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You're confusing a coach's decision to give minutes to a player with how good that player actually is. If that were the case, Jermaine ONeal should have started in Portland. But he didn't because, surprise surprise, sometimes coaches don't always know what the hell they're doing.
So again, per 48, Mihm has the slightly superior statistics. Look it up on nba.com.
When multiple coaches decide that a player isn't worthy of playing time, you can usually assume that those coaches are correct. He didn't get the minutes in Boston, just like he didn't get the minutes in Cleveland. He had to beat out Mark Blount and a bunch of scrubs in Boston. Jermaine O'Neal was playing behind very productive players on a good team.
Unfortunately for Mihm, he doesn't play 48 minutes. Playing lots of reserve and garbage time minutes against inferior opponents for a limited number of minutes is different than starting against the best players at your position. Mihm's numbers are similar per 48 and he's played against crappier big men both because he plays in the east and because he didn't start. It's impossible to know if he could actually put up those kinds of numbers as a starter. What do we know for sure? That multiple coaches decided that he wasn't good enough to get the opportunity.
As far as I can tell, Rasho scores more, gets more rebounds, blocks more shots, and has traditionally shot a higher percentage from the field.
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Absolutely ludicrous. This perfectly exemplies how little basketball you must watch. Ervin Johnson and Kandi are two of the worst centers in the league, as are Miller and Madsen. Blount is better than all four of those centers have been for Minny over the years. Argue that all you want, but you'll be arguing with yourself.
Ervin is a decent defensive center. He holds his position well in the post and doesn't get abused by other big men. He can't score, but that isn't what he plays for. He's a widebody with decent defensive skills. Kandi, when he's healthy and brings his brain with him, has a quality go-to move in the post and is decent defensively.
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The only thing Ervin can do is play pretty good on the ball defense in spot minutes. He's a poor rebounder, poor weakside shot blocker, poor pick and roll big, and a terrible scorer, averaging 1.9 ppg last season. He sucks, plain and simple. Rasho is much, much better than this stiff. But surprise surprise, the Twolves still finished 4th in FG% against without Rasho last season. Wow!!!
And Ervin was a part of that. You don't finish so highly in that category without a center capable of plugging up the middle and playing some defense. Rasho is better than Ervin. But Ervin managed to do his job. And Minny had defensive help in other areas. Spree is a better defender than Wally, and Trenton Hassell made a huge difference. There are many reasons why Minny was a good defensive team.
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Purely arbitrary. The Celtics made the playoffs with Mihm last year, so I guess that means he's a good player? No, even if Mihm were getting regular minutes on last year's Pistons, it wouldn't say much about him as a player unless he were actually producing statistically. Rasho's production wasn't really all that impressive with the Spurs last year.
The Celtics has a crappy record and made the playoffs in the inferior east, and Mihm didn't play much of a role anyway. Rasho held down a starting role over other talented frontcourt players.
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No, we're talking about judging a player's ability. You claimed that Rasho is better now, when their relevant career statistics are identical. You ignore their career and simply referred to the most recent season. Again, just arbitrary, you gave no reasoning.
And the fact that you continue to associate player ability with team ability is where your argument falls apart, completely. Teams do not make a player. This is a very simple concept.
Career stats don't matter. Right now Rasho is better because he has put up better numbers over the past couple of years. Who cares what Rasho did five years ago? He can do more now. He's proven he can perform as a starter with those particular numbers. Mihm, at this point right now, isn't as good statistically. His numbers have regressed since his rookie year. Statistically, he's declined.
I'm not ignoring their career stats, but by looking at what a player has done recently, we can have a better idea about what he's going to do in the near future.
And a player's ability isn't necessarily associated with a team's success. If you don't understand, I'll try to put it in simpler terms: good teams usually have good frontcourts. If those teams have good frontcourts, it's more difficult for average players to get minutes because the talent level is generally higher. Crappy teams generally have less talented players. On those teams, it's usually easier to get playing time because you have to beat out crappier players.
Rasho played ahead one of the most clutch players in NBA playoff history and a former sixth man of the year candidate still in his prime. He beat out decent players. Mihm played behind an average Mark Blount and a bunch of other really crappy big men. If he was worth anything, he should have been able to get minutes over those stiffs. Is that so difficult to understand?
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Sure you can. Simply take a look at Mihm's production when he got comparable minutes to Rasho last season, and the seasons before. They're identical. This is very, very easy to do.
I can't. Mihm has never gotten comparable minutes over the course of a season.
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The comparison was relevant. Until you admit that team success does not make a player, you will continue to lose this argument.
Those players are among the best in the game. They are going to receive big minutes on any team. They are simply great players. Jermaine O'Neal plays with a good frontcourt, but since he's the best PF in the east, he doesn't have to beat out other players. He miles above the others. Brand plays on a crappy team. His frontcourt is crappier. He's a great player and he plays big minutes because he's a great player, not because the Clips have a crappy frountcourt. We're not talking about a backup big man or even an average power forward. These players will never have to fight for minutes, so your comparison is irrelevant.
You can look above to see why better teams usually have greater talent and why it's harder for average talent to get minutes.
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Rasho gets minutes taken away from him by stalwarts like Malik Rose, Robert Horry, and Kevin Willis. All Celtic centers are quite comparable to these players.
And Pierce takes away lots of possessions from Mihm, more so than Duncan. So your point continues to be moot.
Rose is a former sixth man of the year candidate and Horry was a coveted clutch player capable of starting on many teams. Mark Blount is comparable, but the other Celtic bigs are not.
Pierce shoots the ball a lot, but because there isn't a single quality post presence on the team, Mihm could certainly get lots of touches if he proved to be effective in the post. Mihm has no competition for post touches. All he needs to do is produce a little bit and he becomes the number one post option on that team.
Rasho can never be the number one post option because he plays with Tim Duncan. Tim is going to get the touches in the post practically every time Pop or Tony decide that the ball needs to go down low. Rasho's touches will always be limited by Tim's presence. Mihm's post touches will only be limited by his inability to deliver.
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It's all about minutes. Mihm didn't fit in the coach's rotations, for whatever reason. Neither did lots of players that ended up being good. Neither did Darko with the Pistons last year, or LeBron or Melo in the Olympics this year. Blount is better than any big the Spurs had last year, besides Duncan. That includes Rasho.
It is about minutes. And multiple coaches decided that Mihm wasn't worthy of getting playing time. I'll trust the judgement of multiple coaches before I trust yours. What makes you think you know more about basketball than these coaches?
Darko played behind Ben Wallace, Rasheed Wallace, and a very capable backup in Okur. Mehmet was good enough to get a huge contract, and he came off the bench. Darko had to beat out some very talented players to get playing time. Lebron and Melo played on an Olympics all-star team. They played behind former MVP Iverson and a potential franchise player in Jefferson.
Blount is simply not better than Rasho.
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Rasho couldn't stand out with Horry, Rose, and Willis. The guy's middle name is mediocre, as is Mihm's. The only way he's more "proven" was when he blocked a good deal of shots last season. Otherwise, statistically identical.
He stood out by being the starter. He played more minutes, started games, and did what he was supposed to do. And as stated above, Rasho played more minutes, had more blocks, got more rebounds, and scored more points. Explain to me how they were statistically identical.
I concede that I missed that. But I still maintain that it doesn't matter anyway. You can't just extrapolate statistics like that. Mihm got minutes against crappier players.
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Efficiency ratings don't, but PER FOURTY EIGHT efficiency ratings takes do, obviously. That's the whole point of per 48 (minutes). Per 48, Mihm > Rasho. Or more or less equal to, it's close.
Per 48 efficiency stats can be misleading. Unless you believe that Damier, Camby, and Boozer are better than Kobe, they really don't matter. Even if you compare positions, it still doesn't tell you much unless you truly believe that Marcus Camby and Carlos Boozer are better than Jermaine O'Neal and David West is better than Paul Pierce. Of course, you would also need to believe that Dan Gadzuric is better than Ben Wallace.
If you believe at West is better than Pierce and Gadzuric is better than Wallace, continue to have trust in this stat.
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The point is not relevant in the least. The coach's decision is not always the most logical decision that takes advantage of all his player's abilities. Take Phil Jackson; during the title run, he let scrubs get minutes during the regular season they wouldn't sniff on other NBA. The opposite is true as well; Dunleavy in Portland let Sabonis and others get minutes over Jermaine ONeal, who at the time was indeed good enough to start, as Pippen frustratingly alluded to several times during the regular/post seasons in 2000. Sometimes coaches make the wrong decisions, and sometimes they don't take full advantage of a player's ability. Your argument boils down to this; since the coach doesn't give Mihm minutes, that must means he sucks. And that has been proven wrong on so many different teams that it would be illogical to argue otherwise. Unless you actually believe coaches are always right. Then again, in your world, Ervin Johnson is worth a damn.
But you can trust the judgement of multiple coaches over time. Phil Jackson played scrubs when he was still winning 60 games and had the greatest job security in the sport. Sabes was arguably better than O'Neal at the time, and if nothing else, he certainly had better basketball instincts. I believe that the basketball assessments of multiple coaches are superior to yours. For your argument to work, you have to think the opposite.
If Mihm was worth a damn, he would be getting minutes over the scrubs he's always played behind.
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It's not in the least unnerving. The guy isn't meant to be more than a part time center, playing mostly backup. He's meant for 20-30 mpg, all depending on what Rudy wants to do with him. He may see very few minutes if Malone is back. He may see very few minutes if Divac is fit enough to player 30 a game this year. Who knows. But as I said, coaches don't always know how best to use players, it's a proven fact.
If he's meant to be a career backup, then you have to concede that Rasho is better. Rasho has been a starter on two very good teams. Minny offered him a lot of money to stay. The defending champions (at the time) offered him a bunch as well. Rasho is a starter in the NBA. That's the way it is. If Mihm is meant to be a backup, then he's certainly inferior.
And don't pretend that the Lakers have any significant frontcourt depth. Vlade is at the very end of his career, Grant's health and effectivenss is a concern, and Malone may or may not return. The Lakers don't have a great frontcourt. If Mihm is capable of delivering, he'll certainly get the opportunity.
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It's a perfectly legit comparison. To you, team accomplishments determine which player is probably better. You can't argue stats (well, hopefully, by now you realize you can't), so you argue team accomplishment and the 5 more mpg Rasho has gotten in his career, which has lasted one more season anyway.
The fact remains that Rasho has gotten more minutes playing ahead of better players. Mihm has had to beat out crappier players and he's received less minutes. And that's true for multiple coaches. You can't deny that good teams generally have more talent than crappier teams. Mihm has had it easy and he still hasn't been able to deliver.
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The only fact here is that you're naïve to think NBA coaches always know how to use each of their player's abilities to the maximum. A truly, truly sad contention.
If you want to continue to believe that multiple coaches couldn't figure out how to use Mihm, please do so. But in the NBA, if you're good enough to produce, you'll generally play minutes if you play with crappy frontcourt players on your team.
Continue to believe that you know something about Mihm that multiple coaches don't. After all, they see him in practice every day, watch every one of his games, and thoroughly know his strengths and weaknesses. And you? Well, you're a basketball fan. Of course you would know more...