`A' for Walker `D'

["Stephen Beauregard" <sb@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

`A' for Walker `D': 'Toine steps in to stifle O'Neal

by Mark Murphy
Sunday, April 20, 2003







INDIANAPOLIS - It was, quite simply, the best defense Jim O'Brien has ever
seen Antoine Walker play.




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Down 16, Tony Battie in the locker room because of a flagrant foul ejection,
Mark Blount on the bench with four fouls, someone had to guard Jermaine
O'Neal.

As in Jermaine O'Neal, Eastern Conference All-Star. As in the big guy who has
averaged 26 points and 11.3 rebounds against the Celtics this year.

Walker, who had played a good portion of his rookie season in the middle for
the Celtics before his career carried him farther and farther away from the
basket, stepped in and bodied up.

O'Neal responded with two fourth-quarter points - both off free throws. During
one of the biggest defensive sequences of the Celtics' 103-100 win yesterday,
Walker stripped the ball from O'Neal with roughly 50 seconds left, and the
next time down the floor forced the Pacers center into a bad, front-rimmed
shot.

And as the most important win of the season ran out, no one was more moved by
Walker's defensive game than the Celtics coach.

``He might have played his best defensive game since he's been a Celtic,''
said O'Brien. ``Clearly, Tony getting kicked out hurt us, and then we started
to make our comeback with Blount on the bench.

``So at that point we really didn't have a choice,'' he said. ``You have to
put your strongest player on their center, and that's the situation we found
ourselves in.

``I thought our guys pushed our defense up to a high level in the fourth
quarter, and Antoine did a magnificent job on O'Neal. He competed his heart
out.''

For Walker, it was all in the spirit of an all-around day, from his 22 points
on 10-for-20 shooting to eight rebounds and five assists.

``I just tried to stop (O'Neal) from getting easy looks,'' said Walker, who
had seen enough of the Pacers center draining open baseline jumpers over the
first three quarters to know that it had to stop.

``When he scores, it's usually on dunks and easy opportunities,'' he said.
``So you're going to help yourself if you limit his touches.''

It struck all involved as a natural course of action to give Walker the
assignment.

``We had to try and space the floor a bit,'' said Walker. ``We needed to put
five shooters on the floor, so I put it upon myself not to let him get
anything easy. I don't mind banging, that's not a problem for me.

``People look at our team, see that we shoot a lot of 3's, and don't realize
that we're also physical.''

Thanks,

Steve
sb@maine.rr.com

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