From: hira@cme.nist.gov (Ron Hira)
Newsgroups: rec.sport.basketball.pro
Subject: Re: Bullets. Pistons.
Date: 2 Oct 92 17:36:49 GMT
Reply-To: hira@cme.nist.gov
Organization: National Institute of Standards and Technology

In article <1992Oct2.022132.4118@nuscc.nus.sg>, art30248@nusunix1.nus.sg (NG LING LING) writes:
|> Now after the dust has settled, what's the probable starting line-up and
|> key bench players for the Bullets and the Pistons ?

I'll take a stab at the Bullets lineup.

PG: Michael Adams / LaBradford Smith / Bent Price

Adams is strong here, though his shot selection and FG% dropped 
precipitously after the all-star break. He's definitely not gun
shy. LaBradford spent much of the season trying to catch up. 
He was hurt for training camp, and was outta shape. His 
ballhandling skills are suspect, so he might spend some time
at SG, which is what I think he played @ Louisville. Brent is
Mark Price's younger bro, and was the Bullets 2nd rd pick this 
year from Oklahoma (?). Wes doesn't usually give rookies much
PT but at least he's signed.

SG: Rex Chapman / David Wingate

Chapman played the last game of the season last year, and that
was about it. Apparently, he has potential but his smarts are
questionable (from the replies I got to my earlier query). 
Wingate is still unsigned as far as I know, but did an admirable
job last year particularly on defense.

SF: Buck Johnson / Bernard King / Fatso Williams

Signed from Houston as an unrestricted free agent. Don't know
too much 'bout him, though the word on the net is that he's not
going to be considered for the all-star team. He was a starter
for the last 4 yrs in Houston and had his best year 3 (?) yrs 
ago. Hopefully with Wes' motion offense, the Bullets can utilize 
his slashing type moves. 
Last word on Bernard was that he's slowly progressing with his
rehab. I don't hold out too much hope, but you can't under-
estimate this guy. If he comes back, it will help the team in
more ways than just his offense.
Fatso has said that he'll be in camp, but probably not at the
Bullets prescribed weight of 260 lbs. What a waste of talent.
The guy is only 25. He pretty much burned his bridges with the
Bullets and there's almost no hope that he'll actually play for
them. If they could even get a late 1st rnder for him, it would
be worth it. His trade value is almost nil. The guy had the 
potential to be an all-star, sad case. Wes has lost his patience
with Fatso and even if he does come to camp, don't bet on him 
getting much PT. Wes is a strong believer in loyalty. The way 
Wes and Abe Polin used to work out Wes' contracts was that Wes 
would write a figure on a piece of paper, and that was that.

PF: Harvey Grant / Larry Stewart / Tom Gugliotta

Harvey really came into his own 2 years back and had a good 
year last year. He can stick the J, but his rebounding skills
and low post defense are questionable. This is interesting because
his better known identical twin brother, Horace, seems to have 
just the opposite skills. Maybe this is a case for the MN 
researchers. Anyway, he's reasonably solid, and I'm damn glad
that the Bullets matched the Knicks' offer.
Stewart was a rookie from Coppin State (undrafted) who really 
impressed everyone early on with his tenacity. On the second
go round of teams he started to tire a bit. He's a solid banger
underneath and the Bullets matched a Spurs offer for him. 
He made the all-rookie team last year.
Gugs is still unsigned and its really up in the air as to how
to handle the financial shituation, since they only have a
$780k slot open from renouncing Ledell Eackles. Hopefully, 
he'll be signed and contribute. Wes was very impressed, 
particularly with his strength. We shall see. 

C: Pervis Ellison / Charles Jones / Greg Foster

Pervis seems to be on the verge of living up to his potential.
He can't stick the J, but he's quick and his stupid fouls have
subsided. He is undersized almost every night at Center, which
is why he should be playing PF. Wes seems to do a very good
job teaching Nervous the fundamentals. Apparently, neither
Louisville nor the Kings taught him very good fundamentals. 
Look for him to get more recognition this year, and maybe make
the all-star team, though he'd have a better shot at PF. CJ
is the perennial backup, who scores 2ppg, but blocks a lot
of shots and plays great D against people much bigger than him.
He's only 6'9". Foster is pretty much worthless. He seems to 
have a decent J, but no low post moves at all. I think that 
Wes should've given him more PT, so that he can develop a 
bit. Its not like the Bullets are going to make the playoffs
or anything. 

Coach: Wes Unseld
Unseld was a great player, a 6'7" Center, who could dominate the
boards. As a coach, he's a great motivator. He seems to get the
best effort out of his teams, and they do play to win, albeit
the outcome is usually a loss. He seems to be particularly good
at teaching the fundamentals to the Big men. One thing that he
can improve upon is setting up plays, particularly for last second
shots. It seems like the Bullets are in the game down to the last
second, but then get off a terrible shot if at all, even after 
timeouts. Look for him to be coach for as long as he wants it.

Players from last year who are gone:
Mark Alarie - hurt all last yr, retired.
AJ English - slashing guard who took an offer in Europe (too bad).
Tommy Hammonds - SF who was too slow in D and taking the shot, 
		 traded for Chapman.
Ralph Sampson - played 2 weeks, then went to Europe. Now an asst
		coach at James Madison (?). 

|> Also, does anybody know I Bernard King will attempt another comeback ?
|> Is his leg still busted ? Maybe he should go to Europe to play 40 games
|> a season as a kind of re-hab.

Bernard is too old to be prancing around Europe, and I think loves 
the game too much to play anywhere but the NBA. His knee is messed
up, but it is unrelated to his previous injuries. He sat out all of
last year. 

The Bullets won 25 last year, so hopefully they can improve, then 
again maybe not with the lottery system. :-)

Ron