Friday, August 01, 2003  
Feedback
 Clubs TonightHot TixBand GuideMP3sBest Music PollGuide to SummerThe Best 
Music
Movies
Theater
Food & Drink
Books
Dance
Art
Comedy
Events
Home
Listings
Editors' Picks
New This Week
News and Features

Art
Astrology
Books
Dance
Food & Drink
Movies
Music
Television
Theater

Archives
Letters

Classifieds
Personals
Adult
Stuff at Night
The Providence Phoenix
The Portland Phoenix
FNX Radio Network

   
  E-Mail This Article to a Friend


Trade ’Toine, Danny
BY SCOTT KATHAN

He plays ball with Michael Jordan during the summers in Chicago, and His Airness is on record as saying that he thinks Antoine Walker is a great NBA player. ’Toine is big, quick, and strong enough to be an occasionally dominant rebounder. He has great basketball instincts, and he sees the floor well enough so that double-digit assist games aren’t a rarity for him. He can get up and down the floor, and he can be an explosive scorer from inside and out. Walker is also active in numerous charities, and reportedly is a good guy who stays out of trouble. Danny Ainge should trade him immediately.

What’s my beef with ’Toine? Let me qualify my stance by stating, for the record, that my problems with him existed long before Walker’s embarrassing humiliation at the hands of Kenyon Martin in the playoffs this past spring. First, there is the obvious: the guy is a gunner. Now, great NBA scorers have to be unafraid to shoot, and they have to be able to shoot themselves out of slumps. That means that even the best shooters will hit their fair share of iron, and that there will be times when you wish they wouldn’t shoot. The oft-cited statistic that Walker led the NBA in three-point field-goal attempts (by about 50 shots) while not even finishing within the league’s 50 best three-point field-goal percentages is so alarming it is comical. There is no question that ’Toine can hit that shot; there is also no question that he can’t hit it often enough to merit launching that many attempts. In fairness, it must be said that Walker led the league in "No, no, no...yes!" field-goal attempts as well.

Okay, so his long-range bombing is less than stellar; it can be argued that Coach Jim O’Brien is partially to blame for giving such a poor marksman the perpetual green light (Paul Pierce also had a terrible three-point field-goal percentage, finishing the year at about 30 percent). You figure that with some solid coaching and some maturity Walker will be able to suppress the urge to shoot from beyond the arc every time he gets a look, and that he’ll be able to move his game closer to the basket, where he can take advantage of his formidable low-post arsenal, his ability to pass the ball in the interior, and his rebounding skills. The problem is, ’Toine is a crappy finisher around the basket, especially for someone with his gifts of size and quickness. When was the last time you saw him dunk? I watched most of the C’s games last year, and I saw Antoine dunk maybe four or five times — and the guy is 6’9"! Watching one of his patented spin-moves, seeing him snatch a tough rebound in traffic, or seeing him haul ass down the court is all the evidence you need to know that the guy has plenty of athletic ability, but the fact is that I would almost rather see ’Toine launch a three than work his way inside for an attempted dunk or lay-in. His skills around the hoop suck, plain and simple.

On to reason number three: Antoine Walker acts like a spoiled brat on the court. Although permanent damage might already have been done, I would guess that if Walker stopped whining to the refs and generally embarrassing himself by making a stink over calls and no-calls, he would have two fewer fouls called on him per game, and he would get to the line three or four more times per game (which, if his foul-shooting wagons are in order, would boost his scoring average accordingly). Again, another coach might automatically bench a player as soon as he started acting like a child, so some of the blame might have to rest with O’B. It makes you wonder who Antoine admires more as a player, Michael Jordan or Rasheed Wallace?

And then there’s his defense. Walker actually has very quick hands and great anticipation, and so he gets his fair share of steals. He is also a smart, sneaky team defender. What he absolutely cannot do is guard the ball one-on-one, which is surprising because he has reasonable strength and quickness. The sad truth is that both threes and fours around the league (’Toine is regularly matched up against both) feast on him on the defensive end.

Lastly, ’Toine and Paul Pierce do not play well together. Pierce is also a scorer who may or may not have questionable shot selection, but he is a tougher player who is willing to get down and dirty to help the team. Pierce, like Walker, is a court-savvy player and a good passer, and yet how often do you see them work the give-and-go together? Almost never. How often do you see Walker set a solid screen for Pierce? How often do you see Walker follow Pierce to the hoop for clean-up buckets? Almost never. Maybe it’s their egos, but these two guys do not play team basketball well together. Celtics games sometimes seem like a series of one-on-one possessions (a situation that is sadly prevalent around the league). And if you had to choose between the two of them, Pierce is clearly the better all-around player. He is a better shooter, an equal rebounder, an equal passer, and a far, far superior defender. Pierce is a guy who is willing to do what it takes to be a part of a championship team — Walker, in my estimation, is not.

Another sign of ’Toine’s immaturity is that when his shot is not falling, his overall game falls apart. The great ones have always found a way to will their teams to victory, even when their shot was off. Basketball is, first and foremost, a team game, and while Antoine Walker has all the skills to be a great player, his head is just not right. While Walker has only been in the league for eight years (and he only spent two years at Kentucky), he has consistently been among the league leaders in minutes played, and so he’s got a lot of miles on him. His physical skills are just now starting to erode, and he doesn’t seem to have the mental wherewithal to be able to adjust. He is a selfish, immature player; it is time we stopped waiting for him to "get it," and shipped him out of town.

The only thing I’d miss is the wiggle.

Christopher Young has the day off; guest "Sporting Eye" columnist Scott Kathan is editor of STUFF@night and can be reached at skathan[a]phx.com


Issue Date: July 25, 2003
"Sporting Eye" archives: 2003 |2002
For more News & Features, click here
  E-Mail This Article to a Friend







about the phoenix | find the phoenix | advertising info | feedback | work for us

 © 2000 - 2003 Phoenix Media Communications Group