Pondering Antoine

[Frederick Hurley <Frederick.T.Hurley.Jr.01@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I know that one of the biggest sources of worry for Celtics fans this
offseason has been Antoine Walker's even greater proclivity to stay outside
and launch threes like he's on a howitzer squad.  I think most agree that if
he plays a power forward's game and goes to the hoop, posts up, muscles
thinner forwards, and generally uses his impressive athletic talent like a
power player rather than a sharp-shooter, he can be very good, if not
downright great.  He needs to go back inside, and needs to rediscover the
offensive rebound.  Fine.  Got it.

I wonder if part of the problem with Walker's game was the team's reliance
on him to run the offense like a point.  He's a man with impressive
ball-handling skills, and can, for a change of pace, bring the ball upcourt.
It might be a good occasional tactic to try and highlight a mismatch against
a much slower forward.  However, I wonder if in an offense that uses the
fast break more than the Celts did last season, Walker might get more of
those angles through the lane on which he looks so damn good.  I keep
hearing how Banks is known for being able to find open guys anywhere
upcourt, so maybe if he can get Walker involved in the game inside the
three-point line early in the season, Walker will see that he can still make
All-Star teams playing like that, and will fall into the role.  I really
hope he's as committed to conditioning this off-season as he claims.  If he
can play up to his potential more consistently, and Banks actually can be a
running point for this team, they're already a far better team than last
season, and they didn't exactly stink last season.  I suddenly like our
chances against New Jersey or Detroit for a seven-game series.  I guess
we'll wait and see, but I see the potential addition of an honest-to-god
point guard, not to mention an honest-to-god fast break, as a sign that we
might want to give Walker one more chance to prove that he's an elite player
in the NBA.  I'm a lot more comfortable about next season right now than I
was 18 hours ago.

On a related note, several people have mentioned that we might want to watch
Kedrick Brown for sign of a breakout season, now that he's been in the
league for a couple of years.  Would a running offense perhaps help him work
his way into serious minutes more quickly, since young legs with athletic
ability can help a player with otherwise less impressive pure basketball
skills?

Overall, I feel fairly happpy.  I'm also wondering if maybe we will still go
and look at some mid-tier free agents - particularly someone who can add
some scoring punch to complement Walker and Pierce.  Any thoughts on who
might fit with our team and our budget?

Cheers, Fred

P.S.  Yeah, I know it'll all collapse in the end, since this all rests on a
rookie and a virtual rookie.  But let me dream for today, OK?  :-)