From: rsmith@strobe.ATC.Olivetti.Com (Russ Smith)
Newsgroups: rec.sport.basketball.pro
Subject: Re: Warriors big men
Date: 7 Jan 93 23:21:34 GMT
Organization: Olivetti ATC; Cupertino CA, USA

In article <1993Jan7.023619.20406@leland.Stanford.EDU> terry@leland.Stanford.EDU (Terry Wong) writes:
>Don Nelson loves Schrempf and I agree with him -- he is one of the ten
>best all-around players in the game today, and should be at that level
>for at least a few more years.  Schrempf is an excellent scorer, both
>inside and outside, and a better rebounder than Owens.

But he is neither a lowpost scorer or a low post defensive intimidator 
which is what we need. Smits is better than what we have but he is not
much so this trade would key on how well Detlef plays for us.


>This trade hinges on how good you believe
>Owens can be.  The Warriors are not all that sure on that point.  They
>were disappointed that Owens came into camp weighing 240 pounds this year
>and before his knee injury, disappointed in his play.  While his outside
>shooting has improved, he is still a lousy free throw shooter, and
>has shown an inability to guard bigger men.  Owens has the tag of having
>great potential -- the Warriors are not sure that this potential will ever
>pan out, and perhaps Owen's trade value will never be higher.

Billys first big problem is simple, he is and has been since the trade
playing out of position. Billy is a small forward who can swing to 2 guard
every now and then, he is not and never will be a power forward. How come
he cant guard Larry Johnson(which Nellie made a big stink about after the 
Charlotte game a few weeks ago), because Larry is too strong for him as
is Barkley and Thorpe etc. However as long as Mullin is at forward and
Sprewell/Sarunas at 2 guard, they are forced to play Billy out of position.

Heres the thing I hate about Nelson he has this built in excuse of not having
enough big men to win. Lose a game blame Hill for not stopping Ewing, blame
Owens for not stopping Karl Malone. The problem is Don is the damn GM so 
its his damn fault they are playing a power forward at center and a small
forward at power forward, and a 2 guard at small forward! I cant remember
which quarter it was but in the Spurs game recently, he had Tim Hardaway
guarding SEan Elliott with Mullin on Del Negro, Sprewell on Ellis, Houston
on Robinson, and Grayer on Reid. Now who would have ever guessed the Spurs
would have gone inside and beat up the Warriors with those great matchups?
Of course after the game he mentions that Sprewell did not play well on
Ellis instead of pointing out the real problem, that everybody was helping
Hill and Grayer out inside so naturally Ellis was getting open.


>Byron Houston is the best bet on the Warriors at becoming an enforcer.
>He is already the team's best low-post defensive player and has guarded
>big guys like Hakeem Olajuwon and Shaquille O'Neal well.  It would be nice
>for Alexander to play more aggressively.  Of the 3 guys you mentioned,
>only Alexander has the physical attributes to become more of an intimidator.
\
I think you are too optimistic here, yes Byron is the best on the Warriors,
but look who you are comparing him to. If Byron Houston is your best chance
to stop the other teams big man, you will not win in the playoffs in the 
NBA. Alexander has always been a finesse player with a big body, Gatling
can do nothing but make a few spectacular plays, a dunk here a block there
but when you add it up he contributes little. They do not have the answer
to their problems on their roster. Its too late to deal for one now. The
best chance they have is to deal for a higher pick next year and hope they
luck out in the lottery, but who would deal a lottery pick before the lottery?

>The Warriors tried Hill at center with Owens at power forward at the
>beginning of this year, and failed miserably.  Since Hill has moved over
>to power forward, his play has improved dramatically.  Hill is too short
>and too thin to be an NBA center.  His assets are his quickness and
>running ability.  Those assets would be diminished if he bulked up.
>Hill is definitely not the answer at center.

Agreed with one point, if you are attributing the recent winning ways to
the injury to Billy(which the local media is hinting at) you are wrong,
early they played a tough schedule, now they are in a weak schedule.

I like Schrempf alot, but I hate Smits, I would rather get Dale Davis.




Russ Smith
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"Chapeau means hat, oeuf means egg, its as if those French have a different 
word for everything!" 
                                        Steve Martin
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