RE: Questions That Weren't Allowed On Antoine's Chat

["Berry, Mark S" <berrym@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hey Joe,

Well, you know I don't live in Boston and haven't spent much time there, but
I'm well aware of the racial climate. I have no doubt that there were many
anti-Toine folks who were influenced at least a little by racism, even if
they weren't aware of it. By the way, I've been sensitive in the past to
some of the points you've made about race because they came across a little
too simplistic-"people don't like Antoine because he's black; people like
Herren because he's white"-and were based on your opinions of the general
Boston fan and a their reputation (sometimes earned) of racist behavior.
Again, I'm not from Boston, haven't spent much time there, so assigning the
same rationale to me as you would a Bostonian rubbed me the wrong
way-especially when I saw plenty of reasons, in Antoine's case, to criticize
him. Of course, when I started watching NBA basketball in the early 80s,
only three teams were on TV-the Celtics, Lakers and 76ers. Those were my
choices. I'm sure one of the reasons I fell for the Celtics is because their
best player, Larry Bird, looked like me (not that I have wavy blonde hair, a
big nose and pasty white skin-my hair's brown). I think I had a point in
there somewhere, but I've lost it.

I think it's this: No one is blind to race, and there's no question Boston
has loved its white stars. But they loved Bill Russell, Sam Jones, Robert
Parish, Reggie Lewis and Paul Pierce, too. Boston fans love hard-working,
lunch-pail, blue-collar players. That is their identity. For most of his
career, Antoine was anything but. He was the guy who always came in out of
shape, did the wiggle after he made a shot even when the team was losing by
20 points, checked the stat sheet after games and declared himself a
"veteran all-star" after one all-star season. He drew the majority of the
fans' ire because he was the "star" of the team. Fact is, when a team is
losing, the star will catch the heat. I give Antoine credit for sticking it
out, but that's like giving an athlete credit for never being arrested.
Antoine got a max contract before he had earned it and was given the keys to
the franchise by his coach. He had everything handed to him and early on he
didn't handle it all very well. Maybe that's part of the learning process.
But there were just as many good things given to Antoine in those years as
bad things (boos, etc.).

In truth, I spent enough time in Cincinnati to understand a little about
Boston. Cincinnati has a racist label as well, and a lot of it is tied to
the way they respond to different sports figures. Pete Rose is the most
popular player in the history of Cincinnati sports. He is a despicable
person. But he played the game the way Cincinnati loves to see it
played-hard, and to win. It didn't have anything to do with race. The same
fans love Joe Morgan and Tony Perez, too. (Pete has a special place in their
hearts, though, because he was born and raised in Cincy.) In the late 80s
and early 90s, the fans loved Chris Sabo. He wasn't the most talented player
on those teams-far from it. But he played hard, hustled and played hurt. The
same fans turned on Eric Davis-a far more talented player-because he
frequently took himself out of games for minor aches and pains. Were there
some race issues involved? I'm sure for some people. But for most of them,
it was about the way the two players played the game. Those same Cincinnati
fans adore Jose Rijo to this day-he had about a thousand elbow surgeries and
still battled back to pitch again. Is racism a factor in Cincinnati? Yes. Is
it a factor in Boston? Sure. But it's always buy into those stereotypes
about a city. Of course, I'm sure some will insist I'm naove. Maybe I am.

Back to Antoine... As for the stats last season compared to before... We can
crunch stats all we want, but Joe you know as well as I do that Antoine was
a different player as last year progressed. You watched the games. He was
making winning plays. Before, he wasn't always doing that. He'll always
shoot a low percentage because he has terrible shot selection and doesn't
really know how to finish around the rim, but his focus and execution
changed last year.

Oh well, this was too long. One point you make that I agree with is
Antoine's leadership. I agree that Antoine assumed some leadership in
turning the team around last season, but I felt like it didn't really happen
until he saw some real success. Antoine had been losing for so long, I think
he needed to be convinced. Once he saw the chance to win, he grabbed the
reins and led the way. No question, he's the team's leader.

Sorry again for the length.

Mark





 -----Original Message-----
From: 	hironaka@nomade.fr [mailto:hironaka@nomade.fr] 
Sent:	Wednesday, October 30, 2002 2:03 PM
To:	berrym@BATTELLE.ORG
Cc:	celtics@igtc.com
Subject:	Re: Questions That Weren't Allowed On Antoine's Chat


Well Mark, good points as always, and you know what I'm 
going to say, so I'll go ahead and say it.

I feel you removed Antoine's volition from the team's 
eventual success. The Celtics started winning, so he kind 
of punched that ticket and hopped on board. No 
leadership. The idea is that he didn't really want to win 
before. He was one of those players who cared more about 
looking good than about winning. You see them, of course. 
So the media and fans piled onto the team's best player 
at that time, hatchet jobs, all that stuff, because he 
deserved it. He had it coming. It would have happened 
anywhere.

But here's the thing. One reality to face is that 
Walker's offensive stats haven't changed from before. In 
fact, he had his worst FG% last year since his rookie 
year. His assists went down too by 0.5 per game in the 
same minutes. That's significant.  So what's the big 
difference then? 

Well, you know that I think the Celtics lost under Pitino 
because they ran a grossly inappropriate defensive 
system. It worked for at most the first ten games of each 
season (even with the main scapegoat "out of shape", we 
were usually a .500 team after 10 game and that's a 
fact). Then teams adjusted to the ill-advised college 
traps and pressure. It tired out the Celtics more than 
the  opponents, who shredded that defense like NCAA 
benches couldn't. Boston finished tied or second from 
last every season in FG% allowed. Even when they gave 
good effort, it was a layup drill. Opposition 3-point 
attempts involved a Celtics defender rushing over too 
late from Godknowswhere, rather than being there in the 
first place.

What portion of that overall poor defense do you want to 
blame Antoine for? And how much noticeably better is 
Walker's defense now, compared to before?  

I see him play it pretty well sometimes, other times he 
doesn't box out...its kind of like before actually. 
Regardless, this doesn't explain how much better we've 
gotten on defense. 

I lived in Boston, Mark. I apologize in advance, but from 
that perspective of course I found it troubling how 
Boston fans and media treated their best and most 
competitive player at the time. Sure they sensed he could 
take it, but it was still grossly over the top. 

It amazes me, my own experiences living there in the 80s, 
and that unfortunately colors my view of the Walker 
situation back then. I guess I was somehow always 
wondering into the "wrong neighbourhoods" or something 
(but that, of course, included the same spectator 
sporting events where Walker performs today).

(After all, the Red Sox didn't sign a single African-
American free agent in the ENTIRE decade. That lasted 
until Billy Hatcher in 1992. It was Pumpsie Green all 
over again.)

I attended games back then, as a non-white guy, and it 
was distinctly uncomfortable at times (that's even an 
understatement in some case). 

I'll tell you some incredible stuff offline if you want, 
just so you'll know I'm not politicizing race etc to seem 
stylish or something. I'm sure you probably won't believe 
me otherwise (that I don't have an axe to grind). 

I didn't have the slightest conception of race or racism 
before I lived in Boston, and everywhere I've lived since 
it just stopped coming up. Of course, I chose where I 
wanted to live after that.

We all have different outlooks on the Walker situation 
back then, just as you have your own perspective. I knew 
a part of what was up, and it felt nauseating. If you saw 
what happened in games, imagine what his hate mail might 
have looked like. Think what other, much more popular, 
black athletes have reportedly gone through in Boston.

Again, I'll stress I'm talking about a different era. 
I've been back there with my wife several times this 
year. Its a lot different. And I hope its obvious I love 
Boston. I literally love the Red Sox, for goodness sake. 
I will breakdown and cry in public if they ever win it 
all in my, and my son's, lifetime.

I look on all the scenarios of how Walker could have 
handled the worst moments (turning it back against fans, 
reacting to individual media reports, hinting for or 
demanding a trade). 

I don't think anyone, at any age, could have responded 
more appropriately than Walker did. He has a distinct 
type of maturity and competitiveness to actually handle 
playing in Boston. And the guy showed he wants to be a 
Boston Celtic. 

Many a GM and coach would have done the popular thing at 
the time and traded him, but it turns out they happened 
to like Antoine a lot back then, just as we've grown to 
(mostly) appreciate him now. 
 
All that having been said at too much length, thank 
goodness there is a Mark Berry, and a Jim Hill etc. to 
give the other side of the story in a completely fair and 
effective way. There's no right answer, with Walker, so 
I'm more than happy to admit Mark has good points. He 
always does. Well, there goes my lunch break again. 

I should cut down this post (the self-referential parts). 
You need to know the art of skimming, with at least some 
of my posts. ;-)
 





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