From: lynn@eros.cc.columbia.edu (Lynn Jacobsen)
Newsgroups: rec.sport.basketball.pro
Subject: Re: Nets playoff outlook
Date: 9 Apr 92 17:13:27 GMT
Distribution: rec.sport.basketball.pro
Organization: Columbia University

In article <1992Apr7.161227.14928@Princeton.EDU>  
dmjoffe@flower.Princeton.EDU (David M. Joffe) writes:

> >3. solving the Anderson/Blaylock problem
> Trade Anderson or Blaylock?  Fitch spoke at the beginning of the year
> about a Petrovic-Anderson-Blaylock 3 guard rotation.  Now Tate George
> gets more time than Anderson.  Even Doug Lee gets more minutes than him
> sometimes.  I think you have to keep George because he is bigger than
> Anderson and Blaylock, and should have a better chance at defending big
> guards.  Mookie has been great this year.  If some GM still thinks that
> Anderson's potential is as high as it was thought to be before the
> draft, I'd unload him.
> 

i disagree in a big way.  i've watched at least half of the net games this  
season.  no question that mookie has been great.  but when anderson  
started those 10 or so games when mookie was out, the quality of play at  
the point for the team didn't drop off in the least.  anderson doesn't yet  
have the consistency that blaylock does - most of which i attribute to the  
fact that he's been getting so few minutes - but he makes amazingly  
brilliant moves and passes.  he SEES the court in a way that mookie's  
never going to see it.  and he's got the strongest wrists i've ever seen.   
almost NEVER loses the ball in traffic - it's like the ball is an  
extension of his hand.  and during that stretch when he was actually  
playing a lot, he shot 47-48%, as opposed to his overall 38% season  
average.  (even that's overly low - he was shooting 31% after 15 or 20  
games.  so he's been much better of late.)

last night, in fact, with mookie out anderson was 6-10 with 15 points and  
7 assists in just 23 minutes. he's going to be an awesome pro and i think  
the nets would be crazy to trade him.

my feeling is that the trade value of blaylock is incredibly high at this  
moment and the nets would be a better team overall with the nets getting  
anderson at full power plus whatever they could get for petro. 

tate is a great backup guard, but there's no way he's even close to  
anderson.

> >4. deciding whether or not Fitch goes
> Based on the way things go with the pressure of the NY/NJ media, they
> will have no choice but to bring him back.


this is directly related to the anderson problem in my opinion.  i have no  
idea why, but fitch just doesn't seem to like him.  he's given him way  
fewer minutes than he's deserved (at least in the 2nd half of this season  
given how kenny's proven himself).  and the columnists in the area are  
writing things like "fitch has to go.  noone can be allowed to steal  
another season from anderson's career the way fitch has done this season."  

in the long run, the nets should be fine because they should be able to  
get something for mookie since he's been able to flourish with anderson at  
his heels.  maybe they could package mookie and bowie for something good!

> 
> Add to this list
> 5.  Keep PEtrovic in NJ.  There are already rumors that big bucks will
> lure him back to Europe after next season.  The Nets must know that he
> will be here for a while before they can decide what to do.


it's possible, but i read an interview with petro where he PAID $1.5  
million to buy out of his last european contract.  he once scored 112  
points in a game over there, but wasn't getting the challenge.  supposedly  
he says to other players, "if you're looking for $, go to europe.  if  
you're interested in challenge, the NBA is the place to be."

lynn jacobsen
columbia university
854-5482