http://espn.go.com/nba/news/2000/0926/781653.html Adios, Kemosabe, adios.... He was a decent player and seemed to be a nice guy. I didn't hate his guts like I do certain other centers in the NBA. ------------------ I am the b*stard son of LHutz. Huh? Right!
He was a pretty good player for the Pacers. The only mistake he made was shaving his head a few years back. That was the ugliest thing I've ever seen. But overall, he had a good career for Indiana. The Pacers won't feel the loss as much as one would expect because they play in the Centerless East. But it will have an impact. ------------------ humble, but hungry.
And don't forget those icky black socks. Pacers probly won't miss much, he was pretty soft anyway. ------------------ I am so exasperated that I could expectorate.
I disagree about the Pacers missing him. Isiah said it was a major loss, and to an extent I agree. Not because Smits is a major force anymore, but because who else do they have? O'Neal is gonna play the 4, replacing Davis. Crochere is at the 3. The only center options they really have are Perkins (older than Smits and not suited for starter's minutes), Tabak, and Klein (who wants to broadcast for Arkansas). So Zan Tabak is your starting center for the defending Eastern Conference champs. Things are so bad they tried to talk Rony Seikaly (!) out of retirement. My solution to their problem, by the way, would be to slide O'Neal down to the 5, with Crochere at the 4 and Rose back at the 3 (Best brought in to play the point). Puts the best players on the court, and lack of size should be less of a problem except when facing Miami and Charlotte in the East. ------------------
I'm sure O'Neal will split his minutes between C and PF and Croshere will split his between SF and PF and Rose will split his between SF and PG. Reggie Miller will be the SG. Having a C rotation of O'Neal, Perkins and Tabak shouldn't be too bad. ------------------ Rockets Draft Obligations Summary http://www.gaffordstudios.cjb.net/
I like Smits, but it's about time he retired. He's been having feet problems for years and it has really hampered his game. As for their new starting center . . . well, that's a tough one. Joe Klein and Sam Perkins are both old and essentially, bench quality players. Tabak will bring a little offense, but I'm not even sure if he's even NBA caliber. O'Neil has openly said that he doesn't want to play C and may be a little too skinny to log significant minutes at C anyway. I'd have to say that they should break C duties among several players. Something like: Perkins - 20 min (decent post defender, spreads the floor on offense) O'Neil - 10 min (most of his time should come at PF) Croshere, Klein, Tabak, Foster - divide the remaining 18 min amongst these players depending on matchups with the opposing team. ------------------
I am betting they will start O'Neil there. That is the most talented player they have for the position. Then we can see what he can do, finally. I am glad he is going to finally get some minutes. Smits is a HUGE loss for the Pacers. Even in spite of his foot problems and his age, he was a force in the middle and had a nice touch from 15 and in. His career averages are pretty good: 14.8 ppg 6.1 rpg (and you guys were b****ing about Taylor's 6.5 avg., and this guy was 7'4") 1.28 bpg Goodbye Rik!!! ------------------ There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."
Does anyone else besides me think they can get a STARTING Center in the CBA (or Europe)? I can't believe there's not someone better than Zan Tabak in those leagues. And Perkins won't cut it as a starter. Surely the Pacers will miss Smits' contribution, but he only had 30 more blocks than Dream in 803 more minutes played. I don't recall that they even talked to Brad Miller. The Pacers whole off-season has been somewhat weird (Isiah de-vesting in the CBA, the Davis trade...). Good luck, Rik. ------------------ GATER [This message has been edited by GATER (edited September 27, 2000).]
