Re: D'allesandro piece

["Berry, Mark S" <berrym@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Josh,

I thought that was poorly phrased by the source. Antoine can be extremely
physical, especially when he has a size advantage (cue rant on Toine playing
small forward... ). But I do think he avoids contact when he operates around
the basket. I've said this many times, so I won't completely rehash it here,
but I think Antoine's poor free throw shooting early in his career
conditioned him to try to get his shot off down there quickly, without
drawing contact. He didn't want to go to the line because he didn't fare
well there. And I think those bad habits continue today (although he has
gotten better). The result is, he doesn't attack the basket looking for
contact. He throws up a lot of fadeaway, jump hook, floater stuff in an
effort to get the shot off without the foul. You never see him fake the
defender into the air and then lean into him to absorb contact. That's the
best way to deal with a more athletic shot-blocker.

Anyway, I think that's what the guy meant, although he said it poorly.

Mark



--- --- ---

Josh wrote:

I agree with most of what he says, and
it's much better-written than most NBA
writing, that's for sure.  The one thing I
take issue with is the unsourced shot
about Antoine wanting to avoid contact.
I think most of us who watch the Celtics
know that Antoine is a very physical,
competitive player who gets his nose dirty.
The reason he doesn't stay down on the
block is that he lack the athleticism to get
his shot off against shotblockers.  That's
why you see him take fadeaway jump
hooks and drop step quick-release layups.
Antoine does shoot too many threes; but
I would prefer to see him fake them, and then
pass, or drive for a mid-range floater.  I don't
blame him at all for not "staying on the block."