Re: Something wrong

["Greg Odegaard" <grodeg@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Last time I heard, or should I say read, Antoine has a disease, hopefully
short term and only suffered in NJ proper:

'Toine's frustration against Kenyon continues

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By Joe Lago
ESPN.com

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- MIT could break down the data and provide an
insightful statistical analysis, but you don't need to be John Nash to
research the following proof about the Boston Celtics.

Bad games by Antoine Walker equal Celtics defeats.

And no one -- at least in the power forward-challenged East -- brings out
the worst in Walker more than Kenyon Martin.


Kenyon Martin's strength and quickness is a tough match for Antoine Walker.
That theory gained more support Monday after Walker endured another subpar
performance against Martin in the Celtics' 97-93 loss to the New Jersey
Nets.

Counting Monday's Game 1 loss, Walker has averaged 14.8 points, 6.8 rebounds
and 2.8 assists -- compared to his season marks of 20.1 points, 7.2 rebounds
and 4.8 assists -- against Martin in four straight losses to New Jersey
since Boston's 96-79 home thumping of the Nets in November. As has always
been the case with Employee No. 8, the most telling numbers are the shooting
percentages: .292 (19-for-65) from the field and .150 (3-for-20) on
3-pointers.

To prove just how badly Walker has struggled against the ever-active,
equally-irascible Martin, Walker's 6-for-20 effort from the field Monday was
actually an improvement over his regular-season shooting percentage against
the Nets (30.0 to 28.4).

Walker can dominate power forwards in the East (this side of Jermaine
O'Neal) either with his quickness or strength. But the sinewy, 6-foot-9
Martin can stand his ground with Walker as well as cut off Walker's crafty
spin moves in the low block.

"He's done an unbelievable job of guarding Antoine all year long," Nets
coach Byron Scott said of Martin before the series. "He has forced him to
take some tough shots. It's tough for Antoine to back down in the post."

"Boston is the same team that plays the same ball and they shoot a lot of
threes," Martin said. "We just have to keep defending them the way we know
how."

In Game 1, Walker was the face of the Celtics' frustration. After Martin
blocked one of his shots in the third quarter, Walker pleaded his case to
referee Scott Foster all the way down the floor about getting hacked before
getting nailed with a technical foul. After a vexing fourth quarter in which
Walker did more complaining than scoring (three fouls, one point), Walker
hid his head in his arms for 10 minutes in the locker room while icing his
knees.

 " They're the two seed and we're the six seed. They're just balling.
They're the favorites. We're coming here and they have the home-court
advantage and we have to steal one. "
  - Antoine Walker

Walker has a policy not to comment on what he and his teammates have done
right or wrong until he pores over the game video. He didn't need a VCR to
figure out what was the Celtics' demise.

"We had opportunities," said Walker, who collected 14 points, eight rebounds
and five assists. "We got some great looks down the stretch, when we
penetrated and got good looks. ... It's tough to swallow because we had our
opportunities to win Game 1."

Three fouls in the first half limited Martin to 10 minutes, but he was on
the floor for most of the final period to make life miserable again for
Walker. Fittingly, Walker's night ended when he picked up his sixth foul
trying to halt a Martin drive with 45.3 seconds left and the Nets up a point
at 91-90.

Walker won't ever say the Martin matchup is getting to him. The postgame
questions did, however, prompting him to vent.

"You're acting like they're the champions of the world. ... You're acting
like we lost by 30 points out there," Walker said, annoyed. "It's a game and
both teams are very good. They're the two seed and we're the six seed.
They're just balling. They're the favorites. We're coming here and they have
the home-court advantage and we have to steal one. All the extra stuff about
what they do? I mean, I really don't know. I've just got to worry about what
we do."

Judging by Walker's frown, it's safe to say he's concerned
----- Original Message -----
From: "Dorine Pratt" <norine@pshift.com>
To: "Celts" <celtics@igtc.com>
Sent: Wednesday, May 07, 2003 7:28 PM
Subject: Something wrong


>     I noticed that about Antoine, too - something's definitely wrong.  He
> looks ill, but not necessarily physically.  I didn't see him smile once
all
> during the game.
>
> Dorine