RE: Antoine

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

-----Original Message-----
From: Steve and Michelle Ouellette [mailto:redsox@westelcom.com]
Sent: October 31, 2002 2:37 PM
To: Celtics list
Subject: Antoine


The point isn't that Antoine shot poorly. Everyone has a bad shooting 
game -- 2-for-11, 3-for-14, whatever -- but no one else besides Antoine 
(maybe Iverson) has horrendous shooting games like 5-for-23. That's 
because everyone else has the common sense to take fewer shots if they 
are that far off, or at least has a coach who will call someone else's 
number.

So again, why put the onus on Toine?  Besides, as someone else pointed out
already, many of his shots were good looks that just did not fall.  You want
him to pass those up and give someone else the ball who may not have a good
look, just because they didn't fall?  That is not the way it works in the
pros and we all know it.

If Antoine had passed up, say, a half-dozen of those shots, I would have 
had no problem with him. If he went 0-for-12, that wouldn't bother me. 
It's the selfishness and stupidity that's involved in these 5-for-23 
games that drives me crazy.

* Yeah...then Paul would have had 8 turnovers instead of the half dozen he
was credited with.  I guess you didn't notice that because of Antoine's
selfishness and stupidity.

Yeah, it's been just one game ... this year. It has been countless 
dozens throughout the seasons. Everyone has bad games, but Antoine's bad 
ones are horrific, game-losing efforts.  Antoine will have some 
brilliant games this year and I will cheer him. But I will long for the 
day (which will probably never come) when he merely has off nights -- 
when, like a Larry Bird, he decides to pass to someone who is shooting 
well -- instead of wretched, god-awful nights.

* A game-losing effort.  Eric Williams has the ball in the middle with Toine
and Pierce on the wings.  He throws it into the crowd trying to hit Pierce
on a cut.  Is that a game-losing effort?  No.  Antoine misses some wide open
shots.  Shots which you think he should not have taken and it becomes a
game-losing effort?  Wow!

Cecil