Re: Joe Johnson..

[Kim Malo <kimmalo@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

At 10:14 AM 2/5/2004, GuyClinch@xxxxxxx wrote:
> It's time for all you Wallace haters out there to apologize.

I'm presuming this category includes anyone who has dared to utter the 
slightest criticsm of him, as is usually the case with these things? So I 
guess my repeated comment that he may very well be a wonderful scout - I've 
listened to him talk about players and hoops on the radio show he had and a 
scout is expected to supply as much optimism and enthusiasm as sense- 
providing input, but shouldn't be the one actually making the decisions, 
makes me qualify.

>  The 2001 draft
> was not a failure. Joe Johnson is coming on - big time. He is starting to 
> look
> like a future all-star. He is doing better then anyone on the Celtics outside
> of Pierce - that's right better then Ricky Davis or the great "Jiri".

Er, but he's not doing it in Boston, is he? And who traded this boy wonder? 
Does that give us a stay on apologies, or should Wallace just apologize to 
himself? Sigh, no, don't bother with the classic kick Obie line that it has 
really him because "he won't play rookies" because JJ was of course the 
first counterargument to that chestnut. JJ played until he clearly played 
his way out of the starting lineup, *exactly* as has happened repeatedly in 
Phoenix since he left here. With the same sort of motivational/drive/heart 
issues coming out of the mouths of the Phoenix media that were the problem 
he showed here.

And would you say the same about him vs Jiri earlier this season, before 
Jiri seems to have hit this wall, creating the current slump? You know, 
back when Jiri was leading the league in 3 pt % and was at times the only 
one on the court for the Cs with evidence of a brain or a clue, which he 
was fortunately able to rub off a bit on those around him some. You'd have 
been wrong. And that's without getting into side issues in any such 
comparison, like how much more PT JJ has gotten under his belt. This is 
effectively Jiri's rookie year, while as others have pointed out, it's JJ's 
contract year. Regardless, the issue with JJ has never been about skills - 
I was drooling along with others about his smooth, intelligent, amazingly 
mistake free basketball when he was at his best-, but always about how 
regularly he disappears and seems to lack the drive to take full advantage 
of those skills. Think of the real difference between Bird, MJ etc and all 
the 'next ones' with similar skill sets. More practically, mush as you 
might like what you see today, that extended history makes it tough to rely 
on him vs just try to use what he gives you this time. Right now, that's a 
lot of good stuff. Nothing like a little motivation, is there?

Kim