RE: Vin Baker

["Josh O." <igtcjosh@xxxxxxxxx>]

Not only that, but Mark is dead wrong.  The trade was
a mistake, but Vin Baker is a good teammate who has
contributed in some small way to the Celtics this
year, and deserves greater respect.  Obie is a
frigging moron for not making an effort to make him
more involved and confident; I would fire him before
Wallace, because he is the primary author of what is
going on now, which I by the way predicted months ago.
 Give the guy the ball ten times a game, and you'll
get 10-12 easy points, and a few turnovers.  Let him
shoot a 12-footer facing the basket, or drive.  He can
do all these things -- but even if he couldn't, it's a
shame and a disgrace to treat a player the way Baker
has been treated.  Everyone knows he's psychologically
fragile, and they treated him like an old dog they
wished would die.  The Baker "disaster" has been a
self-fulfilling prophecy. 

Josh


--- "Wright, Cecil" <Cecil.Wright@JUSTICE.GC.CA>
wrote:
> No offense Mark, but what is the purpose of bringing
> this up?  We know the Baker trade isn't working and
> we know that Wallace gambled and lost.  We know all
> this.  If it is just venting and frustration, okay
> then.
> 
> I saw some excellent teamwork last night and was
> very impressed at their willingness to move the ball
> to the open man.  Like it or not we are going to
> shoot the 3 at an abnormal rate.  Obie has rolled
> the dice also in this respect, obviously figuring
> that between Delk, Pierce, Walker, Bremer, Shammond
> and Waltah, they may hit 40% of them.  For the most
> part, our inside game is virtually nonexistent, save
> for alleyoops last night to Battie, so I can see why
> the coaching staff feels the need for the outside
> game, especially Conner who was a long range bomber
> himself.  I still would rather see us try to pound
> the ball inside.  That is my preference.  But I
> don't coach this team.
> 
> Cecil  
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Berry, Mark S [mailto:berrym@BATTELLE.ORG]
> Sent: February 06, 2003 9:49 AM
> To: 'celtics@igtc.com'
> Subject: Vin Baker
> 
> 
> Lots of good stuff in the Globe and Herald today,
> including the first really
> critical, on-target criticism yet of Chris Wallace
> (by Peter May).
> Apparently at some point, things become so obvious
> you can't avoid them any
> longer.
> 
> I'm going to talk about Baker because he overshadows
> the game last night
> (nice win, though). Do you see now why O'Brien
> didn't make him any more of a
> focal point than he did? Do you see why he made Vin
> a bit player? The minute
> you start to rely on Vin Baker, you're finished. I'm
> disgusted with the guy.
> Apparently there was speculation yesterday that
> Baker was contemplating
> retirement. We should be so lucky. We're stuck with
> this embarrassment for
> three more years after this. There is no trade out
> there. There is no
> contract that is worse. There is nothing to do. At
> this point, I'm hoping
> they remove him from the rotation completely and
> actively encourage him to
> retire. Maybe that's harsh, but the guy is stealing
> money.
> 
> The only person I'm more disgusted with is Wallace,
> of course. Baker is here
> only because Wallace brought him here. Wallace made
> that choice. It's really
> mind-boggling. I honestly can't remember a dumber
> trade in the history of
> sports. What a disaster. He has condemned the
> Celtics to the worst fate you
> can suffer in the NBA-mediocrity. They're good
> enough to make the playoffs,
> but we all know they're not good enough to win a
> championship. They've been
> lapped by the Nets and Pacers, and other teams in
> the East are closing the
> gap. There won't be anymore high draft picks.
> There's no cap room. What you
> see is what you get. Get used to 45 wins and early
> playoff exits. Maybe
> that's enough for some fans, who were so tired of
> the years of losing. But
> it's not enough. Not for the Boston Celtics. They
> play for championships.
> 
> It takes the fun out of games like last night. You
> can enjoy them for what
> they are, but you always know how this ultimately is
> going to end.
> 
> Mark
Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now.
http://mailplus.yahoo.com