he giving 10/5 in 28 minutes off the bench. While I think Shandon can still be a good player Penny is simply better. He's more versatile on both sides of the ball and I've really been impressed by his defense. He actually reminds me of TMac how he uses his length bother guys, both down low and on the perimeter, and he's just a savy vet.

His jumper's been ugly but he's doing the things you really need from bench players... playing tough D and crashing the boards. I didnt know what he had let in the tank but I believe him when he says his body is feeling good.

I think the only thing hurting us now is our slow frontcourt. If we could get any kind of athletic 4/5 type player it would really move us up. I would LOVE to see Rahim but I think a more realistic guy is Ratliff. Thomas and Deke for Ratliff works capwise. Before people get worked up about losing 2 starters consider that NEITHER Deke or Kurt really fit into the kind of team we have. Also you can always sign a guy like Oakley, Rodman or Anthony MAson to play 10-15 minute a night off the bench.

I think a starting line up of
pg Marbury
sg Houston
sg Anderson
pf KVH
c Ratliff
with Penny, Williams and Doleac off the bench makes us much better as you have more guys with skills that compliment each other. Rather than a show jumpshooting front court waiting for Marbury to find them for open jumpers.

doesn't work. kvh can't defend pf's

i feel you...

on all the games i've been watching... i haven't seen anyone straight use penny on d... RARELY do they score on him.... seriously pay attention to that...

yep, the problem is van horn doesnt defend 4s....and he loses his rebounding advantage vs 3s...
but the biggest problem is doleac/harington/sweetney/10day euro
is gonna be our bench. doleac is the best at center among them, thats quite sad...especially since ratliff is so foul prone

but its quite a good thought, just dont see what atlanta gets out of this trade, they surely wont trade him to anyone just cause theo wants out....

Posted by fishmike:

you guys are really missing the point. KVH doesnt defend anyone well, but he's a better defender against 4s because of his size.

As for Thomas's numbers they simply dont impact a game. He's foul prone and 90% of his shots come from open jumpers created by other players.

"Whoa..... Ratliff's at $10.1 mil compared to Thomas's $5.3mil with Theo not even getting 1/3 of Kurt's stats...dont reel us like that."

Kurt doesnt change games, and Deke can defend anyone man to man anymore, he's just too slow. He's still decent on help but he cant play many minutes and the smaller faster centers in the East embarrass him. Just go back to Cle and see how Big Z and Boozer just had their was with Thomas and Deke.

Am I the only one that sees having the slowest pf/c combo in the NBA is hurting the overall team chemistry?

True, especially with Marbury now we have to get quicker. Penny has always been my favorite player ever since the Orlando days and even in Phoneix. I have been following him throughout his whole career and when I heard that he was a throw-in with the Marbury trade, I was happy that we got him but I couldn't see how people saw him as a throw-in. The guy can still play, and when his jumpshot gets going for him, he usually has an outstanding game. IMO he still could start for some teams, but he will thrive in the position he is now with the Knicks. About Ratliff, I wouldn't mind getting him if we couldn't get Rasheed or Rahim. Ratliff would definitely be an upgrade at the C position. Its funny because 3 months ago when Layden was still our GM, I was in my History class drawing up some trades we should make. And I remember coming up with a blockbuster in which we would get Ratliff and Rahim back. Now we might actually have a shot at either one of them.