Re: Walker won't work here... sigh

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

----- Original Message ----- From: <damekmo@teleport.com>
>...for those of us who  didn't here the interview on WEEI, did Antoine say
> that he stopped working out this summer? Did he say when did he stopped?
> Did he say that he stopped working out for a time which is what I think
> Holley wrote...yes? Did he say how long a time?

Paul, although I listened to a lot of the interview, this was one of the
points I was not entirely clear on.  I was hoping to hear more people's
impression of the actual interview but, unfortunately, most of what we are
hearing is reaction to accounts of the interview.  That being said, my
impression wasn't that 'Toine stopped working out.  It was more that he just
doesn't "work out".  Not in the kind of organized way that we imagine a
professional athlete would need to in order to be in peak condition.  And
certainly not in the way that the team has asked him to, he specifically
said that.  Understand, I'm not saying Antoine's a fat, lazy slug.  I
imagine he plays a lot of ball, and even might push some weights around once
in a while (he didn't say what his routine is like, so I'm left to imagine).
Skills wise I'd say it's more or less the same thing.  If he wants to work
on adding a mid-range jump shot, he probably does it by shooting a lot of
them in pick-up games.  I'll also grant that there are probably a lot of NBA
players who don't do any more than this in the summer.  I think what people
are saying, though, is that most of the really great players do more these
days.  Maybe Shaquille O'Neal doesn't, but Antoine doesn't have Shaq like
physical tools.  Bottom line is that what Pitino said to those campers is
100% true.  Antoine has a ton of natural talent but, while he's not lazy, he
is not disciplined or organized enough in the way he goes about developing
his body and his game to make the most of that talent.  So, a lot of people
are saying that means he should be traded.  The problem is that you'll get
back either less talent, or a similarly flawed player who also doesn't "get
it", especially while BYC comes into play, so what's the point?  I think, if
you've got talent on the team, and the Celtics have some, and are poised to
be able to acquire more, you're better off keeping it and changing the coach
if he can't make the talent win (I know you'll agree with that).

> And in review, we now have two reports about his weight.  One with him
> looking on the thin side and one where he looks like some fatso character
on
> tv...yes?

True, I wouldn't put any stock at all into either of these reports.

> Holley said he wasn't fat but needed the  training camp to get ready to
play.
> This is what training camp is  for...yes? Is he as fat as he was last
year? Is he
> in better shape than  this time last year?

Training camp might be where a lot of the average players get in shape to
play the game, but the really top level, All-NBA, franchise type talent are
doing a lot more on their own, during the summer.

>Are we all jumping the gun here? Isn't Pitino still  the only proven NBA
failure
>on this team?

If Pitino continues to fail it won't be because he doesn't work hard enough.
That's for sure.

Jim