Common denominator

["Berry, Mark S" <berrym@BATTELLE.ORG>]

First, a redundant complaint... Antoine has managed 50 percent shooting six
times in 47 games this season. On at least five of those occasions,
including yesterday against the Clippers, he has spent much of his time
guarded by smaller men. We all remember the Washington and Cleveland games,
but it also has been true against small lineups vs. Orlando, Detroit, the
Clippers (without Brand) and even to an extent Toronto (he was guarded by
Carter quite a bit for some reason). You want to get the best out of Antoine
Walker? Go get a power forward and let Antoine play small forward, where he
can physically abuse guys around the basket. He's always going to take some
threes (too many, IMO, but that's just me), but at least he'd be able to
operate in the post. Play Pierce and Walker at the 2 and 3 spots and turn
those rookies into a PF. Isn't this obvious? Are we going to waste Antoine's
career by sending him in to play against bigger players every game?

OK... rant over, on to some thoughts on the weekend.... Didn't get to see
the Clippers game (is it a rule that one game a year has to be excluded from
League Pass?), but that was a much-needed win. Do we need any more evidence
of our pathetic center play than Olowokandi's performance? Regardless, a
game you have to win for so many reasons-at home, tough schedule stretch,
Brand and Odom out of the lineup-and the Celts did it. 

It would be nice to get one more win before the break. The Charlotte game
certainly is winnable. The Hornets don't get much of a home-court advantage.
You get that game and you can feel decent even with a home loss to
Sacramento likely heading into the break.

As for Josh's assertion that this team's problem is Kenny... He's right that
they're lousy offensively, but I can't blame Kenny. Things are much worse
when Kenny's not on the floor. And on the rare occasions that Kenny gets to
"do his thing" he does OK. He can still penetrate, he just isn't asked to do
it. This offense, all season, has consisted of Pierce and Walker doing what
they do. There are games, usually after a loss (when they're motivated),
when Pierce and Walker involve others. The vast majority of the time,
they're spotty at best in doing that. These guys are going to get their
shots, whether they're good shots or bad shots. The reason Strickland has
emerged as the "third scorer" is because his shot selection is just as bad
and he doesn't defer to the captains all the time. Anyway, when Pierce and
Walker are playing with their heads up and finding others, the offense is
fine. When they're not, it's not. Doesn't really have much to do with Kenny.
Kenny sucks, don't get me wrong, but he's not the problem. No low-post
scoring, no passing from the captains, too many players scared to shoot
(paging Joe Johnson...). Walker and Pierce can penetrate, but they don't do
it while looking to create a shot for someone else. They penetrate to get
their own shots.

Obie is pushing the buttons this way for a reason. It looks to me like he's
willing to live with the Pierce and Walker show on offense, because they're
happy and when they're happy, they exert themselves on defense and the
boards. It's a trade-off. He probably could design more plays to get others
involved, but he'd lose the effort on the other end from the captains. We've
seen it before. Anyway, it's not Obie's fault. 

This team is 10-12 since Christmas. They're 15-18 in games outside of that
early-season 12-2 run. It's not going to be easy. If they can navigate
February without losing too much ground, the schedule gets easier. They
built a cushion, and here's where they need it. They also need help from the
front office, but I feel certain none is coming. Wallace did fine with
Strickland, but he's 0-for-3 in the draft, made two lousy signings in
Palacio and Blount and his team is running on fumes. But hey, this team
wasn't supposed to be any good until 2003, right?

Mark