Re: Callahan on Baker

[Kestutis.Kveraga@xxxxxxxxxxxxx (Kestutis Kveraga)]

--- You wrote:
I doubt very much that Battie is as talented as Baker even at this stage of 
their careers, yet Battie plays the position perfectly.  If the coaching 
staff would sit Baker down and show him the difference between how he is 
playing and how Battie plays, maybe a lightbulb would go off somewhere.
In the meantime I wish people would stop making excuses for the guy.  His 
problems are his problems...not the coaches, not his teammates, not the 
referee's.
--- end of quote ---

Unfortunately, his problems are also our problems as Celtics fans. It's amusing
to read the predictable G. Gordon Liddy-esque pronouncements from the usual
suspects  -"He's done. Bench him. Shoot him. He's trash. He's crap. Turn him
over". I guess it makes those people feel like they're no-nonsense, tough guys
who could command a Marine division while sitting at the keyboard in their
living room.  Do you really think that this is the most productive approach to
this problem? We can't dump him like a Mark Blount or a Jerome Moiso. He's not
on a 10-day contract. If we could ever trade him and not lose in the deal, it
would be when he's playing a lot better than he is now.  Even so, knowing the
trading skills of our BDT, it would likely be for somebody worse than we have -
some certified, overpaid cancer.  At least Vinnie is just a grossly overpaid
non-contributor. I haven't seen anything about him being a disraction for the
Celtics (yet). 

I'm not interested in finding excuses for Vinnie's play, nor in bashing him.
What I am interested in is understanding why he's playing the way he's playing,
precisely because we're stuck with him for years.  The only people who win from
bashing Baker are the media and the Celtics' competition. Regardless of whether
Callahan is right in this case, it's indisputable that he's a certified,
card-carrying a**hole who thrives on negativity, always has. Vescey and May
have nothing on him. 

Anyway, I don't think Vinnie has lost it physically/athletically. Nor is it
likely that his skills have eroded. Procedural skills, such as low-post moves
and shooting don't just go away suddenly unless you have neurological damage.
If you once knew how to shoot, how to swim, how to ride a bicycle, you could
still do these things 10, 20, 30 years later even if you never shot, swam, or
biked in all these years. 

Likewise, I don't think low-post play has been completed negated in today's
NBA. All the decent centers and PFs are still effective in the low post. Thus,
it seems to me that, if the coaching staff could figure out how to use him, he
should still be effective for us. I wonder if watching old game tapes of Vinnie
in games where he was effective would give the coaching staff a clue on how to
get him going.  But mostly, I'd really like to know what Obie thinks of the
situation. Is he bringing Baker along according to some master plan, and Vinnie
is  just in some initial stage of it now? Or is Obie just as befuddled as most
fans are about how to help Vinnie? Vinnie always seems very rushed, out of
sync, just plain confused. I wish the Celtics had some blowouts where Vinnie
would get to play for long stretches without worrying about the consequences so
much. I remember Rogers and Delk being confused and tentative initially. For
Delk, it lasted the remainder of the season, but look at him now. Sure, unlike
R & D, Vinnie's been through the training camp, but maybe he just needs more
time. 

Kestas