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

[Theresa Lee <tjoyce@mit.edu>]

Can somebody check Antoine's points in the paint this year against last
year's numbers if those exist? He seems to be getting a lot more layups and
baseline drives (dunk or layup) than he did last year. I see him improving
in this, shot selection. I'm not sure about the rest of the numbers, but I
bet this one has gone up dramatically.

If not for the contract (which, you must always remember was paid for
potential, not actual talent) people would not give Antoine this much
attention. He is quickly becoming a piece of the puzzle on a balanced team
as opposed to the star of a terrible team. I'd take the former over the
latter any day. If they WIN, I don't care what he does. If they lose, I
don't care what he does (as long as he didn't lose it through some last
minute error, but then I'd be mad at any player who did that.) He just
doesn't stand out to me all that much (good or bad) when I watch the games.
There are many others to watch nowadays.

The Celtics this year remind me of Sacramento last year. Yes?

Theresa


>    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.

>    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
>
>****