Toine

[Ryan Lee <rlee_at_channing@yahoo.com>]

Why is everyone using deceiving stats and offensive
efficiency and all this mumbo jumbo?  You only have to
watch Walker play and you can see he is not as
polished as the other All-Stars.

Can Walker jump?  No he takes a set shot instead of a
jumper and rarely have I ever seen elevate over
someone for a shot.  Instead he resorts to rushing his
shot or hooking his defender by the waist to drive by
him.  Look at Kobe, Vince, and McGrady and see how
they use their leap to create shots.

Does he have a turnaround shot or some sort of low
post weapon?  No.  He has no turnaround or fadeaway of
any kind or any moves with his back to the basket.
He does have a jump hook that falls in ...
occasionally.  Karl Malone and Jordan scored a
majority of their points on that one move, the
turnaround.

Can he rebound with the best of them?  Yes, his
rebounding is actually on par with the other premier
players given that he mainly gets defensive rebounds. 
I think he could be top 5 in rebounding if he would
stop taking so many 3's and be in the paint to grab
more offensive boards.

Can he make plays (assists)?  Yes but a majority of
his plays are to Pierce with the over the shoulder
pass
where he throws it over Pierce's shoulder and Paul
converts the layup.  I don't see him making to many
plays with the other players.  I don't know if he
doesn't trust them or Obie doesn't want the other
players shooting but Vitaly and Stith were definitely
underused on the offense.  A healthy Stith can make
the open jumper and Vitaly is good for the 15 foot
shot.

Is he a good ballhandler?  Most definitely.  Probably
one of the best ballhandling forwards in the league
and has a nice crossover.  But like Mark Berry says,
he doesn't know when to use it to his advantage. 
Toine is always driving into multiple defenders who
know he will not pass up the ball.  Hence his high
turnover ratio.

As for comparing Jordan with Toine and how jordan did
not win for his first 5-6 years:  That is a ridiculous
statement.  The league was less diluted back then and
wins were harder to come by.  For Jordan just to win
30 something games per season early on with no
supporting cast was an accomplishment.  The league had
Magic, Worthy, and Kareem's Lakers, Dominque's Hawks,
the Bad Boys in Detroit, Bernard King's Bullets, and
Bird's Celtics. You take any of the playoff bound
teams in the 80's and pit them against the top team
today, the Lakers, and they would do a number on them.
 Even the late 80's Cavs would creamate the Lake show
today with Price, Daughtery, Ehlo, Hot Rod, and Nance.
 What did Toine have to go against in his career?  A
bunch of teams with one all-star carrying a bunch of
scrubs, that's what he faced, a water downed league
with less talent and fundamentals.  If you took
Jordan's team the first 6 years and put them in
today's league, they may not win it all but they sure
as hell would be a powerhouse in the league.
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