"Baker's not making points"

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Megliola: Baker's not making points 

By Lenny Megliola 
Friday, October 18, 2002

MANCHESTER, N.H. - If Vin Baker thinks he had it bad in Seattle, he ain't 
seen nuthin' yet. Let's hope he's not as sensitive as his emotional baggage 
seems to indicate. If he was truly depressed in Seattle, he'll be a total 
basket case if he flops with the Celtics. There will be no home sweet 
home-court at the FleetCenter for Baker if he slugs through another season. 
Bad enough that he's a suspect even before his first regular season game for 
the Celtics. Everyone looks at it this way: Baker's here and Rodney Rogers is 
gone.This is not Baker's fault of course. But it is his curse. If he can't 
step up and give Paul Pierce and Antoine Walker a lift, he'll be smothered in 
boos at home.There is a lot riding on Baker and his four-year, $56 million 
deal. Big-name players have come to Boston with pressure to produce. Manny 
Ramirez produced. Bill Guerin produced. Tom Brady supplanted Drew Bledsoe and 
produced.Now Baker. His new coach, Jim O'Brien, has all but flat-out stated 
he'd prefer Rogers to Baker. It's not a big deal that Baker hasn't played 
well in the preseason, or that an ankle injury has him limping already, but 
his critics will warn us to expect more of this. After playing OK in the 
preseason opener against the Knicks - and how hard is it to look good against 
the Knicks these days? - Baker was brutal the next two games."I've been 
trying to force it," he said. Fine, but let's hope this isn't an excuse. And 
he certainly doesn't get any points for injuring himself by stepping on 
Pierce's foot in the Tuesday loss to the Nets.Baker's already shown a habit 
of being in foul trouble. Not good. He talks about trying to find his rhythm. 
He'd better find it, or it'll be more blues than rhythm for Baker. Can he 
stay focused as the touches go from Pierce to Walker and back to Pierce 
before Baker shows up on the radar screen?"I know the shots will come," said 
Baker. True, O'Brien's drawing up some plays that make Baker the first 
option. That makes sense. After all, Baker with the ball down on the blocks 
is supposed to free Pierce and Walker from double-teams. We'll see.A lot of 
people in Seattle thought Baker was a dog. If it happens here, he'll have no 
place to hide, even though Baker looks at this as a homecoming since he's 
from nearby Hartford.In the 114-106 loss to the Nets last night, Baker's line 
was brutal: 14 minutes, one bucket, no trips to the foul line, no rebounds. 
Oh, and he fouled out. Yes, he favored the ankle a bit, but if it was that 
bad, why was he out there?"I've got to fight through the injury," he said 
after the game.He's still finding his place with his new team. It hasn't been 
easy. When he was traded by the Bucks to Seattle five years ago for Shawn 
Kemp, he knew what the SuperSonics wanted."I was expected to put up big 
numbers, like Kemp. The big Celtics' numbers are put up by Pierce and Walker, 
and that ain't gonna change. Baker understands."It's a big transition for 
me," he said. But he just can't stand around. "I want to get in the (low) 
post and do some damage. I've got to go to both the offensive and defensive 
boards."None of that was evident last night. When he came in for Bruno Sundov 
late in the fourth quarter, Baker heard some boos. The hustling Sundov had 
become a fan favorite for a night, scoring with nine points and two more 
rebounds than Baker. So they booed the poor guy. If you get booed 
off-Broadway (sorry Manchester), wait until you get to the Great White 
Way."I'm not discouraged at all," said Baker. "I'll figure this out.....I'm 
still in the gray area a little bit."

(Lenny Megliola is a Daily News sports columnist).