Re: Pitino on Walker

[damekmo@teleport.com]

>As far as Walker goes, his days with the Celtics may be numbered.
>Whenever Il Duce makes a big pronouncement, the opposite usually occurs.
>And if you examine the possibility of a Vancouver - Boston
>deal, it's possessed of an inherent logic.  Walker teamed with
>Reeves and Rahim, gives the Grizzlies the best frontline in
>basketball.

Living on the left coast, I actually saw Abdur-Rahim play a few times last
year. Bottom line? Abdur-Rahim is a very nice player, but how many wins did
the Grizzlies have? That team was a joke. Walker was the only legitimate
NBA starter on a supposedly NBA frontcourt for an entire season....and the
Celtics were within striking distance of the playoffs. I kept hearing that
the Celtics were beating the teams they were supposed to beat. Why should
any team with that frontcourt and that point guard (pre-Anderson) be
expected to beat anybody? Pitino's a great coach, but last year's Celtics
team had some of the worst offensive players I've ever seen. 36 wins?
McCarty, Knight, Declercq, Billups, Edney, Pervis (when he could
stand)....God, there's a group that would inspire confidence at the
offensive end. Walker on the Grizzlies? I wouldn't mind going north a few
more times next year to see those two play together. Pitino said that it
was important for the Celtics to get better next season. He needed to add
talent this summer. I look forward to seeing all the new and improved
talent next year if he trades Walker. I'm sure they make the playoffs next
year with Walker gone. All that crisp passing, no more bad shots, no more
turnovers. Once Walker's gone all that halfcourt offense that Pitino wanted
to put in place last year but couldn't will be on display. You know how
much he loves to coach that halfcourt offense, and how good he is at it. I
was beginning to have my doubts about paying Antoine between $15 and $17
mil. Screw it. You ask the 21 year old to make up for the deficiencies of
your center, small forward, point guard, and, I would add, actually take
the three point shots your "all-star" shooting guard is afraid to take
(thanks Chris Wallace for saying Mercer "must improve his 3-point
shooting.") and you still get 36 wins!?! Give the kid the money. I'm going
to bed. Perhaps I'll dream about all those ballets I've seen with those
half-naked and sometimes - I know, it's a modernist nightmare - naked
dancers in them. Or should I hope for dreams about some cheerleaders
practicing gymnastics/mtv dance routines on an NBA court. Naaah...those
ballets are actually, kind of, dare I say it....erotic. Now there's a
dangerous tradition.

Paul M.