Re: Sportline's : Miami and Boston are close in the standings but worlds apart

[opi@unesco.org]

> > I don't buy that Sportsline guy's article about Saturday's game being proof
> > that the Miami Heat and the Celtics being worlds apart.  Yes, Miami is more
> > poised and experienced, and will do better than the Celtics this season, and
> > might even win a championship, while the Celtics are not ready for a
> > championship this year.  But they're not worlds apart, either, and the
> > Celtics record is no fluke.
> [cut]

    I do agree it is largely a matter of team experience, certainly not that Zo,
Tim, PJ and Mash are forever better or even smarter basketball players than the
guys we are building with. Mashburn is the only one of those four under 29 years
old, and most importantly they've been together generally twice as long as a unit
compared to the individual Celtics players.

    This is an example of a writer who starts his analysis with a stubborn
conclusion (which goes: "Walker is the definition of selfishness, hey even the
Boston writers say so") and forces it into the picture as evidence of why the
Celts lost the game, even if it doesn't match the particular circumstances.

    I don't think Walker lost us the Miami game (nor, bless his heart, do I think
he believes for a second that we could lose the next rematch), but I do think this
year is shaping up as his worst as a pro. As I've been saying like a broken
record, "Antoinette" is now fourth on his team in rebounding (6.8) and seems like
he couldn't care less. He's also fourth in assists at a career low 2.5, yet first
in turnovers at 3.0. His field goal shooting is at what I regard to be the
"Mendoza line" for a big forward (45%). And while Potapenko has thus far
maintained his free throw form (.739%), Walker has slipped dramatically (.659)
after a good start and really needs to climb back up again.

    I might add, though, that the "old school" Griffin and Pierce are actually the
team's worst (.657) and third worst (.729) free throw shooters respectively, on
what amounts to a pretty good free throw shooting team for a bunch of youngsters
(ranked #10 in the NBA) thanks I suppose to the shot doctor, Andy Enfield.

    Also, I do think it's theoretically possible that Walker is not THAT far from
putting together the two thus far incongruent pieces of the puzzle (playing under
control while playing hyper-productively at the same time). This might still take
a few years, and so obviously I'm glad he only just turned 23 this August. In
fact, he's actually younger than '97 draftees Battie, Fortson or Mercer. I can't
help believing that Walker will be a much better playoff force than Sacramento's
Chris Webber, because of his heart and the wide range of skills he has
demonstrated. But there isn't a single aspect of Walker's game that you can really
point to as a finished product.

Joe

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