Walker's statement muffled

["Stephen Beauregard" <sb@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

CELTICS NOTEBOOK

Walker's statement muffled


By Shira Springer, Globe Staff, 4/7/2003

t's hard to talk trash when your game is, well, suffering - to put it mildly.
But that did not stop Antoine Walker from engaging Michael Jordan in some
verbal sparring.



Jordan certainly had more material to work with yesterday afternoon as Walker
finished with 7 points (3 for 16) in the Celtics' 99-98 overtime loss to the
Wizards.

Walker tied a career high with 14 assists and collected 10 rebounds, but it
was not enough to distract attention from his poor shooting. Until late in the
third quarter, when Walker dropped in a layup for his first basket, even the
easiest shots would not fall for the Boston cocaptain.

''Individually, it didn't really matter,'' said Walker. ''I'm fine. It was a
tough day. I was proud of myself, to fight through the adversity and get guys
open shots and keep trying to play. I was able to get a couple buckets, but
obviously, you're going to have offensive nights where it's not going to be
there every time. You've got to continue to be yourself and get opportunities
to win and help this team win. I feel I did that.''

After the game, Walker had an empathetic friend in Jordan, who finished the
day with 25 points and 13 rebounds. The two have become close and play
together during summers in Chicago.

Jordan knows Walker has a lot more in him than he showed yesterday.

''I'm pretty sure he is over there right now hurting,'' said Jordan. ''And it
does hurt. But I think he can look at this game and he will learn. Even though
you play bad, you still have an impact on the game. I think it's a learning
process for him. I'm going to constantly pound on him about extending his
game, but sooner or later he is going to get it.''

Eye injury revealed

E ric Williams had a chance to win the game with a 20-footer at the overtime
buzzer, which might not have inspired a lot of confidence if you knew what he
saw when looking at the basket. Yesterday, the Celtics' starting small forward
revealed he has no depth perception in his left eye. When he was a junior at
Providence College, Austin Croshere poked Williams in the eye. Williams was
told to give the injury time to heal, but he was left with only peripheral
vision. Looking straight ahead, Williams sees only a gray blur.

So how does he know his shot is on target? Mechanics and feel.

''Little stuff coming at me at full speed, I can't do that,'' said Williams.
''I can still pick up the fastball, but it's going to be tough. My [shooting]
mechanics start from [my shoulder]. I don't worry about eyes too much, as long
as I can see the orange of the rim. I know whether the shot is going in by my
mechanics. I'm just the type who keeps rolling. I almost forgot what it used
to look like when I did see out of that eye.''

Williams said he doesn't want to have surgery during his NBA career because he
hasn't used his left eye muscles in so long. He figures attempting to restore
the vision at this point might be a distraction or take away what little
vision he has.

Sound plan

That odd sound heard along the baseline in front of the Celtics' bench? That
was a high-pitched ''whoo-hoo'' from Walter McCarty, signaling his teammates
to pass him the ball in the corner for a 3-pointer. No doubt the rest of the
Celtics were listening because McCarty (23 points, including 15 from 3-point
range) was feeling it from beyond the arc. McCarty put in just the type of
performance Boston may need from its bench come playoff time. ''My job is
easy,'' said McCarty. ''When Antoine and Paul[ Pierce] get doubled and my guy
leaves me, they pass to me. I'm wide open. So, it's a wide-open shot. At this
level in the league, if you practice your shooting as much as we do, you'll be
able to knock down shots, be able to hurt teams. I'm just taking wide-open
shots.'' ... After the game, the Celtics presented Jordan with a piece of the
old Boston Garden parquet signed by the current team ... The Wizards' Bobby
Simmons finished with a career-high seven rebounds and he tied a career high
with 15 points.

Thanks,

Steve
sb@maine.rr.com

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