Re: Antoine's moves

[Alexander Wang <awang@MIT.EDU>]

At 03:51 PM 1/29/01 +0100, Hironaka wrote:
>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.

Good point. The reason I don't think it would help Antoine as much is
because he relies almost solely on a very quick move to score. If he stops
to pump fake, he may give the defender the time he needs to catch up, and
this team needs Antoine to take advantage of every good scoring opportunity
that he can get. If he had a good fallaway shot, like Bird or Malone, I
think he could use one. But right now, I don't think he'd get that much
mileage out of it, other than the chance to stop and pass out -- which I
agree is valuable, but not something that you need to pump fake for. It
would be counterproductive to his quick moves, I think. But maybe he could
use it to draw contact, like you say; he certainly has some good role
models in Pierce and Williams.

Alex