SCKingsfan
Bench
Makes and Misses: Rethinking the Sonics
by Steve Kerr, Yahoo! Sports
December 31, 2004
First of all, I'd like to thank all of you who took the time to write to me to express your views, or to comment on my columns. I appreciate the feedback – good and bad – and I wish I could respond to each and every one of you.
Please continue to send comments. Your thoughts help spawn new ideas and subject matter for future columns. And please include your full name, city and state for maximizing your chances of getting published.
Now let's get started.
Many of you were very interested in my piece regarding the revolutionizing of the power forward position ("Em-powered" December 3, 2004). I was inundated with names of former and current players whom I failed to mention in the article. I even received an email from someone claiming to be Chris Webber asking why he wasn't on the list. Chris, if that was indeed you, sorry! I should have mentioned you.
Tom Chambers was another popular suggestion, and I wholeheartedly agree with those of you who brought him up. Paul McGhee and David Vollmers both reminded me that my former teammate Toni Kukoc should have been mentioned in the article, and I'm embarrassed that he wasn't. Kukoc was and is an extremely versatile 6-foot-11-inch power forward who compares with anyone I mentioned in the article.
Regarding Dirk Nowitzki, I received a lot of feedback on my comment that Larry Bird couldn't match up with him based on speed. I should clarify my opinion, because obviously I didn't express it well: Bird was a much better player than Nowitski. He was a better passer, a better rebounder, a ruthless competitor and a champion. My contention in the article was that Nowitzki is faster, especially with the ball in his hands – but not a better player.
Sheila of South Lake Tahoe, Calif. asked about the possibility of steroid use in the NBA. She wondered if these versatile power forwards – whom I referred to as "freaks of nature" – might be using some of the same stuff baseball players have been caught with.
Sheila, I can assure you that steroid use is not an issue in the NBA. It's not too hard to see the advantages steroids give players in baseball and football. But in basketball, the weight gain and strength improvement would not translate into better play. I played in the league for 15 years, and I'm aware that there are some substance abuse issues – but steroid use is not one of them.
Many of you took great pleasure in pointing out that some of my preseason selections have been proven to be way off base. Tim in San Francisco and Tim Shaw of Irvine, Calif. asked me if I were ready to eat my words regarding a 10th-place prediction in the West for their beloved Sacramento Kings ("NBA Preview: Pacific" October 26, 2004).
Tim and Tim, I'll eat my words. The Kings are still a very good basketball team.
Nice to see Stevie can confront his limitations as an analyst.
by Steve Kerr, Yahoo! Sports
December 31, 2004
First of all, I'd like to thank all of you who took the time to write to me to express your views, or to comment on my columns. I appreciate the feedback – good and bad – and I wish I could respond to each and every one of you.
Please continue to send comments. Your thoughts help spawn new ideas and subject matter for future columns. And please include your full name, city and state for maximizing your chances of getting published.
Now let's get started.
Many of you were very interested in my piece regarding the revolutionizing of the power forward position ("Em-powered" December 3, 2004). I was inundated with names of former and current players whom I failed to mention in the article. I even received an email from someone claiming to be Chris Webber asking why he wasn't on the list. Chris, if that was indeed you, sorry! I should have mentioned you.
Tom Chambers was another popular suggestion, and I wholeheartedly agree with those of you who brought him up. Paul McGhee and David Vollmers both reminded me that my former teammate Toni Kukoc should have been mentioned in the article, and I'm embarrassed that he wasn't. Kukoc was and is an extremely versatile 6-foot-11-inch power forward who compares with anyone I mentioned in the article.
Regarding Dirk Nowitzki, I received a lot of feedback on my comment that Larry Bird couldn't match up with him based on speed. I should clarify my opinion, because obviously I didn't express it well: Bird was a much better player than Nowitski. He was a better passer, a better rebounder, a ruthless competitor and a champion. My contention in the article was that Nowitzki is faster, especially with the ball in his hands – but not a better player.
Sheila of South Lake Tahoe, Calif. asked about the possibility of steroid use in the NBA. She wondered if these versatile power forwards – whom I referred to as "freaks of nature" – might be using some of the same stuff baseball players have been caught with.
Sheila, I can assure you that steroid use is not an issue in the NBA. It's not too hard to see the advantages steroids give players in baseball and football. But in basketball, the weight gain and strength improvement would not translate into better play. I played in the league for 15 years, and I'm aware that there are some substance abuse issues – but steroid use is not one of them.
Many of you took great pleasure in pointing out that some of my preseason selections have been proven to be way off base. Tim in San Francisco and Tim Shaw of Irvine, Calif. asked me if I were ready to eat my words regarding a 10th-place prediction in the West for their beloved Sacramento Kings ("NBA Preview: Pacific" October 26, 2004).
Tim and Tim, I'll eat my words. The Kings are still a very good basketball team.
Nice to see Stevie can confront his limitations as an analyst.
