Re:

[peter delevett <pdelevett@amcity.com>]

Mike Dynon <mdynon@ix.netcom.com>:
>I was shocked to see {Walker} come down the floor on more than one occasion
and immediately toss up a shot
>from the outside.  First, he is clearly in the middle of a shooting slump, not
>the best time to start taking any shot you can get.  Generally when the team
>worked to create shots and move the ball around the floor there was no booing
>even if the shot was missed. 

I think AW and other players have this belief that if you're in a slump, you
keep shooting until you shoot your way out of it. But a player of Walker's
manifold talents needs the maturity to realize that if it's a night when the
shots just aren't dropping, there are other things he can do -- passing,
rebounding -- to help his team. It's not like he's the only guy on the team
who can put the ball in the basket. [BTW, I just read in the new SI that on a
per-minute basis, Walker is like 4th in the league inshot attempts. RP really
should try to rein him in, given his shooting percentage and that fact that
other guys need their touches too.]

>Even when the Celts play reasonable
>"normal" defense, as they did last night (87 points allowed isn't bad),
>they struggle offensively because they lack a half-court offense.

There is frankly no excuse for that with the kind of post-up threats they
have. Back during Michael Jordan's first championship run, Chicago would
nearly *always* come out at the beginning of the game and establish Bill
Cartwright - get the ball in to him, let him put up several high-post jumpers
in a row. Opponents knew they couldn't sag off the middle to triple team
Jordan or Cartwright would make them pay. Now, one of the very best things
Vitaly knows how to do is put the ball in the basket. Pitino should make much
better use of this gift and create more opportunities for VP to post up inside.