Re: A Win?

[Kestas <Kestutis.Kveraga@dartmouth.edu>]

At 23:30 11/28/2001 -0800, you wrote:
>> I get a feeling that this year (unlike last year) he's viewed by everyone
>> as an unquestionable All-Star. And that's what counts, not the stats. 
>> Stats
>> don't vote you in, 12-year-olds and NBA coaches do....

>> > And frankly, I don't see Walker lagging all that far behind in the
>> >voting, either.
>>
>> ....and that's why Walker will have a uphill battle, despite the weaker
>> competition at his position.
>
>Huh?  I agree Walker will have a harder time making the team, just not 
>sure why you think so.  I meant Walker-as-deserving-of-"All-Star"-tag as 
>opposed to getting voted in.  I wouldn't surprise me if my strange way of 
>thinking was to blame for me not understanding here.

Oh, I see why you might get confused by that. It was a continuation of my
thought from the previous paragraph, not a direct comment on your statement
about Walker. 

In any case, I'm less optimistic about the coaches' ability to resist
having Toine's shortcomings cloud their judgment about his overall impact.
The decision-making process is often not rational, even in people who
should know better.  When they see him chucking up early threes against
double teams, driving into a bunch of defenders and getting stuffed, they
may think to themselves "this guy is not an All-Star" and disregard his
gaudy stats (well, points, rebounds, and assists, anyway).  I doubt anyway
that they painstakingly analyze a player's stats to see if he qualifies as
an All-Star any more than the 12-year-olds do. If he improves his shot
selection and FG% in the next couple of months, he will be in. If not...
That's what I would tell him if I were Obie and show him the Davis
"brothers" '  stats when they got selected.  
Kestas