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[opi@unesco.org]

>although Walker played under control much of the time last night, when
he did put up an ill advised  attempt at a long 3 >pointer, Tommy said
"oh, no, Antoine" - that will do more good for Antoine, if he sees that
tape, than all the excuses.  It sure >was good to have Cousy there last
night, too.

Oh c'mon, say what you want about Antoine's 1-6 shooting on 3-pointers
the other night, but overall it's hard to argue that it is a not a high
percentage shot for him. Despite one horrendous night, he's knocked down
.444 of them so far this year (12-27) as compared to Pierce's perfectly
solid benchmark of .360 (9-25 is the equivalent of a deadly .540 on
regular two-pointers). Granted Toine misses a ton of them, but it's
amazing how many of his "lucky shots" go in.

Just because Pierce's free throw percentage (.655)  also happens to be
below that of Antoine's this year, that can't be a reason to say "oh no,
Paul!" every time he steps up to the line. One thing that we'll never
accuse Saint Paul of being is lazy in this area, or making excuses
(forgive my pet peave, but when has Antoine EVER made an excuse about
his FG%?) etc. Personally, I don't demand an apology or explanation from
Paul Pierce for missing 14 field goal attempts last night. These are our
bookend forwards, two of the most promising and versatile in the league.
They are both trying hard, too.

It comes down to this. People who hated Antoine as a rookie will hate
him to the grave. They will actually root for the kid to fail, to prove
some sort of point.

Joe

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