Monday, April 27, 2009

On Bill Walker and Intangibles


This is not meant to be a screed, but I think there are some things that need to be said. I respect Doc Rivers, and what he did to get the Celtics the championship last season. I respect that he somehow learned to manage the rotation and unite the team around the cosmic Thibodeau/KG defense. I don’t think that we need to rehash his problems before the KG trade, and I don’t think that anyone needs to question every decision he makes. This critique is more related to the fallout of his coaching than the actual rationale behind it.

As you may or may not have noticed from my posts and my frequent commenting around the internets, I like Bill Walker. I really like Bill Walker. I understand that he is a rookie, that I need to be realistic, and that I need to temper my expectations. That said, it is hard to stomach the ubiquitous criticism that he is a punk and that he somehow deserves our scorn for not respecting elders. And it’s hard to stomach when Brian Scalabrine gets playing time over him.

But this isn’t about Scalabrine. And this isn’t about Walker’s playing time. I know why Walker doesn’t play. We all do. It’s because Rivers does not trust rookies, or at least certain rookies. And he certainly does not trust Walker—not enough to get crunch time minutes, and not enough to get (many) postseason minutes. The one young player he does trust, beyond comprehension, is Glen Davis. For some reason, Davis has never been on Rivers’ bad side. Before trades sent Sebastian Telfair and Delonte West out of Boston, Rivers would yank point guards and rookies out as soon as they made a mistake. When depth threatened that strategy, he relented, and Rondo’s development was keyed by that confidence, even if it was forced.

That isn’t the case with Davis. From the instant he was drafted, Rivers has had confidence in him. In 07-08, Davis played 13.6 minutes per game over 69 games, including 10 games in November. He was given 15.5 minutes per game in December. Compare this to Leon Powe, who played in 56 games and didn’t start receiving meaningful minutes until late January. All he did was put up a 21.04 PER over the season. Davis offered a PER of 11.40 in 07 and was terrible for most of this season, but that’s besides that point.

The problems with Scalabrine are well-documented, and if you’re reading this blog, I don’t need to spell them out for you. However, fans respond to this criticism with cries about his intangibles, and how he is an indispensable part of the locker room.

Brian Scalabrine is probably a cool guy. I’m sure I’d get along with him. I’d buy him drinks if I met him in a bar. But why is he a great teammate when Bill Walker gets derided? Everything that I’ve seen from Walker indicates that he is a dude who would do anything to win. He isn’t scared of anyone, and he aims to destroy with his athleticism, even if his knees can’t handle it. That is someone who I want on my team. That is someone I want playing as much as possible.

I know that Bill Walker probably won’t ever get the playing time that I think he merits. After all, it is Bill Walker. Even so, the primacy of Scalabrine’s intangibles is not an adequate reason for justifying his playing time and denying Walker’s. It’s lazy journalism and lazy fandom. And we all deserve better.

No comments:

Post a Comment