Marc Cofman: Fans Send Walker Off With A Chorus Of Boos

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

                  Boston Herald                  
                                  
                  Fans send Walker off with chorus of boos    
                  by Mark Cofman                         

                  Monday, March 22, 1999

                  At the tender age of 22, Antoine Walker already has
                  enjoyed many high points in his NBA career. Yesterday, the
                  Celtics' third-year forward experienced a low point.

                  Less than halfway through one of his worst performances as
                  a pro, Walker heard more than a smattering of boos from
                  the FleetCenter crowd. He was 0-for-9 from the field when
                  boos began raining in his direction. Walker was on his way
                  to a season-low six points with five turnovers in the
                  Celtics' 95-92 overtime loss to Chicago.

                  He also finished with 10 rebounds and three steals, but
                  his 2-for-15 shooting line, coupled with a 1-for-4 effort
                  on free throws, had some of the crowd of 18,624 in a
                  less-than-charitable mood. To make matters worse for
                  Walker, he was the target of the fans' frustrations in a
                  game televised in his hometown of Chicago.
           
                  ``I'm not surprised they booed but I can't let it hurt
                  me,'' said Walker, who had a chance to tie the game with
                  12 seconds left in overtime but misfired on a lane runner.
                  ``I think the fans do have to understand that we're going
                  out there and giving 110 percent. If you want to boo me,
                  that's fine. I'm a big man.

                  ``I'm not going to run away from it. I've never run away
                  from things. I'm going to stay in there and fight because
                  I know I can play this game. If I have a bad game, I'm
                  going to take my lumps with it. I'll sit here afterward
                  and tell you I had a bad game.''

                  He had a bad game. Walker, the Celtics' first All-Star
                  representative in five years last season, couldn't get
                  anything to fall. His shot selection - generally the first
                  issue raised in criticism of Walker's game - was not that
                  bad. He was 1-for-4 on 3-pointers, but most of Walker's
                  misses came on short jumpers and post-ups.

                  ``I don't worry about missing some shots, because those
                  same shots will fall the next time out,'' he said. ``It
                  was a bad shooting night, and it came in a game we had an
                  opportunity to win in overtime. If we had escaped this
                  game with a win, we probably wouldn't be here discussing
                  my bad shooting night.''

                  The Celtics lost a game they should have won and the
                  hometown crowd let Walker know about it. That did not go
                  unnoticed by Celtics coach Rick Pitino. ``Antoine had an
                  off-night,'' he said. ``He made some back-to-the-basket
                  moves that were right around the rim that didn't go in.
                  That's going to happen. But I think there's a lot of
                  negativity in the air and the guys are a little nervous
                  about it.''

                  Pitino made a point not to single out his captain, but it
                  was difficult not to in this case. Walker, for the first
                  time in his career, had been booed by the hometown crowd.

                  ``When you make shots, everybody's happy,'' said Walker.
                  ``I had a bad shooting night, but I was trying to do
                  everything I could to help the team win. . . . We need all
                  the support we can get. Teams feed off the support they
                  get from the crowd. The fans here should understand
                  that.''