RE: C's face point of contention

["Wright, Cecil" <Cecil.Wright@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Didn't Ainge say pretty much the same thing later on in the article?  What's the big deal?  Besides, it's true.

Cecil  


-----Original Message-----
From: Shawn Niles [mailto:shizzjr@xxxxxxxxxxx]
Sent: October 14, 2003 11:06 AM
To: sb@xxxxxxxxxxxx; celtics@xxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: C's face point of contention


``That will never happen - it's impossible,'' Walker said after
yesterday's practice. ``What people have to understand is that guys have to
fit into me and Paul."

Well thats the last straw for me. Antoine needs to go. To make that kind of 
comment is ridiculous. Trade him Danny.



>From: "Stephen Beauregard" <sb@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
>Reply-To: "Stephen Beauregard" <sb@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
>To: "celtics list" <celtics@xxxxxxxx>
>Subject: C's face point of contention
>Date: Tue, 14 Oct 2003 07:16:52 -0400
>
>C's face point of contention
>By Mark Murphy
>Tuesday, October 14, 2003
>
>Perhaps the most central issue facing the Celtics this season is the 
>blending
>of the new and the established - the ability of point guards Marcus Banks
>[news] and Mike James [news] to match their respective games with Antoine
>Walker [news] and Paul Pierce [news].
>
>      Walker, for one, isn't worried. And though some thought the Celtics
>captain might segue into a more traditional power forward's role with the
>speedy Banks at the controls this season, think again.
>
>      ``That will never happen - it's impossible,'' Walker said after
>yesterday's practice. ``What people have to understand is that guys have to
>fit into me and Paul.
>
>      ``Marcus is a great talent, and he'll come along fine,'' said Walker, 
>who
>added that to this point his conversations with coach Jim O'Brien have 
>focused
>on improving the fast break - not a personal style change.
>
>      ``We've talked about playing up-tempo, but that's about it,'' Walker
>said. ``To be honest, when all is said and done, it's back to the grind, as
>always. I've been playing too long to even worry about it.''
>
>      Danny Ainge has championed changing the offensive philosophy from the 
>day
>he became director of basketball operations last spring, and he likes what 
>he
>sees forming on the floor each day in practice.
>
>      And that includes the collaborations between Walker and his point 
>guards.
>
>      ``I think every point guard adjusts to who he plays with in the same 
>way
>that a quarterback adjusts,'' Ainge said. ``No one is going to make Antoine
>and Paul change, but people will make adjustments.
>
>      ``Point guards have to recognize who their teammates are and what 
>they
>need,'' he said. ``But I think it's going good. I've seen Antoine run the
>floor very well, and I'm paying more attention to what happens in training
>camp than the exhibition games themselves.
>
>      ``The bottom line is that everyone has to make adjustments,'' said 
>Ainge.
>``Jim O'Brien is trying to maximize the talent of the people he has. And 
>it's
>easier for Antoine and Paul to make adjustments than a rookie point 
>guard.''
>
>      Banks' initiation has followed a rocky path over the first three 
>games,
>though the rookie was at his most effective yet during Saturday's loss at
>Indiana.
>
>      Though these matters can change in an instant, James is running with 
>the
>first team, with Banks coming off the bench - a situation that doesn't 
>bother
>Banks at the moment.
>
>      Nor has Banks encountered much trouble when it comes to connecting 
>with
>his two perennial All-Star teammates.
>
>      ``It's not really a problem - those guys are very cool,'' said Banks.
>``They want me to come along just the way I am. They say they'll push me.
>
>      ``I do put pressure on myself, but I want to be important to the 
>team.
>But it takes rookies time. It took Kobe (Bryant) four or five years. It 
>took
>Tracy McGrady a few years, and he had to sit on the bench. Paul (Pierce)
>needed three or four years, and the same with Antoine.
>
>      ``I'm not worried about starting,'' Banks said. ``Everyone wants to
>start. I don't think any player doesn't want to start, unless they don't 
>have
>any heart. But I'm 20 - I'm only a rookie.''
>
>      Celtics notes
>
>      Walter McCarty [news] sat out yesterday's practice with a swollen 
>right
>knee - the result of a knee-on-knee collision with a teammate last week in
>practice.
>
>      Tony Delk (strained calf) and Jumaine Jones (strained hamstrings) 
>also
>sat out the practice, though Jones later worked through a long shooting 
>drill.
>. . .
>
>      O'Brien ran the team through a hard 3 1/2-hour practice in an attempt 
>to
>iron out a long list of kinks.
>
>      ``Every phase of the game,'' he said. ``But we had three games in 
>four
>nights, and it was really too soon to have that.''
>
>      O'Brien wasn't the only one to cringe at the schedule.
>
>      ``We're fine,'' said Walker. ``We could choke the schedule maker, 
>though.
>Three games in four days is a bit much at this point.''
>Thanks,
>
>Steve
>sb@xxxxxxxxxxxx

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