Bumpy start for Walker

["Stephen Beauregard" <sb@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Bumpy start for Walker
Newest Maverick jostles with O'Neal
By Peter May, Globe Staff, 10/29/2003

LOS ANGELES -- He looked . . . different.

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He still wears No. 8, that was the same. Maybe it was the white sneakers. Or
maybe it was the new uniform -- gray, of all colors. Or maybe it was the
players he played with -- and against -- last night that signified to one and
all that Antoine Walker was finally, undeniably, a Dallas Maverick. And most
definitely not a Celtic anymore.

He made his Dallas debut against the Lakers at Staples Center last night and
in only one half he got the full treatment of Life Under Don Nelson. He
guarded Shaquille O'Neal and Karl Malone. He got trampled by Shaq and had a
shot blocked by Shaq. He posted up Luke Walton. This is life in the Western
Conference, where there are very few nights off.

Walker was the first player introduced for the new-look Mavericks, who also
had Antawn Jamison, Travis Best, and Tony Delk as newcomers who saw decent
time in the first half. It took the supposedly high-octane Mavericks quite a
while to get going; they didn't crack double figures until the first quarter
was nearly 11 minutes old. They trailed the Lakers throughout the first half,
even though Los Angeles played without Kobe Bryant.

Prior to the game, Walker talked about how eager he was to finally get going.

"The last week, all I've talked about is the trade," he said. "I want to start
playing some basketball. We've got a lot of good players here, but we haven't
been together all that long. We need time to jell."

The game started with Walker guarding Malone, and only 12 seconds elapsed
before Walker committed his first foul. Twenty-five seconds later, Walker
turned the ball over on a bad pass. A foul and a turnover in the first 37
seconds.

But nothing went right for anyone on the Mavericks in the first quarter.
Walker got his first hoop on a driving layup with 6:28 left. It was his third
attempt; he earlier had a shot blocked by Shaq and was wide right on a 3-point
attempt from the top of the key.

With 3:37 left in the quarter, Walker was replaced by Jamison. He replaced
Danny Fortson with 63 seconds left. The period ended with Dallas trailing,
29-15. Walker had 2 points, a rebound, and an assist.

Walker played the entire second quarter and had 8 points and two more
rebounds. He connected on two treys, including one with a minute left that
brought the Mavericks to within 49-43.

It was also during this period that Walker guarded, or tried to guard, O'Neal.
It wasn't a total mismatch; Shaq had only one basket while being guarded by
Walker. But it was yet another indication that Walker, like most of his
teammates, is going to be expected to play many roles. He also spent some time
in the period chasing around Gary Payton and Devean George.

The Mavericks did manage to cut the deficit to a manageable 55-45 at the
break. Walker had 10 points, 3 rebounds, and an assist in 21 minutes. He was 2
for 3 on 3-pointers and 4 for 8 from the field overall.

Most of all, he simply was happy to be playing again. Even if it meant having
to go against Shaq once in a while.

Thanks,

Steve
sb@xxxxxxxxxxxx