Baker - was RE: An opposing scout on the Celtics

["Wright, Cecil" <Cecil.Wright@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

There is a facet to Baker's game which is somewhat overlooked I
believe...his passing ability.  Last night, he had an opportunity to shoot a
jumper just inside the line, but he found someone else open underneath for a
better shot.  Though there seems to be a general lovefest with Vitaly now
that he is a Sonic, he could never have made the pass if he was lucky enough
to catch the ball in the first place.

Baker surely will have to work harder on defense and boxing out and
positioning and jumping out and rebounding.  But he will add more than
Vitaly could ever have hoped for once the ball is in his hands.  The fact
that his teammates whoop it up for him whenever he does something with the
ball is a strong indicator of their desire for him to succeed, knowing it
will make the team more versatile.  He'll be alright.

I will try to focus on him while at the game tomorrow evening.

I also take issue with this scout and his view of Shammond.  Seems nobody
but me feels that he will be key in getting the opposing PG in foul trouble.
He is not an easy matchup.  If they want to take the ball away from Toine,
that's fine.  It's nothing that a few well placed screens can't handle.  I
guess what I am trying to say is we have added some scoring potential which
we did not have in the past, even though the Kenny apologists would have us
think differently.

I CANNOT WAIT FOR THE SEASON TO BEGIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cecil  


-----Original Message-----
From: Kestutis.Kveraga@dartmouth.edu
[mailto:Kestutis.Kveraga@dartmouth.edu]
Sent: October 24, 2002 11:41 AM
To: celtics@igtc.com
Subject: Re: An opposing scout on the Celtics


While the report has some truth in it, there are some things I disagree
with.

--- You wrote:
Strickland would have been
better than any of the guys they have now. ... 
--- end of quote ---

Better for what? Defense, taking charges, toughness - yes. Running the team,
no. I still prefer him over Delk, especially when the salary is figured in, 
but Shammond has shown me enough dribbling, passing, and especially scoring
skills to rate him higher than Strick. And I really liked Strick when he was
playing for us. 
But Shammond adds a dimension we didn't have - he is a  "Microwave" type of
player.  He might make the Baker trade pill easier to swallow all by
himself. 

Speaking of Baker...

--- You wrote:
I even think they're going to miss Vitaly Potapenko, a big, strong
guy who could bang and hold the fort. Vin Baker is going to have to play
mainly at center, and he's not strong enough. Baker's problem is that he
thinks he's working hard when he really isn't.
--- end of quote ---

....I don't know whether Baker thinks he's working hard, but he certainly is
NOT, in terms of being involved. He's softer than a baby's bottom. I've
never
seen a player who's less willing to, in Tommy's terminology, "get his nose
dirty". And am I not going by his Seattle days, because I never paid much
attention to him then. I'm going by what I've seen in these 7 preseason
games.
It has nothing to do with knowing defensive schemes or plays on offense.
There's a serious lack of hustle and effort in his game. I'm starting to
understand why people in Seattle were so deliriously happy to be rid of him.
At
best, he'll score some soft points against second-stringers and bad teams.
But
despite being thrice as talented as Pot, he won't contribute as much - which
is
not saying that Pot contributed a lot. Maybe I'm completely wrong and he's
just
coasting in the preseason and will turn into a Ben Wallace with a low-post
game
when the real games start. But as I see it now, only 2 good things can come
from this trade:
1) Shammond
2) the end of the basement publisher's run as an NBA GM. 

--- You wrote:
 Pierce is one of
the top five scorers in the league, but he's an arm-waver on defense
--- end of quote ---

That arm-waiving got Pierce an awful lot of steals and blocks last season.
He
must be one lucky chap. 

--- You wrote:
They need something from Kedrick Brown, but he was in
junior college two seasons ago, and he's a year away. ..
--- end of quote ---

A year away from what? An All-Star season? NBA superstardom? Being able to
make
a contribution? If it's the latter, Kedrick was already contributing last
season before he got hurt. That's just lazy - "I don't know what to say, so
I'll mention his JuCo background.".  Byron Mouton played for NCAA champion
Maryland for 4 years. Does that buy him anything  in the NBA, other than a
short-term contract as a training camp punchbag?  If Kedrick gets and stays
healthy, he can contribute on defense, on the boards, and even score some
points on standstill jumpers and fast-break dunks. His midrange game is
still
evolving, but judging from the feature in the Globe Magazine and his
progress
on the court, he's working hard on improving. When he's in there, good
things
happen. 
As for Mark's comment that none of our swingmen draftees has been able to
beat
out Eric Williams at the 3, I don't think Tracy McGrady and Vince Carter
could
do that on the Celtics while Obie is coaching them. His contributions, while
really, REALLY intangible, are in fact huge. He gets out of WalkerPierce's
way
on offense, reminds them to play D, and knocks down an occasional three.
What
more could you ask of your small forward? Or point guard? Or center? 
Kestas