Re: Is there a way to listen to today's game on-line? (and a little more)

[Kim Malo <kimmalo@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

At 11:08 AM 12/31/2003, Berry, Mark  S wrote:
> <snip>
> As many have said, Walter's a nice guy to have at the end of the bench 
> because he can come in and hit a three or fill several different holes. 
> He's not a starter on a good NBA team. But neither is Mark Blount for that 
> matter. By the way, Kim, I don't consider Blount a slug. I know he has 
> improved. He's still a backup center, at best, on a good team. He's a 
> pretty good defender, decent shot-blocker, terrible rebounder and 
> below-average offensive player. I just want to know when he turned into 
> Bill Russell in Obie's mind? Obie acts like the guy is irreplaceable. This 
> is a problem now because Mihm needs more minutes, but what really worries 
> me is next season, when Obie will continue to run Blount the Blitzer out 
> there at the expense of Kendrick. But that's a worry for another time.

And again, I think you're largely just creating your own hysteria out and 
viewing things through your own pre-conceptions. Obie is hardly thinking 
he's Bill Russell redux, but you can argue he's been the most all around 
productive of those playing center for us this year. While I just don't 
think Obie's as stupid as most of the list does. Which means I don't think 
there's reason to assume that Mihm and Perkins will not get minutes, 
particularly as they earn them and integrate with their teammates. For 
cripes sake, everyone was whining when Perkins was drafted that he was only 
a high schooler and a several year project who wouldn't play at all this 
year, but now it's supposedly criminal that he's not getting a ton of 
minutes. While as I continually try to point out, people don't get minutes 
in a vacuum - sometimes it's as much to do with how he integrated with his 
teammates' play and comfort level when it comes to giving someone playing 
time as it is to with what the player offers individually. Particularly 
with such an unstable work in progress as the Cs still are at this point.

Terrible rebounder - Mihm's career avg is 5 rpg, Blount's has been 3.4, and 
is up over 4 this season. If that's a terrible rebounder, then Mihm isn't 
much either. No, I am not saying Blount is a great rebounder. He's not, 
although he's one of the few Cs who gets putbacks and scores off them.

Below Average offensive player is the one you continually harp on and the 
one that is why I think you are refusing to see that he has improved. Is he 
a classic, low post player? No. Am I saying he's a great offensive player? 
No, of course not. But he's shooting 60% and getting enough shots this 
season for that to be meaningful. Through most of November, he was 
averaging a few assists per game. That's gone down since, but at least 
shows that he's capable of it. He runs the court well, handles the ball 
well for a big man, does at least make some effort to give them a body in 
the paint to get ignored on offense and gets some putbacks. Sparkling? No. 
But I don't think that sounds like below average offensively for a center, 
Especially in today's NBA, when you consider what the average is (and that 
has to include the backups). Just start with the fact that he's even 
capable of getting an assist, which 90% of the bodies at center are not 
(and yes, they were real assists, not accidental ones like airballs logged 
as passes)

Again, I'm not trying to make him out to be more than he is. In the old NBA 
he would *never* be more than a useful backup center who probably didn't 
bang enough, since enforcer is usually the big thing you wanted then in 
your backup center. I don't think that's as true in today's much more 
debased at the center position NBA where things like mobility matter as 
much or more. I think people look at a Shaq or Duncan who could play in any 
era when evaluating the position, and forget the sort of players playing 
center for most other teams these days . So yes, he's still probably a 
backup center, but borderline in today's NBA and if he continues to work on 
his game as he clearly did going into this season, I'm not so sure he stays 
slotted as nothing but a backup. Ideal starting center? Of course not. But 
that's not what I'm, saying.

And look, when I talk of preconceptions and creating your own hysteria and 
all that, just in case it seems like I'm picking on you or targeting you - 
I certainly don't mean you're the only one doing it. Or even the worst 
about it.

Kim