Pitino Pleads For Fans To Give Walker A Break

[Way Of The Ray <wayray@ix.netcom.com>]

Yes, the booing can't help his trade value...

        4.15.99 00:24:33
        CELTICS
        For fan target Walker especially, this one
        really hurt

BOSTON -- What transpired after the Celtics lost a
77-70 stinker -- and I do mean a real stinkeroo -- to
Atlanta last night was nothing short of remarkable.

And that's really saying something in this increasingly
bizarre NBA season.

Rick Pitino all but pleaded for Boston fans to give
Antoine Walker a break.

And Walker, the 22-year-old to whom the Celtics
committed $71 million for the next six years, said the
booing he continues to hear makes him wonder if he is
the person or the player Celtics fans want.

Walker suffered through another horrible shooting
night. He was 3-for-12 from the floor and finished with
6 points. He also picked up 5 personal fouls, one more
than his total for rebounds.

Yes, Walker was booed, but not as loud as in previous
nightmarish outings. And last night he and his
teammates deserved it. They were pathetic. They shot 36
percent for the game. In the fourth quarter, Walter
McCarty took care to spot up for a three-pointer from
the left corner and threw up an air ball. It was one of
seven -- yes, seven -- air balls.

The Celtics turned the ball over seven times in the
first quarter.

But they weren't the only shoddy excuse for a
basketball team on the floor. Atlanta shot only 39
percent.

Indeed, there were no winners last night, not even the
Hawks. The Celtics lost. The 15,364 fans lost. The game
of basketball lost. Walker lost. When he clanged a
15-footer off the front of the rim in the second
quarter and got booed, Pitino had had enough negativity
for a season.

``Fans have to cut Antoine Walker a break. They really
do. It's getting out of hand. They got to cut him a
break,'' the coach and father-figure said without any
prompting from the usually critical media.

``He's been playing terrific basketball the last three
weeks, and he presses every time he hears the booing
going on, no matter what he's saying. It's very
difficult to play under those circumstances.

``Now in the beginning of the year, I wouldn't champion
his cause at all, but right now you guys got to cut him
a break and be positive. These players weren't
responsible for what went on here the last eight or
nine years. We need people to stand behind us, not just
when we're up.''

Walker has said the booing doesn't bother him.

``Of course it bothers you,'' Pitino said. ``I had a
young man, Kenny Walker, with the Knicks, he got booed
in the intros because they drafted him -- I think it
was (fourth) -- and they always started booing him in
the introductions. The nicest guy in the world, he's
getting booed in the intros. He comes back with tears
welled up. Somebody said to me after the game `He's
making $800,000, why's he crying?' Well, these guys
have their sensitive thing. This is a young basketball
team, and guys can grow with positive feedback.''

In the Boston dressing room, Walker sat at his cubicle
in his green shorts. His face was buried in his hands.
When he removed them, he looked like he wanted to cry,
not talk to a bunch of reporters.

Walker not only talked, he bared his soul, revealing
raw emotional wounds that are deeper than even he may
realize.

``I guess I'm not the person or the player that Celtics
fans want,'' he said. ``I enjoy playing here, but for
it to continue throughout the season no matter how you
play, it's not going to get any better. You don't know
what to do at this point. I'm going to continue to play
hard, but it's uncomfortable when you come home and you
have to hear certain things. That's the nature of the
game, I guess. I guess they're showing that they're not
happy with me.

``Maybe the fans want someone else, but I'm through
trying to figure it out. I'm going to continue to play
hard. I'll address this at the end of the season.''

What's to address? Walker has a lucrative long-term
contract. He says he likes playing with the Celtics. He
says he is committed or he wouldn't have signed the
deal. He says he understands that as the $71-million
man, he's the lightning rod for criticism.

But he can't understand why the atmosphere in the
FleetCenter feels like it does when the Celtics are on
the road.

``We need our fans behind us. We get this treatment on
the road, but we shouldn't get it at home,'' he said.

Walker is determined not to quit, on himself or on his
teammates.

``I'm 22-years-old,'' he said. ``For me to let one
so-so season kill my career would be foolish on my
part. I look at the big picture. We are on the
upswing.''

Walker said that he has had to adjust to a new role
this season because he has not always been the number
one option. That has been difficult at times.

Walker also said that he and his teammates have to
commit to off-season improvement. He said he can't
spend the summer in Boston, but he will hire a personal
trainer in Chicago.

``It's hard for me,'' he said. ``I have a four-year-old
child. I'm the oldest of six children. The summer is
when I have my visitation rights. I can't take my
daughter on the road. I have to take advantage of that
time. I have to be a father to my child.

``I'm going to make some of the voluntary workouts. I
think a lot of guys will be there (Boston), but
unfortunately that's the time I have to spend with my
family.''

Walker went on but his message was clear. He's doing
his best even if it doesn't always seem that way. And
he's puzzled he's still getting booed. Last night, he
seemed pained. Perhaps Celtics fans should cut him a
break.



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