Antoine has made some personal mistakes. Antoine was a flawed player. But the one thing I admired about him is that he had HEART. He had a passion for the game, and for the Boston Celtics. I suppose it's easy to take jabs at him, but I wish I we could transplant what he had inside of him into some other players. He's right - the goal SHOULD be to make the playoffs. He's talking about a CULTURE, and if the losing continues, it becomes toxic over time.
I don't agree with this. Look at his numbers. Anyone with a passion for the game wouldn't play like he did. By the end of his run in Boston he was playing 40+ minutes a game and averaging 7 rebounds a game. That's ridiculous. Throw in the fact that he shot about 60% from the line and that screams to me that he's a player that doesn't care about improving his game. As long as he got to shoot to his heart's content he was happy.
Antoine was a 3-Time All-Star. Sure, his numbers weren't great in some areas, but he and PP were all that BOS had for a while.
And as for 33_Larry Legend_33's post? I agree with it.
I think that sometimes people tend to criticize Toine because he was our 1st big "Star" after the Larry Era ended, and of course no one could fill Larry's shoes - even to this day.
But some of us expected him to fill those shoes, and it was unwarranted.
He had a LOT of burden and responsibility placed on him and didn't have the best surroundings with the team at the time.
Antoine Walker will always have a special place in my heart as a player. I loved the Shimmy and his game.
Tommy Heinsohn seemed to love Toine, too.