Re: voting

[krai@gis.net]

>> From owner-celtics@igtc.COM Sat Mar 21 12:42:31 1998
>
>> I vote for Mercer - he is a (much?) more talented version of Reggie Lewis,
>> and a solid, dependable individual.
>
>Ron Mercer more talented than Reggie Lewis, just goes to say that how short
>lived memory's are. One of the main reasons Reggie didn't get his due
>because hw
>was playing in the same conference as Jordan. Reggie was a great defender, a
>great shooter and a player who could do it all. I would take Reggie over any
>other SG (except Jordan) in the NBA.
>

Reggie was a fine player, no doubt. Mercer the rookie is not as good as
Reggie was at the pinnacle of his career. However, for various reasons
Lewis's first few seasons were nothing special; Mercer, on the other hand,
would be Rookie of the Year if it weren't for Duncan, and will undoubtedly
make the All-Rookie first team. (M. Holley of the Globe even expects Mercer
to make the All-Star team next year). Physically, Mercer is inarguably much
more gifted than Lewis was, and his shooting touch is comparable (it's hard
to make a valid comparison of FG%, since they had very different
"supporting" casts). Given Mercer's personality, the other parts of the
game should come around in the next few years as well.


>> Walker has simply too many undesirable
>> (IMO) character traits to be given the franchise.  His body language (and I
>> don't mean just the wiggle) clearly reveals what kind of person he is.
>> ilk - Kemp, the crotch-grabbing L. Johnson, C. Webber, I. Rider et al.
>
>Now that's a comment that is totally undeserved Walker being compared to
>Webber
>& Rider. So let me ask this, what has he done except play hard? Has he been
>cited for DUI, possesions of Marijuana, Cellular phone thefts or just
>because of
>his body language you have concluded that he eventually will end-up doing
>all of
>the above.

No, no, no. I was much too vague with my comments about Walker's
personality, and it is no wonder I'm being misunderstood. Sorry. It is true
that the aforementioned players have had problems off the court *in
addition* to their counterproductive (IMO) on-court behavior, but that's
not what I had in mind while comparing Walker to them. Rather, it is a
certain attitude that all these players exhibit on the basketball court. I
can't easily describe it, it's sort of you-know-it-when-you-see-it. Nearly
everything they do is for show; winning is an afterthought.  If they are
going for a block, they won't attempt to gain control of the ball, but swat
it into the balcony. They'd rather attempt a flashy 1-on-1 (or -2 or -3)
move than use a pick for an easy jumper.  In the rare cases when they
decide to pass the ball, it's usually the  behind-the-back (and into the
stands) variety.  Stats rule.  Sabonis once told a story about his teammate
Rider: Rider passed the ball (!) to Sabonis under the basket. Two guys went
up in the air trying to block Sabonis's shot, so he took a dribble and laid
it in from the other side of the basket. Running back up the court Rider
yelled to Sabonis not to take a dribble next time 'cuz he does not get
credited with an assist this way.
Now,  Walker is not as bad (I hope!) as some of the others, but he
certainly is in the same mold. The recent postings about him from those who
have gone to Celtics' games this season only corroborate what can be
inferred from watching him on TV. This is not say that he is a terrible
human being. He just seems to be vain, selfish, and emotionally unstable -
not the type of person I'd want to build the team around.

K. Kveraga