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Re: Where's the real Peter May?
I agree pretty much with everything except for the following sentence:
>Yes, the Celtics will still go to Pierce at crunch time >because he is the
more proficient scorer and the better >ballhandler.
Now if he had left the ballhandler comment outta there I woulda said
"zactly".
Cecil
----- Original Message -----
From: "pmaurice" <damekmo@teleport.com>
To: <celtics@igtc.com>
Sent: Wednesday, December 19, 2001 7:47 AM
Subject: Where's the real Peter May?
> Who wrote the following and what has Way done with the real Peter May? I
got
> this from the ESPN website:
>
> Pierce gets the pub, but you can't forget Walker
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
> By Peter May
> Special to ESPN.com
>
>
> After most any game, you walk into the Boston Celtics locker room
and
> expect to see Antoine Walker with a huge ice bag on his right arm and an
ace
> bandage holding it in place. You know, like Randy Johnson or Mike Mussina
> always look after going nine innings?
>
> Antoine Walker
> Forward
> Boston Celtics
> Profile
>
>
> 2001 SEASON STATISTICS
> GM MIN FG% APG RPG PPG
> 21 43.5 .378 4.9 10.8 24.7
>
>
> It hasn't come to that yet. But as the Boston Celtics continue their
> surprising start, one constant remains unchanged: they are doing it
> offensively on the shoulders of Paul Pierce and the extended arms of
Walker.
>
> Pierce may be the more accomplished scorer, but for outright
> versatility, it is impossible to ignore the game-in, game-out
contributions of
> Walker. In terms of sheer value to his team, Walker may even trump the
> celebrated Pierce. Walker has the rare gift of making players better,
mainly
> due to his passing skills. Pierce doesn't have that -- yet. Last year,
only
> one player in the league finished in the top 20 in scoring, assists,
rebounds
> and steals. That player was Antoine Walker.
>
> You know about his scoring. You may not know that twice this year he
has
> made crucial tip-ins which eventually led to Boston wins. You may not know
> that he is an improved defensive player this season, as are many of his
> teammates, due in part to increased emphasis on defense and the presence
of
> assistant coach Dick Harter.
>
> Walker also is an openly vocal leader, in and out of the clubhouse,
and
> coach Jim O'Brien repeatedly stresses how important that has been this
season.
> Walker has been with the Celtics since 1996, longer than anyone else on
the
> roster.
>
> Paul Pierce
> Forward
> Boston Celtics
> Profile
>
>
> 2001 SEASON STATISTICS
> GM MIN FG% APG RPG PPG
> 21 40.7 .429 2.7 7.4 26.9
>
>
>
> And Walker has willingly and without complaint surrendered much of
the
> spotlight to Pierce. While that may be seen as a no-brainer, it isn't that
> simple. It shows a level of maturity that the Celtics always hoped Walker
> would attain, something made harder by the fact that the team rarely had
> veterans to show him the way.
>
> To his own detriment, Walker remains a profligate shooter, but one
who
> has the unstinting blessing of his coach to fire away with impunity. Hey,
if
> your coach gave you a continuous green light, what would you do?
>
> One can only wonder -- as is the case with Allen Iverson -- what
havoc
> he could wreak if he could shoot, say, 45 percent from the field. Instead,
> he's shooting a career-worst of about 38 percent -- and still the Celtics
> don't appear to be suffering at all.
>
> Walker is not an easy player to embrace -- on the court.
Unfortunately
> for him, that is the Antoine Walker that most everyone sees. That is why
he
> almost certainly will be bypassed when USA Basketball completes the
selection
> process for the United States team in next summer's World Championships.
("No
> chance," was the response from one selector when asked if Walker could
expect
> an invitation, despite a dearth of power forwards and centers.) That is
why
> Walker was not chosen as a reserve last year for the Eastern Conference
> All-Star team, despite statistics that would seemingly have made it
automatic
> for almost anyone else.
>
> Those away from the Celtics operation see a power forward who takes
too
> many stupid shots and, amazingly, is allowed and encouraged to be on a
pace to
> set an NBA record for three-point field goals, attempts and conversions.
They
> see an individual that Houston coach Rudy Tomjanovich once termed, with
> visible contempt, "a typical, new-age player." They see someone who tends
to
> get swallowed up inside against bigger front lines -- and wonder what
might
> happen if he had to play in the power-forward rich Western Conference.
They
> see someone who contests almost every foul call against him, although he
has
> toned down that act considerably this season. Rasheed Wallace, he ain't.
They
> see someone who can showboat with the best of them.
>
> Yet, my guess is that if you put truth serum in the punch at the
league
> meetings, you'd find 28 general managers and coaches who, among other
things,
> wouldn't mind dealing with any of those distractions. That's because of
> everything Walker brings to the table. He handles the ball. He rebounds
and
> does so in traffic. He commands a double-team in the post against most
> everyone -- and that remains a sore spot among many Celtics fans who think
> that is where he should spend the bulk of his time.
>
> But O'Brien and general manager Chris Wallace have constructed the
> Celtics to be an outside-inside team, something which defies traditional
NBA
> thinking. (That is primarily because they don't have a reliable inside
> presence with the exception of Walker, who prefers to play outside.) The
> Celtics are on track to establish NBA records for three-point conversions
and
> attempts and, by far, take more threes as a percentage of their overall
shots
> than any other team. One-fourth of the way into the season, they had
attempted
> more threes than free throws, a feat something no other club could claim.
>
> Walker is an integral part of this plan and, to date, the plan is
> working. Yes, the Celtics will still go to Pierce at crunch time because
he is
> the more proficient scorer and the better ballhandler. Pierce can get to
the
> basket and also get to the line. For all of Walker's talents, he still is
> uncomfortable trying to shoot on the move and his long and fractious
> relationship with the officials makes it hard for him to get calls.
>
> But allow him to set his feet and square up at your own peril. The
> Knicks discovered that earlier this month, when, leading by three, they
didn't
> switch on a simple pick play which allowed Walker to spring free. He got
the
> ball and quickly launched a three-pointer which tied the game. The Celtics
> went on to win in overtime.
>
> You live by the sword and die by it as well. So far, the Celtics,
with
> Walker leading the way, are living dangerously, but successfully. You may
not
> like the way he plays, but he forms an ideal 1-2 punch with Pierce. Or
maybe
> it should be 1-1A. Opponents are discovering you can't ignore either one
> without paying for it somewhere down the line.
>
> Peter May, who covers the NBA for the Boston Globe, is a regular
> contributor to ESPN.com.
>
>
>
>
>
>
> More from ESPN...
> ESPN The Magazine: The Truth Hurts
> The Celtics' Paul Pierce ...
>
> Peter May Archive
>
>
>
>
>
> ESPN Tools
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>
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>
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>
>
>
>
>
>
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