In a town full of gamblers, they're ready to roll dice

["Stephen Beauregard" <sb@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

In a town full of gamblers, they're ready to roll dice
By Michael Holley, Globe Columnist, 10/30/2003

Blackjack tables should be placed on the street corners of Boston. Every
rotary should have a roulette wheel at its center. All general managers and
coaches should know how to work the riverboat slots. And Kenny Rogers should
become the official voice of the city.

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These days, when it comes to professional sports, we're a gambling town.

There was a brazen spirit in the North End air last night as the Celtics
opened their 2003-04 season against the Miami Heat. For the first time since
1997 -- when he was an assistant at the University of Kentucky -- Jim O'Brien
scanned his bench and didn't see Antoine Walker's face.

Walker was traded to Dallas 10 days ago because, essentially, Danny Ainge
looked at his organizational big picture and thought it could be sharper and
clearer. The director of basketball operations acknowledged Walker as a tough
All-Star who missed just 14 games in seven seasons. He liked his smarts and
his ability to lead. He didn't like the obvious flaws of the package, such as
more than seven 3-point attempts per game the last two seasons, and decided
moving would be better than holding.

This only sounds like a copycat tale in New England sports because it is.

The Patriots weighed the pros and cons of Walker's buddy, popular safety
Lawyer Milloy, and gambled they'd be all right without him. The Red Sox
watched their manager guide them to Game 7 of the American League Championship
Series and still chose to place a want ad in the managerial classifieds. Last
night at the FleetCenter, the Celtics officially said goodbye to per-game
averages of 20 points and 5 assists and began the Post-Wiggle Era.

If you're one of those fans who prides yourself on memorizing starting fives,
you're going to have a challenge with this team. The five against the Heat
were Kedrick Brown, Vin Baker, Mark Blount, Mike James, and Paul Pierce. Don't
get too comfortable with that quintet because it could change (with the
exception of Pierce, of course) by the weekend.

Ainge, O'Brien, and almost every player you talk to raves about the depth of
the new Celtics. They're supposed to be better defensively, better at moving
the ball, and better at running the floor. By the early looks of it -- 28
assists, 10 turnovers, 9 blocked shots -- the Celtics have reached their
basketball freedom now that Antoine has become Walker, Texas Ranger.

What's strange is that there still is a herd of elephants standing in the
middle of this Celtic casino and no one in green and white is talking about
it.

The Celtics had two All-Stars last season and now they have one. They gained
cap relief and a first-round pick in trading Walker, but they also picked up
Raef LaFrentz and Jiri Welsch, players who are either too inconsistent or
unproven to be counted on. They have to hope that LaFrentz develops into a
poor man's Ben Wallace when it comes to rebounding and shot-blocking.
Otherwise, they'll be paying starter's money to a reserve until 2009. And most
important, they will now be on a quest to either nurture or acquire someone --
not a committee -- who can give them the points and assists they traded away.

Despite the Celtics' 98-75 win over the Heat, the results of Ainge's big roll
are unknown. If you are a hardcore Walker supporter -- which is akin to being
a Republican in Cambridge -- you understand the risk this management team has
taken. Other fans, ones who are mildly for Walker and passionately against
him, have to wade through all kinds of peripheral tape to see the challenge
the Celtics face.

If you can get past his wiggle; if you can get past the fact that he was so
annoying to referees that one in Chicago refused to work any of his summer
league games; if you can get past the senseless provoking of opposing players
and assistant coaches (and I'm sure you can add more to the list), you can
unearth Walker's value.

I was often shocked by his casual 3-point launches. He attempted 1,227 threes
the last two seasons, 128 more than Ainge attempted in his eight-year Celtics
career (regular season and playoffs combined). But with that said, I always
thought the antidote to that was coaching. Walker's liberal shot selection
seemed to be the product of a classic chicken/egg debate. Did he shoot like
that because he wanted to? Or did he shoot like that because he was allowed
to?

When Walker was traded, one of the first things Don Nelson said was that he
wasn't trading for a guy who would shoot seven or eight threes a night.
Playing time in Dallas is going to be earned on the coach's terms.

Maybe Ainge didn't think it was realistic, but it would have been interesting
to see if that approach could have worked here. Walker certainly is a dominant
personality who at times can display a sense of entitlement, but he is by no
means uncoachable. He is a basketball fiend; you can get him to do anything
you want if you take away his playing time.

If it didn't work, then Ainge could have traded Walker before the deadline and
perhaps come up with a better deal.

As it stands today, the Celtics are more financially flexible without Walker.
If you go by their impressive opener, they are the 1963 Celtics without
Walker. They still have to show that they can replace his grit, his constant
desire to compete, and his production, particularly in the last three
minutes.

But this is the Season of the Gambler. This is the season when coaches and
executives aren't always trying to massage the rough edges and come to a
compromise. The solution is often, "You can take the Mass. Pike to Logan.
We'll get someone else for the gig."

So where Walker saw himself as a crafty veteran who could score without being
blessed with quickness, his former boss saw minimal lift and explosiveness.
Where Walker saw himself as an all-around contributor who provided the proper
perimeter spacing so Pierce could operate, his former boss saw a player who
had to stay on the perimeter because he doesn't have the post repertoire to
deal with the Kenyon Martins of the East.

Once upon a time, Walker spun and sliced his way to 49 points on Juwan Howard
and Chris Webber. Once upon a time, he dominated Kevin Garnett (27 points, 18
boards) on the Fleet's parquet. Ainge may believe Walker can still do that,
but he wasn't willing to meet Walker's price. Like Bill Belichick, John W.
Henry, Larry Lucchino, and Theo Epstein, Ainge looked at a quality asset and
chose to turn up the volume on Kenny Rogers.

Knowing when to walk away and knowing when to run is part of the game. We'll
see if Ainge knows how to play it.

Thanks,

Steve
sb@xxxxxxxxxxxx

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