Re:Mishra/Jessen/Walker

[j.hironaka@unesco.org]

Icarus wrote:

> -----Original Message-----
> From: DJessen33@aol.com <DJessen33@aol.com>

> >Like I've stated before, Walker is more of a tweener between the 3
> >and 4. He doesn't shoot well enough outside to be a 3 and doesn't
> have the
> >bulk, height, or jumping ability to be the best 4 in basketball.
>
> Walker has adequate bulk to play the 4, he is taller than Oakley and
> weighs
> almost as much. I don't hear anybody in his right mind calling Oakley
> a
> tweener. Regarding jumping ability, he may not be a leaper like Mercer
> but
> the last time I saw him in person he has an adequate vertical. His
> speed is
> what makes him formidable against other 4's.
>
> Mishra

For what it's worth and as usual, I agree wholeheartedly with Mishra
that height alone does not determine whether you can play the 4 in the
NBA. It's all about strength (FYI, Antoine's got it) and fury (Antoine's
got it). If you can work the paint for 11+rpg per game, then I don't
care if you are 6-5 (Barkley), 6-7 (the Worm) or 6-8 (Cowens). BTW, I
think everyone would agree that Vin Baker, Googs and Karl Malone are not
good leapers even compared to Antoine. Neither were Kevin McHale and
Larry Bird  :-)

I think the reason we enjoy projecting Antoine at 4 is because there
really is nobody around (name one?) who can stop him from becoming the
dominant power forward for the next 15 years if he continues to work as
maniacally hard as he does by nature. Stop me if I'm making this up, but
the kid can pass as well as any forward in the game, he can rebound with
the very best, and he can draw a defender out to 20 feet away from the
hoop. Antoine Walker can do what James Worthy should have done (totally
revolutionize the power forward position) if only he hadn't evolve into
yet another La La Land, Flaker pansy.

I believe Pat Riley is about to pull off the greatest swindle of his
life, at Ricky P's expense. Miami may be the one place, other than
Boston, where Antoine will fully realize his obscene potential by age
25. The McDonut article was a classic "trial balloon" to see how the
Boston public reacts to the "DallasMaveRickification" of the Celtics.
IMO, Gaston is adamant that Walker isn't Celtics material in terms of
"character", and Ricky P has been lukewarm about talking the boss out of
it. Rick's talked himself into believing the Celtics can be built around
a guy (Mashburn) who Riley doesn't even need or want. But before Pitino
pulls the trigger and grabs the ESPN headlines, I would like him to at
least communicate over several days with Antoine to gage his feelings.
That's all I ask.


Joe


P.S. Peter Gammons mentioned in his Sunday column that Eileen
Shaughnessy (Dan's mom) passed away. I don't know about you all, but I
liked the Dan Shaughnessy of the good old days (1979-1989). When it
comes to spot writing, there is no one who can file on tight deadline a
basketball game result with as much humor and narrative coherence. For
West Coast non-playoff games, these guys actually have to file a good
story probably within five minutes of the end of a game. I don't think
even Bill Cooper or Josh O could do that. It's the writing equivalent of
"Blitz Chess."  I hope he eventually comes back to his first love
(basketball) once the Celtics finish rebuilding, hopefully in my
lifetime :-)