was on the floor, everyone saw it. O'Brien and Pappile both gushed,
>but someone upstairs killed the move and Dallas moved in. This seems to be a
>money decision, not a basketball one.

Hi JB:

         The Celts essentially have a depth of just four players for three 
starting positions at C-F. Of these guys (Potapenko, Battie, Blount and 
Walker) none really rate high on defense compared to what you'd get from 
even a downside veteran of say a Xavier McDaniel or Ed Pinckney calibre. 
And none of our frontline guys are older than 25-years or so, although 
don't quote me.

         When the front office backed off of El Amin as part of a four 
point guard mix, my sense is that it wasn't over guaranteed money but 
rather our greater need at a precariously thin position (CF).

         Yeah, well that's what I thought. Now its much less certain 
Wallace will even address that need before the season starts, but I still 
view it as our Achilles' heal. One big man injury and you're talking about 
Eric Williams or Waltah getting posted up on every night.

         A wily veteran rebounder/defender could provide the difference in 
making the playoffs and gaining invaluable team maturity and confidence 
about our overall sense of direction. I'm talking even about 
Medicare/Medicaid elibible guys like Kevin Willis or AC Green.

         I don't have a specific FA player in mind (high character, 
consistent overachiever types with coaching/teaching aspirations), but I'm 
certainly not thinking about another CBA pickup, as Chris Wallace hinted.

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