Re: Antoine's moves

[Hironaka <j.hironaka@unesco.org>]

> > Antoine relies on quickness, trickiness, and using his body (including his
> > off arm) to beat his opponent to a spot. He doesn't rely on elevation,
> > because he's not that long and he doesn't jump well. I think that's why a
> > pump fake won't really help him. A lot of times, the defender gets a block
> > without even jumping, just by getting to the spot. If Antoine's pump
> > faking  and the defender's not biting -- and he shouldn't -- then he loses
> that
> > element of surprise, the trap converges, and we have another turnover.

Regarding Antoine's need to mix in an occasional pump fake, maybe the salient
point is that it allows Toine to plant and survey his various options, instead
of chucking the pumpkin into a sea of arms. Toine can then choose to toss to a
cutter--where he really has the 240° court vision to execute well--or pop it out
of the double-team to a jumpshooter, which is mainly how the leading
MVP-contender Chris Webber pads his stats. Every Toine dribble-drive from the
perimeter to the hoop draws two or three defenders. Unless he has the wide-open
layin, I wish he would plant his feet at the end of that maneuver and take
advantage of the openings this creates on other parts of the floor, including
inside the paint. Take away those several hopeless shot attempts he makes per
game at the end of the drive, and voila you have a .450FG% or better with the
same points per game etc.

Also, I think people underestimate the value of the pump fake for the masses of
us living below-the-rim. Even a guard can use it to advantage underneath, at
least to draw contact. You don't have to be long-limbed like McHale or
hyper-maneuverable and rubbery like Maxwell to have success with the pump fake
in your arsenal. Bird wasn't "long" and neither is Karl Malone, whose body type,
jumping ability and wingspan probably most resembles Antoine's.

Last point. I think Antoine is capable of playing straight-up, no-switch defense
in Obie's salmonella-free, personal accountability defense. The poke on Jason
Terry--like the poke on Tim Hardaway--shows he can at least bend his knees and
take away the dribble from even the quickest players in the league. And it shows
that he's competitive and takes pride in trying to shut down an assignment.
Especially once the team is fully healthy, I believe the Celtics are
athletically capable of being a top-15 defensive unit, as opposed to the
league's worst defense under Poultrino's Chicken Run gimmicks.

------