Big Al hopes to be man in the middle of C's resurgence

[Kim Malo]

At 11:39 PM 4/12/2007, Adam Patterson wrote:
>It is interesting to note the final quote in the article and the 
>connection to Antoine Walker:
>
>"Me and Paul. Just give us the chance."
>
>Walker is widely quoted (especially on this list) for his famous 
>line of "Me and Paul" and he didn't have the chance to lead the 
>Celtics to the NBA Finals once Ainge was on board (not that 'Toine 
>would have anyway. He's also having a VERY average year in Miami).
>
>I will most likely be shot down quickly for the following proposal 
>but what would people think of bringing Antoine back for a third 
>stint in Boston, as a backup behind Al and/or (hopefully) Oden?

Not Oden, Antoine is emphatically not a center.  And sure as hell 
isn't known for his defense and shot blocking. While he certainly 
isn't going to take Al's place in the post on offense or in drawing 
fouls because Antoine avoids going to the FT line like the plague 
because it's so embarrassing now. Defence you can give me a debate 
on, but that says more about Al.

For the basic answer why not, if you don't believe in the usual 
concerns about shot selection and attitude that get raised,  take a 
look at the Antoine images in the montage on the jumbotron before any 
game and look at Antoine now to see just how much physical decline 
there is and how quick it's been. It's shocking. And some of those 
images aren't that old. Antoine once used to genuinely be able to 
slam and rise up to GRAB rebounds and put them home... oh yeah, and 
run. Not gazelle-like to watch but he chugged along there a 
lot   faster than you thought. Antoine today has absolutely no 
lift  - he once used to shoot set shots because he liked them, now 
it's because he has to - and very little athleticism left. And this 
is a team built on athleticism, whether or not we take full advantage 
of it. People complain about how slow Wally is because of his knees? 
His are worse and Antoine is slower at least in part because of his. 
So what you're signing is the leadership, and the endless threes and 
not much else. He's shooting 27% on 3s and averaging Mark Blount 
numbers in rebounds - 4.4 in 23 MPG. Oh yeah, and 43% shooting FT. 
You're banking a lot on that leadership and better hope it is all for 
the good, with no bad influence on a bunch of impressionable kids. I 
like Antoine in a lot of ways, but.... no

Kim