« Reply #15 on: July 15, 2008, 10:31:04 AM »
Bird had three four goals, which he has been talking about for quite awhile:
1. Solidify the point guard position;
2. Bring in shooters;
3. Get rid of malcontents.
4. Bring in slow white guys.
The two trades accomplished all three goals, especially after you factor in that the team is buying out Tinsley. I didn't like the trade with Portland much, either, but Bird fell in love with Rush's shooting ability, and bringing in Jack -- a starter -- as his backup PG really strengthens the team in that area.
McRoberts
Dunleavy
Nesterovic
Foster
Diener
Murphy
Larry, this is not an Indiana rec league. This is the NBA. No matter what race or nationality, you got to bring in some athletes. Guys that can get to the basket and create shots for your shooters. None of the guys on this list are capable of doing that.
Dunleavy, Murphy, and Foster were all very good there, and Diener wasn't terrible. Dunleavy put up better numbers (including percentages) than Ray, and Foster outplayed Perk. Dunleavy was decent at getting to the hoop, averaging only slightly fewer free throw attempts per game than, say, Vince Carter (and Pierce shot about one more FTA per game.) Let's not stereotype on the basis of race, please.
He also brought in T.J. Ford, who is both an athlete and good at getting to the line.
The key statistic is win/loss which was 36/46. That team is not put together well. They gave up 105.4 pts a game because they were to slow to defend. And yes TJ ford is a very quick and athletic pg, but he is one neck injury from retiring. They better hope Brandon Rush is fully recovered from his ACL injury and can carry these guys on his back.
« Last Edit: July 15, 2008, 10:45:01 AM by Chief »
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Once you are labeled 'the best' you want to stay up there, and you can't do it by loafing around.
Larry Bird