Re: Antoine's moves

[bird <birdw@teleport.com>]

>From: Alexander Wang <awang@MIT.EDU>
>
>It seems that with Antoine, there's always two extreme positions, with
>unnecessary insults hurled across the middle ground where the truth
>probably is.

Most things are like that, I've found.  Antoine is neither a complete 
joke, nor is he a complete and outstanding player.  He's somewhere in 
between, as you say.  The real question is, _where_ in between is he? 
My view is that it's somewhat more of the "good" than the "bad" side 
of the equation, but that doesn't discount some of the more glaring 
flaws in his game.

>My opinion: Antoine's a decent low post player, but he only dominates
>weaker defenders.

Others have engaged you on this topic, Alex, but I'd like to try a 
different tack.  It isn't only weaker defenders that Antoine 
dominates: he consistently has good games against Chris Webber, and I 
remember that time last year where Antoine had the really good game 
(was it a triple-double?) against Karl Malone.  While neither of 
these guys is a _great_ defender, they aren't chopped liver, either.

I think it's not so much about whether the defender is weak or 
strong, but about which abilities of Walker's can be used effectively 
against them.  For instance,  Malone is a rock, though he moves his 
feet, he is not as quick as Antoine, not for some years now.  As for 
C-Webb, he likes to slap at the ball (plays a lot of defense with his 
hands), and you might think this would work well against Walker, 
since he often gets stripped in the post, but, again, I think it's 
that Antoine is too quick with where he positions the ball in the 
post.

Legitimate shotblocking centers/power forwards (Wallace, Garnett, 
Ratliff, Duncan) generally contain Walker very well, as they do not 
need to jump to block the shot, and so can stay down (and in the 
play) and swat the ball when Antoine releases.  On the other hand, 
Walker had a good game against KG and the Timberpups just a few games 
ago.

As for pump-faking, I think it's a worthwhile thing for Antoine to 
put in his arsenal: for the trips to the line, the ability to kick 
the rock out, as well as for getting on te ref's side.  The calls in 
the NBA are all about perception: if Walker fakes, he might increase 
his chances of getting the call, even if the defender stays put.  The 
fallaway, as you mentioned, would also be a good thing for Antoine to 
develop.

>He has a separate problem of driving into multiple
>defenders from the perimeter. That's more of a mental issue. The low post
>problems - getting blocked or otherwise struggling against certain
>defenders - come from his lack of vertical athleticism, in my opinion.
>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.

Yeah, you've got it, I think.  Antoine's all about "out-quicking" his 
opponent to the spot.  When the defender is as quick or quicker, 
Antoine's game down low is much less effective.  And the "long" 
defender can get back into the play because of his length.

>Still, Antoine's enough of a low post threat to draw frequent double teams,
>even though the opposing coach knows that he passes well out of it.

He draws the double pretty consistently from Eastern teams.  The 
Western teams double him less often, but all double him as least part 
of the game.  Though some have mentioned not seeing it, I have seen 
some teams even triple-team him late in the game (this is often a 
good tactic for them to use, unfortunately).  I think most other 
teams see Walker as a low post threat, which he is.  He needs to 
refine and develop his low post game further to really become a true 
low post killer.  An up-and-under move.  That's what I'm waiting for. 
But, when you mentioned "fallaway" in another posts, you've almost 
got me wishing to see that materialize first.

Regards,

The Celtic "Tird"