BRAMA, Feb 16, 2004, 9:00 am ET
Ukrainian Titans - At the All Star Break
- a Retrospective and Recommendation
– by Max Pyziur
Last October at the beginning of the current NBA season, the odds of
Seattle
Supersonics' Center Vitaly Potapenko or Los Angeles Lakers' Power Forward
Stanislav Medvedenko seeing much playing time were seen as being small.
Because of contractual agreements with two other Centers Vitaly stood
third in line - a replacement for a replacement. Slava, on the other hand,
was a distant second to the Lakers new acquisition - Karl Malone - someone
who for 18 years unquestioningly defined the Power Forward position -
making and breaking all sorts of records along the way. Fast forward to
the present and each is now a starter due to circumstances and
perseverence.
* * *
In Vitaly's case, Jerome James and Calvin Booth - the two who stood ahead
of him in doing the Center's chores - proved to be too inconsistent and
unreliable. Too often the former lapsed and the latter failed to
deliver. In the end, Vitaly was called in to try and fix things,
sometimes too late. Notably, against teams such as the Houston Rockets
and the Lakers with Yao Ming and Shaquille O'Neal, respectively, Vitaly
was sent in to neutralize them - in each case to the acclaim
of Nate McMillan, the Supersonics' coach. His production was not
measured so much in how many shots he blocked or rebounds he pulled down,
but rather in the number of offensive moves he prevented his opponents
from taking - a more complicated calculus perceived by someone better
acquainted with the game.
Beginning with the January 27th match against the Dallas Mavericks Coach
McMillan decided to give Vitaly the job of starting Center using Booth and
James to give him well-earned rests. In this period Vitaly has
consistently delivered on the defensive end and his offensive
abilities have begun to show - scoring on average 10 points a game. In
addition, the Sonics, including Vitaly, have moved away from being
just a group of talented individuals to a cohesive team, working to each
others strengths, anticipating opportunities for each other.
* * *
Slava Medvedenko's chance came at the suffering of another. In a freak
accident during the December 21st game against the Phoenix Suns where an
opposing player landed on his knee, Karl Malone has since been sidelined.
Each week his return becomes couched in more ambiguous terms.
Unflinchingly, Lakers' coach Phil Jackson gave Slava the nod to be
starting Power Forward. With each subsequent game Slava's contributions
in both scoring and rebounds increased. In the January 9th game against
the Atlanta Hawks his playing seemed to elevate exponentially -
working with Kobe Bryant he scored 26 points, pulled down 11 rebounds,
made 3 assists, steals and 2 blocks while giving up only 2 fouls and
making no turnovers. He had a similar game on January 24th against Utah
posting very similar numbers - 26 points, 12 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal.
However, beginning with January 30th game things turned somewhat sour. In
5 of 8 games upto the All-Star break he ran into early foul trouble; this
caused Phil Jackson to limit his playing time. In addition, he seems to
have lost his touch in shooting with fewer of his shots putting
points on the scoreboard. In the February 11th game against the Houston
Rockets - the Lakers' last before the current All-Star break - Slava
managed to control his defensive exhuberance and limited himself to 3
fouls; however, though he managed to beat many players to the basket,
his shooting was the worst of the season, making only 1 of his 13
attempts.
* * *
In the remainder of the season we hope that Vitaly Potapenko continues to
show and build on the consistency which he has brought to his craft as
Center for the Supersonics helping them gain a playoff spot. In addition
to his pedantic defensive work, we would like to see a bit of flourish.
Along with his occasional layups and short-range jumpers how about one of
those dunks? It isn't just two points - it's the thing which makes the
crowd jump to its feet, gets your teammates excited, and knocks the wind
out of your opponents sails.
As for Slava Medvedenko, it isn't necessary for you to start with your
signature mid-range jumper; in fact it's a little dicey. You're big and
deft (you were beating Houston Rockets Kelvin Cato off the dribble in the
last game) - try a layup or a dunk as your first shot (also, less chance
of missing). Once you've made a few of those your defenders will be
waiting for you under the basket - that's when you step back and fire off
your jumper.
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