Re: The Boston Celtics Mailing List Digest V5 #10

[Michael Joseph Byrnes <mbyrnes@leland.Stanford.EDU>]

Mike Dynon wrote:

> OK, Antoine has to improve his shot selection and decision-making, but
> to say he lacks desire and work ethic is ludicrous.  [...] Antoine is
> obviously desperate to prove himself as an All-Star, yet you
> would deny him that reward because you've somehow decided he doesn't
> work hard enough.  

I am just worried that Antione is more "desperate to prove himself as an
All-Star" than he is to prove himself a team leader.  Players like Larry
Bird, Michael Jordan, and Magic Johnson surely wanted the recognition that
goes with making the All-Star team - however, each of them wanted to win
basketball games more than anything else.  I haven't seen enough of
Antoine to believe that that is true for him.  

At this point, Antoine has great talent, but there are still a number of
huge weaknesses in his game: creating for teammates (he does not make the 
players around him better), running the fast break (the Celtics fast
break, largely led by Walker, is the worst I've ever seen), getting to
the free throw line, ability to hit free throws.

Even his 49 point game yesterday came in a losing effort.  If he had been
even adequate from the free throw line the game would have at least gone
to overtime.  He also took himself out of the game in crunch time on a
reach in foul.  And, he had *no* assists to go along with his five
turnovers.  WHile it was still a great game, was it really all that much
better than Todd Day's 41-point effort in the Fleet Center?

At some time in the near future, the Celtics are going to have to decide
whether to make Walker their franchise player.  If they do sign him, it
will most definately cost them "Garnett-money" at the very least.  At this
point I am not entirely convinced that Walker is worth that kind of
investment.  And, if he doesn't make changes in his style of play before
he starts making Garnett-money, who is to say that he ever will afterward?

Michael Byrnes
mbyrnes@stanford.edu