Re: Callahan on Baker

[Maurice Spruijt <mauricespruijt@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Gerry Callahan wrote:

"On Wednesday night, in the Celtics' 99-93 loss at Philadelphia, Baker
missed an open layup, while standing still, directly under the front of
the rim. He front-rimmed it. He failed to convert a layup after Antoine
Walker found him under the hoop with a terrific bounce pass. And, of
course, he could not cover Derrick Coleman, who won the matchup of
overpaid, underachieving former All-Stars in a rout. Vinny was
1-for-4 in 14 slow-motion minutes. It was, sadly, a typical Vin
Baker performance."

I don't think you should examples of missing easy lay-ups to determine 
whether a NBA player can play or not. Vin Baker used to an All-Star, so 
I wouldn't question his ability to make a lay-up anymore. You could do 
that to little 10 year old kids , but not NBA pro's.  I believe missing 
lay-ups has nothing to do with NBA abilities & skills, but only 
self-confidence, confidence given by others, and fitting into a team or 
role.

Of course, missing lay-ups makes you look bad, but don't use them to 
judge a player. Michael Jordan has missed a few dunks this season, does 
that mean Michael can't play? He can bring a whole lot of other things 
to the game besides leaping and dunking, a whole lot more than somebody 
who can dunk but can't play the NBA level. Vin... well for now I'd like 
to say he COULD bring more to the game. He doesn't hurt the team that 
much, it could only get better when he starts to get into a role on the 
team.

Maurice