The Intersection

NBA analysis meets Middle Eastern geopolitics in John Hollinger's Indiana Pacers preview:

Signed Maceo Baston, let Scot Pollard leave. I'm a huge Baston fan based on the numbers he put up the past few years with Maccabi Tel Aviv, and I believe he'll be a productive NBA power forward. He came cheap, too, because he was understandably anxious to find a new employer once Hezbollah started firing rockets over the border. With three capable centers on hand already, Pollard won't be missed much.

Not that I follow Israeli basketball, but looking up Baston information online it seems that he found himself playing there in the first place because he's undersized relative to his big man skill set. A sort of classic type of guy who can succeed in college and in Europe but can't do very well in the NBA.

Comments

So is Baston really an NBA power forward?

Posted by epistemology | October 4, 2006 3:55 PM

He came cheap, too, because he was understandably anxious to find a new employer once Hezbollah started firing rockets over the border.

So I guess all the 'cui bono' types will start blaming the Pacers for the Hezbollah/Israeli conflict.

So here's a gift for them:

"Meshuggener Mel" and younger brother Herb own the Pacers.

Coincidence?

Posted by SoCalJustice | October 4, 2006 4:51 PM

Nice to know that Israel has now become a part of "Europe"
;)

PS: is the formatting on this post messed up for everyone else? I assume the 2nd graph is Matt's comment?

Posted by Dan K | October 4, 2006 4:51 PM

Unfortunately, for basketball (and all international sporting) purposes, Israel is a part of Europe.

We're not about to see Israel v. Syria, for example, in any athletic competitions or "friendlies."

Baston's Israeli team won the Euroleague in 2004.

Posted by SoCalJustice | October 4, 2006 5:03 PM

So I guess all the 'cui bono' types will start blaming the Pacers for the Hezbollah/Israeli conflict.

I hold Austin Croshere responsible for all of the world's problems, specifically.

Posted by JP | October 4, 2006 5:05 PM

Has Hollinger been drinking Chad Ford's Euroball love potion? Young, exceptionally talented Euros can come to the NBA and adjust, but how many times have seen Euroleague (or Israeli) veterans come over, only to be completely overwhelmed by the size and speed of the American game. This guy is 31 years old. It's gonna be too late.

We might not be able to beat them in international tourneys, but that doesn't mean they can play here either.

Posted by owenz | October 4, 2006 9:19 PM

Some undersized low-post players do alright. Here's a collection of guys who are under 5' 8", play mostly under-the-basket, and are roughly equal to Scot Pollard: Malik Rose (pre-Knick), Larry Johnson (post-knee-blowout), Clarence Witherspoon, Kenny Thomas, and oh yeah, Charles Barkley. All of those guys have stuck around for years and made millions. So maybe the kid will do just fine. Even if he isn't gonna stick around long, do you blame him for trying? Or the team for giving the kid a break? It's good PR for a red-state team, they can dress it all up like he's a returning soldier. And for him, it's a pretty good bet that no one will be firing Katyushas at Indianapolis anytime soon.

Posted by jimmytex | October 5, 2006 1:20 AM

"Here's a collection of guys who are under 5' 8", play mostly under-the-basket... "

Damn, I was thinking only Mugsy Bogues, and maybe Calvin Murphy were in the 5'8" and under crowd.

Posted by Njorl | October 5, 2006 10:20 AM

He's listed as 6'9", 215 pounds. While it's not unusual for heights to be wildly misreported, he probably isn't too short to play power forward. The bigger question is probably strength. If he wasn't strong enough to play the spot right out of college, he might be strong enough now.

Posted by Njorl | October 5, 2006 10:24 AM

As I recall, Baston was quite lanky in college. And the 6'9", 215 pounds listing indicates to me that he's still very lanky. Let's take a peer - say, Shareef Abdur Rahim. He's not exactly a big, burly PF - not an Elton Brand body type. SAR is also 6'9". But he weighs 245! Same height, but he's got 30 pounds on Baston. Same with Al Harrington - also listed at 6'9", 245 lbs.

So it seems to me that 215 lbs is VERY light for a PF. The only comparable I could come up with is Boris Diaw (also 215 lbs.). Now, if Baston has Diaw's skill set, maybe he can make it as a PF. But I doubt he has that skill set.

Posted by Al | October 5, 2006 10:48 AM

Rumor has it that Larry Bird and the sheik who heads Hezbullah were seen having coffee at a cafe in Beruit about three months ago. Now we know what they were discussing.

Posted by jim | October 5, 2006 2:53 PM