By Dennis Hans and Mike Fisher -- DallasBasketball.com
      Even though Mavs coach Don Nelson has forced Antoine Walker to retire his patented “Wiggle” dance that, in his Celtic days, he performed to celebrate a great play, the funky forward does a million other things on the court that make it clear this guy’s got rhythm to spare and a rhythm all his own.
’TOINE’S SECRET FLAW

      Or maybe, as a compliment, we’ll say ‘Toine has a personal rhythm not unlike spiritual Dallas predecessor Nick Van Exel.
      You think ‘Toine can’t “F ‘em’ with the best of ‘em?
      Listen to his quote from after Friday’s drubbing at the hands of the visiting Pacers, a game in which every Mav shooting star shot like hell, including Walker, who scored just five points on 2-of-11 shooting.
     
     "That's life," said Walker, who collected a team-high nine rebounds. "Don't you do things that you've never done before?"
      Antoine had other, more constructive things to say; in fairness, we also offer this quote: “We never expect to shoot the ball that bad on our home floor. We haven't played well, but we can't let losses like this get us down. Right now, it can go either way for us, and hopefully it will go on the high road."
      Still, we’re a little concerned that Antoine’s “rhythm all his own’’ is stifling his improvement as a basketball player.
      "That's life''? We don’t like that approach.
      So, as a favor to Walker, we are going to start a movement to bring back the “Wiggle.’’ And we are going to deconstruct and then reconstruct the one part of his game that, even when he’s up, remains down.
      Antoine Walker, the horrid free-throw shooter.
      Rhythm to spare. We mean it. The kid’s got it. And then the whistle blows, he steps to the stripe and clunks a couple of rhythmless free throws. That lack of rhythm is a major reason this graceful guy with a sweet stroke and soft touch shoots for his career a woeful 66 percent — and not even that in his inaugural Dallas season, as he struggles along at 52 percent.
      Not only the stroke itself, but his entire FT routine is devoid of rhythm.
      A few weeks ago, DallasBasketball.com approached the Walker free-throwing dilemma from the perspective of shooting coach Gary Boren, who remains positive ‘Toine can turn the trend around.
      Now, let’s do it from a technical angle.
      If you watch Antoine percolate around the court, drivin’ and jivin’ and spinnin’ and grinnin’, you’d expect his FT routine and delivery to be something like Richard Hamilton’s — lots of syncopation and rhythmic leg action, finishing up in a forward-lean ski-jumper’s pose as the ball swishes through the net. Instead, we get a statue with moveable arms. Antoine’s lifeless legs are along for the ride, making no discernible contribution to the delivery or the distance control that eludes him.
      In Gary Boren, the Mavs have the best FT coach in the business. As we pointed out the other day, Boren has already spotted a few flaws in ’Toine’s technique, and the two are hard at work ironing them out. In time, we suspect we’ll see positive results. But in the coming weeks if Walker doesn’t improve to his and Boren’s satisfaction, they might want to consider injecting those improved mechanics with a dose of rhythm to cure any remaining FT blues.
      This isn’t an “either/or” proposition; it’s a “both.” Rhythm enhances good mechanics, and good mechanics enhance rhythm.
      Rhythmic deliveries are as varied as the shooters that employ them. Some are low key (Shawn Bradley), others showy (Cynthia Cooper). Some are up tempo (the Matrix and Sue Bird), others are slow (Dirk and Chauncey Billups). Some shoot on the down beat and some on the up beat. Whatever they do, rhythm helps them do it the same each time in a fluid, tension-free fashion.
      That’s important, because unlike your game from the field, you don’t get a chance to “find” your rhythm at the stripe. You shoot them one or two at a time, and it might be 45 minutes or even the next game before your next trip to the line. That’s why the rhythm needs to be built into the routine and the FT stroke. The best way to infuse that rhythm is to incorporate your legs in the stroke and synchronize the leg action with your arm motion. There are a variety of ways to do it, and one or more of these methods will work for Antoine. It’s just a matter of trying them out, settling on one, and commencin’ to groove it.
      Here’s our offer: If Antoine will teach Dennis Hans the Wiggle, Dennis will teach him three different methods for incorporating his legs in his FT delivery.
      And just to sweeten the pot, Dennis will teach Don Nelson his patented Free Throw Cha-Cha – and dare him to ban it.
      Former rec-league sharpshooter Dennis Hans has taught basic education to prisoners, American foreign policy to university slackers, and swing dancing to klutzy acquaintances. His essays on basketball — including the styles, rhythms and fundamentals of free-throw shooting — have appeared in print and online at DallasBasketball.com, HoopsHype.com, Dime, Slate, and InsideHoops.com. His writings on other topics have appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post and Miami Herald, among other outlets. He can be reached at HANS_D@popmail.firn.edu.