I've always liked Rick Fox's game. It would've been interesting to see Boston have more players to be competitive back when we drafted him. He was always a hard-nosed defender who could hit the three.
I must agree with the Shaq reference, too.
I have to say, after Rick went to the Lakers and sold out to the whole Hollywood scene, I didn't care for him anymore, but you were right about his defensive prowess when he played for the C's, (TP) ... he was one of the best defensive players on the team when he was in Boston, and was constantly subbed for defensive purposes like TA was.
I don't think anyone's mentioned Brian Shaw here, either, who could very well be the Laker coach next fall. When a player is a Laker, I have no love for him, but I also don't hold it against him if he becomes a Celtic. I didn't cheer for Shaq when he wore purple and gold, but I only disliked him because he was a Laker, not for personal reasons, (I can't say the same for the likes of Kobe and Artest).
I've always thought he was a player of integrity, and one with a similar positive strut to Ali ... also the same sense of humor and faux self-promoting whit. He's always done a lot for multiple charities, and he has the kind of personality that I think would be easy to get along with, and fun to share company with. If I can accept Sheed as a Celtic, (who I have always disliked intently), I can easily accept Shaq.
A Celtic is a Celtic, and when someone wears green, they take on and accept what Celtic Pride is all about ... I don't think it's objective to try to pick and choose whose heart is really in it and whose isn't. We've all done things that we've needed forgiveness for, and a person shouldn't be judged on where they
were, but only on where they are
now.
Everyone is capable of change and redemption, and when Diesel put on that green jersey, he became a Celtic to me, and I will support him as such. There are probably things in their past that we could hold against
most of the Celtics, and mistakes made by most everyone we meet that we could rub their noses in, but that only makes us hypocrites, and bitter ones at that.
There are members of this team that I'm not crazy about as far as their game goes, but when they hit the parquet in green and white, I'll cheer my heart out for them ... it really doesn't matter to me at that point where they've come from, or what mistakes they've made in the past ... and that includes playing for other teams, no matter what colors they wore.
