Re: Holley: Celtics Must Make A Trade

["Jim Meninno" <jim_meninno@hotmail.com>]

Wow.  Sometimes I'm really amazed at people's opinion of Antoine.

>From: Jim Hill <jahill@leasingservice.com>

>If Walker can play that kind of defense, as he did once against Tim
>Hardaway, WHY doesn't he play defense like that all the time?

OK, so he should be able to guard one of the best guards in the league 
one-one-one?  All the time?  Come on.  He stepped up big time at the end of 
a game and basically won the game for the C's.  That's a good thing.  Don't 
hold it against him.

>Pitino's spinning that Walker is so damn "competitive" isn't reflected in 
>his team or personal  effort.  Only in his attempts, one-on-one, to the 
>detriment of the team in many cases, does he show competitive flashes.  And 
>frankly, he isn't good enough yet, if ever, to carry a team which is why, 
>IMO, he is not the leader of this team.

Well, he looks competative to me.  I can't remember ever watching a game and 
thinking that it looked like he was dogging it out there.  If he tends to 
look like he's not playing defense, I think it's more a matter of avoiding 
fouls than being lazy.  Remeber, he is expected to be out there for the most 
minutes on the team.  Hopefully this spell without him should show him, and 
the rest of the team, that they can play well without him out there when 
they need to.  And, if he's not competative, why does he get so excited when 
they win?

>I hope for his sake, more than the fans sake, he learns to lead by
>example instead of by big talk that he chooses not to back up with >his 
>play.

Yeah, you sound like it's Antoine you're worried about.  If I were you, I 
wouldn't worry.  He's set for life.

>I mean really, Walker isn't even the "go to guy" on the Celtics let
>alone if he was on a team with proven talent.  Based on his
>deteriorating performances over the last couple years if he doesn't
>get a grip on what's required to win in professional sports he'll be
>compared to D. Coleman more likely then T. Williams.

Well, he's not the best option when you need a basket, I'll give you that.  
But there's a lot more to the game than shooting the ball.  If Pierce is as 
good as we all think and Potapenko can be a steady scorer and they manage to 
hold onto Mercer (or get a replacement like Richmond), I'd like to see 
Walker shooting the ball only when he's got an advantage (ie. on the break, 
with a mismatch or a wide open shot).  However, as a "go to guy", his ugly, 
improbable, desperation shots seem to have a habit of going in.  Sometimes 
players just have that knack.  The biggest problem I see, is that the team 
thinks it has to go to him a lot when he's in the game. It's a carry over 
from last year, when he was about the only guy who could score.  If the rest 
of the team played like they do when he's on the bench they'd be much better 
off.  I'm sure, in your mind, that's Walker's fault.

>Does anyone really think that Walker is more then an inconsistent, under 
>achiever since the end of his first year?

I do.  I think the only period of poor play in his career was the first half 
or two thirds of this year.  He was in poor shape.  I'm not overjoyed by 
that, but he was.  His second year was, to borrow from Pitino, outstanding.

>Webber has proven that "you" can turn it around with a commitment to hard 
>work and 100% effort on the court.  I hope that Walker can become that kind 
>of player someday.

Thanks for the thought, but it's far too late for "me" to turn it around.

Jim


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