Fan disappointment, "patience with youth", and crunch-time

["Thomas Murphy" <tfmiii@worldnet.att.net>]

It is truly a shame to hear that the fans have decided take out their
disappointment in the team on Antoine Walker as unfairly as they did last
night. Walker deserves credit for handling it as well - and as maturely -
as he has. I don't care how much money he makes, no individual who hustles
and scraps like he does should be subjected to such treatment.

But the Coach should recognize that he (Pitino, that is) shares at least
some of the blame for this turn of events. Pitino has allowed the
perception to persist that he plays favorites and that Walker is the
"teacher's pet" and allowed liberties (on the court and off) that, if
exercised by another player, would get that player slapped down hard by
Pitino. The latest dust-up with Anderson only serves to reinforce this
perception. Now, whether this perception is correct or not is another
question, but it seems clear that the perception is out there and only adds
to the considerable burden that has already been placed on the young Walker
by his captaincy, his large contract, last year's all-star appearance, and
Pitino's weeding out of veterans. It seems to me that a good part of the
negativity coming from the fans is in reaction to this perception of Walker
as Pitino's favorite, leading the fans to (unfairly) come down extra hard
on Antoine.

Also, Pitino has a conveniently cloudy memory when it comes to the question
of fan impatience. Now he's preaching patience with youth, but this is the
same man who pulled the trigger on the Billups deal in order to get older
quicker. Ellie Cutler made a series of nice observations a little while
ago, one of them concerning the value of "patience with youth" with regard
to Chauncey Billups, who is so far having a spectacular April. In case you
missed it, here's some of what he's done:

* Recorded 22 points (11-11 FT), a game-high 9 assists and 5 rebounds
against the Golden State Warriors on 4/12
* Hit the game-winning running bank-shot with 3.9 seconds left, totaling 16
points, 6 assists and 4 rebounds, in an 82-80 win over the L.A. Clippers on
4/4
* Posted a game-high 30 points, hitting 7-of-10 three-pointers, and 3
assists against the Minnesota Timberwolves on 4/2
* Registered a career-high 32 points (10-18 FG, 4-9 3FG, 8-8 FT), 5 assists
and 3 rebounds in a 113-110 win over the Seattle SuperSonics on 4/1

Now I can't pretend that I had any special foresight on this matter. In
fact, I was just as excited about the Kenny-Chauncey deal as anyone else,
and I think for basically the same reason: it was a deal that was intended
to help leap-frog the Cs past the growing pains of youth. Pitino was
impatient to win - NOW - and this was a deal that was presented to us as
making it possible. If anyone is guilty of creating ridiculously high
expectations it is Pitino himself. Unfortunately, it seems that Walker is
going to bear most of the brunt of fan disappointment because Pitino has
for the most part been unwilling to accept responsibility for his role in
creating heightened expectations.

On the subject of Chauncey, does it seem to anyone else that apart from his
obvious deficiencies (vision, tempo, distribution) and strengths (defense,
energy, quickness, size, range on his shot and ability to get to the rim)
as a point guard, that perhaps what the Celts miss most in Billups' absence
- apart from his defense - are his abilities as a go-to guy: someone who,
when the game is close and the clock winding down, had the strength,
quickness and skill to get to the hoop and more times than not come away
with - at minimum - a trip to the line. I just quickly scanned the Celts'
record in games this abbreviated season and here is what it says regarding
wins and margins of victory:

February
games decided by less than 10 points: 4-1
games decided by 10 points or more: 2-4

March 
games decided by less than 10 points: 2-4
games decided by 10 points or more: 2-10

April
games decided by less than 10 points: 1-3
games decided by 10 points or more: 3-2

Obviously, The Cs did well in close games back in February, when Pierce's
play was impressing the league, not only due to his numbers but also
because of his instrumental role in pulling out some close ones.
Unfortunately, since then (for whatever reasons) Pierce no longer appears
to be the same "go-to guy" he teased us with in February.

In March the team was getting pasted on a regular basis but did let some
close ones slip by, losing at home to NJ by 2, in Indiana by 3 and at home
to Chicago by 3. Another loss to Indiana by 8 was never that close, as was
also the case in the win over Denver (by 8). The lone "clutch" win was in
Philly (by 6) when the press helped us to some easy hoops in the closing
minutes against a team playing without its starting backcourt (Iverson,
Snow). 

So far in April the Cs pulled out a closer-than-it-should-have-been game at
home against the Bulls (by 6), largely on the strength of a shot-clock
beating 21-footer by Potapenko - hardly the shot to depend on down the
wire. Two losses, one to Milwaukee (by 1, the "no luv" game) and last night
to Atlanta (by 7) could and arguably should have been pulled out by the
Celts at home. The result in the loss in Orlando (by 7), despite occasional
spurts, never truly seemed to be in doubt. 

The Cs' difficulties in close games is all too understandable. Walker's
shot is too erratic (as are his free-throws despite recent improvement),
Kenny is too physically slight to get the calls, Ron's game is still
(despite progress) too one-dimensional, Vitaly has trouble getting the ball
or holding on to it once he gets it, and it seems that Pierce (for whatever
reason) no longer seeks to assert himself. Billups - despite his youth  -
understood that when the game was on the line the best place to take the
ball is to the hole. For all his other faults, he also had the skills and
ruggedness to force the refs to make the calls and the ability to knock
down the freebies. Although I'm not pleased by it, I can appreciate the
irony of the fact that Rick's itchy trigger-finger may have not only cost
us the "defense-first" point guard that he seems to hunger for today, but
perhaps also the one dependable crunch-time player from last year's team.

Best wishes
-Tom Murphy

PS: Belated congratulations to the folks in Portland! It was good to see a
squad that actually plays like a team dismantle NBC's anointed ones. I'm
rooting for a Blazer-Pacer Finals!