I'm not going to pay a lot for this muffler!

[Ryan, Patrick S Maj RES USAFR 439 MSG]

The below are perfect examples from the "IF/THEN" post I made the other day.
That's a lot of "if this happens we'll have a chance" statements for an NBA
team. I don't disagree with any of the points - they're all true. A healthy
Ratliff changes this team for one reason and one reason only - he's a shot
blocker to cover for our horrendous perimeter defense - perhaps our greatest
need.
 
If we don't get ANY other "IF" answered, if Tony never comes back, Wally's
ankle continue to be mush, Gerald Green remains a clueless Walter McCarty,
and we don't sign anyone for another PG, a healthy Ratliff at least makes us
a smidgen better on defense addressing the Celtic's biggest off-season need.
 
-------------------------------
thanks for your thoughts. i couldn't agree more that
this year is pivotal for the team in many ways. 
 
my thoughts: 
* tony allen's recovery is a key. remember how good he
was when he went down? if he can get there sooner than
later, that solves our two-guard problem and adds a
solid defender to the lineup. 
 
* wally being healthy is also key. if he can give us
15 minutes a game as a scorer, i'd be happy. 
 
* one person you left out is ratliff. if he can get
healthy, he can help us. laugh if you must, but he's
the pj brown we were missing last year. 
 
* i'm willing to be patient with green, too, but the
dude has to step up this year in limited minutes to
produce. when he's not scoring, he doesn't have enough
of a game to help in other areas. if we can get a
dozen pts a game from him consistently this year, i'm
cool with that. 
 
* rondo/west can be a solid pg solution, but we still
need a crafty vet pg on the squad (a
five-years-younger eric snow) - Steve Knight