Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: $Revision: 1.6.2.16 $; site haddock.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!gamma!epsilon!zeta!sabre!petrus!bellcore!decvax!haddock!billm From: billm@haddock.UUCP Newsgroups: net.sport.hoops Subject: Re: HOOPLA Message-ID: <98800002@haddock.UUCP> Date: Fri, 7-Feb-86 10:48:00 EST Article-I.D.: haddock.98800002 Posted: Fri Feb 7 10:48:00 1986 Date-Received: Wed, 12-Feb-86 21:03:50 EST References: <33500031@ISM780.UUCP> Lines: 111 Nf-ID: #R:ISM780:33500031:haddock:98800002:000:5020 Nf-From: haddock!billm Feb 7 10:48:00 1986 ->To finally put to rest the myth that the ->Lakers could be the greatest, team of all time, they are ->now playing what could be termed as lousy. An article in ->a recent L.A. Times had Coach Riley saying the team was ->11 and 8 since December and 8-10 on the year when ->trailing at halftime. That last stat is a biggie. They're ->talented but do they have heart? ->Another thing that bothers me. In a recent ->loss to the Knicks, Kareem had 40 points. He also had ->only three rebounds. ->To be fair to Laker fans it should be noted ->that Magic has been hurt lately (sore knee) and Rambis ->has been playing sporadically but it's a team game and ->injuries are part of it. Where's that great depth? ->Besides, any team being touted as one of the greatest of ->all should not be so dependent on any one player. ->Currently, the Celtics have been without their million ->dollar superstar Kevin McHale and have rattled off 13 ->wins in a row. I am not insinuating anything here. Or am ->I? These "best teams of all times" arguments are for the birds. The only thing that really counts is whether they win, whether they play well, and whether their problems can be coached around, in that order. It would be nice to see another team in the NBA finals (Houston ?). ->On a college note, North Carolina still looks ->very strong after beating Georgia Tech in the Omni. Mark ->Price, it should be pointed out, was about 6 for 20, missed ->a free throw that would have tied it in overtime and fouled ->out to end the game. He's only about 6-1 and he is talked ->about as one of the nation's best? In big games, I've seen ->him wilt twice now. I'd sooner take Michael Jackson of ->Georgetown or Duke's Johnny Dawkins. IF Price makes it into ->the NBA, he'll disappear into obscurity real soon. I echo those comments about John Salley. I can't believe GT had a significant lead (>= 10 pts.) in that game at halftime and lost. The real player on GT is Bruce Dalrymple. He always draws the toughest defensive assignment and in the big games seems to play quite well. The freshman Hammonds has the heart of a lion; he'll be awesome by his junior year. ->Those Orange guys from Syracuse look good. Great ->starters and great depth. They'll do well in the NCAAs this ->year. Them again ? It would be nice to see someone other than Georgetown and St. Johns at the top of the Big East (best basketball conference around). Seikaly has some way to go; I've never seen him have a good game against a decent (at least) center. Against Mark Bryant of Seton Hall (who, by the way, is from NJ), he seemed to be afraid of playing instinctively and with reckless abandon. ->Oklahoma and Kansas are wearing out the nets ->nets whenever they play. They probably score in the ->hundreds more often than any other college team. Oklahoma's coach went neanderthal after last years NCAA regional final loss to Memphis State. I seriously wonder if they'll ever make it that far when Billy Tubbs actually has to switch defenses and create offensive strategies other that run at 100 MPH. Kansas would seem to have a better shot. They have good offense, good defense, and a good recruiter and bench-coach. The game they had against Duke in this seasons' Big Apple Classic final was a class effort, even in defeat. ->Memphis State reminds me of the great Louisville teams, a dozen ->dynamic athletes at full tilt. Andre Turner and William Bedford for All-American !!!! ->Georgetown cannot be overlooked. Ewing-less, they can still hang tough with ->anyone. One wonders, however, how long they can hang in against a team with quality and aggressive big people. Perimeter shooting, I'm afraid, can only carry you so far. ->Can someone out there tell me Danny Ainge's shooting percentage on the year? Statistics courtesy of the Boston Globe (2/4/86, games through 2/2/86). For Danny Ainge, G FG FGA PCT. FT FTA PCT. PTS AVG REB(o-t) AST ST BLK __ ___ ___ ____ __ ___ ____ ___ ____ ________ ___ __ ___ 42 203 375 .541 66 73 .904 485 11.5 23-137 236 63 5 Editorial Comment: The above are good statistics no matter how one cuts it... I ponder, however, their true value. Bird and Ainge certainly get (more than) their amount of press, but Dennis Johnson and Kevin McHale are the two best players the Celtics have. Bird and Ainge have all the offensive capability one would want in NBA players, but when their offense is off so are they. On the other hand, Johnson and McHale have much more well-rounded games. They typically draw the toughest defensive assignments on the opposition, so that when their offenses are off they can still be of value to the team on the court. Bill Mathews {decvax ! cca | yale | ihnp4 | cbosgd}!ima!billm {bbncca | harvard | zurton | cfib | mit-ems | wjh12 }!ima!billm {uscvax | ucla-vax | vortex}!ism780!billm Interactive Systems, 7th floor, 441 Stuart st, Boston, MA 02116; 617-247-1155