Well, we're already down 10-0. Let's see if Doc makes any adjustments whatsoever. Things aren't looking good.
This is a horrible start by Boston. Paul Pierce isn't making a thing and Indiana is getting to rim easily. The Celtics are allowing O'Neal to post up and shoot over top of them. Boston is getting no motion in their offense and look like a beaten team. We're down 19-8.
This had to be the strangest game I've ever seen. First off, that 2nd PP Technical was BS. It was nothing but a flop on the part of Tinsley. Now, what's with this rule that the opposing team gets to choose who shoots the free throws when a player gets ejected? Shouldn't it be that the team can pick any player on the court? I don't understand why they can pick a guy that hasn't played all game. That really doesn't make any sense to me. I felt so bad for Perk seeing him up there shooting those key FTs. Now, I got to give props to Pierce for his amazing game. He was really efficent and he proved that he's the man, once again. Second props go to Big Al who pulled down 14 boards and scored 11 points. A double double for the big man! Great way to play on the day you get selected to the All-Rook team. On Toine, he still played pretty bad. He was much better than the other night, but his negative qualities still got in the way. He did hit that big 3 in OT, so for that I have to give him the obligatory props. All in all, I was impressed with out heart out there. Great game to force a game 7! BTW- I saw Mark Blount on a milk carton today.....
PP reacted poorly to getting whacked in the chops by Tinsley. Yes, Tinsley played up the flop, but PP was going to get hit with a foul no matter what. We won, without PP for all of Overtime. I like that, it solidifies a TEAM effort. RD and 'Toine both stepped up. Raef had another solid effort and Paul was brilliant, right up until that 2nd technical. Game 7, In BOSTON. Get the animals in the Jungle fired up. Go Celtics!
The foul on PP was BS but at the same time you can't react that way especially when your team is so close to winning. It was a flop on Tinsley's part but the ref was going to call a foul either way. I feel bad for Perkins though. The announcers said that he was near tears in the Boston bench. Antoine was extremely frustrating to watch at times but he got the job done in overtime. Paul Pierce, Ricky Davis AND Al Jefferson were all spectacular in this win. Next game is in Boston and I think the stat is that 80% of home teams win game 7's so the odds are on Bostons side. Should be a great game.
Perkins apparently did actually break into tears on the bench/sidelines. I hope the team rallies around him and makes him realize that the situation he was put in last night is perhaps the most difficult for ANYONE to be put in. A kid who should only be a sophomore in college probably isn't going to be prepared for that situation, as alot of veterans would have missed at least 1 of those FT's, IMO. He's rarely going to ever face that kind of pressure, so the rest of the games should be gravy. Expect a big game out of him in #7. I think Doc is going to let him and Al J loose on the Pacers. I won't condone PP's actions, but Tinsley's flop didn't help it any. The league better not take any action on this or they'll never hear the end of it from me. There's no way PP deserves a suspension. We rallied, we won. It's time to go home and finish this now.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting hagrid:</div><div class="quote_post">I won't condone PP's actions, but Tinsley's flop didn't help it any. The league better not take any action on this or they'll never hear the end of it from me. There's no way PP deserves a suspension. </div>I didn't even think of that. Man, if Pierce gets suspended, then Doc Rivers better be the next coach to get a $100,000 fine, because that would reek of conspiracy.
If Pierce is suspended, the Celtic Nation will go nuts. I'm realistically expecting that not only Doc, but quite a few members of the Celtics administration will get substantial fines if PP is suspended. I'm sure JVG is hoping PP gets suspended so that it lends credence to his previous claim against the league and how officials call the game. Stern is a bum, so nothing would surprise me. He'll (try to) screw the Celtics somehow.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting hagrid:</div><div class="quote_post">If Pierce is suspended, the Celtic Nation will go nuts. I'm realistically expecting that not only Doc, but quite a few members of the Celtics administration will get substantial fines if PP is suspended. I'm sure JVG is hoping PP gets suspended so that it lends credence to his previous claim against the league and how officials call the game. Stern is a bum, so nothing would surprise me. He'll (try to) screw the Celtics somehow.</div> It's been happening for years now, there's no surprise here. And once again, we see how the Pacers are a bunch of flop artists and cheaters and thugs. We've seen again and again in this series, and we'll see it as long as guys like Reggie Miller and Jamaal Tinsley can get away with it. Jermaine O'Neal has now figured out that he's not far behind either, and has really started milking the refs. How about when Reggie didn't get the call on a flop and flipped out, he's wasn't T'd up? Why not? Guy gets in a ref's face about a damn flop and the ref does nothing? What is going on here? Obviously, aside from Game Three, when calls started going our way, there has really been no sympathetic refereeing crew, and that's fine. We have superior talent as it is, and we have superior leadership too, it's just a matter of refs not actively trying to screw us, which they've been doing regularly. Just sick of watching refs take games over. I'm glad Shaq and Stevie and all those others have started telling it like it is, and I'm sure we've not seen fines stem the tide of that. Thank God. As for Van Gundy, I don't care if what he says is BS, I don't care if what he says is true, all I know is, yes, officials do officiate games differently for different players, there's not a question of that, but don't stop there Jeff. Tell everyone what really goes on, refs call a game for a team in the hopes that league interest will be promoted. We all know that NBA refs are the laughingstock of professional sports (I swear I've said this before) so why beat a dead horse? This is no longer of concern to me, I will just hang 'em up on this note: as long as I don't see series and seasons decided by them, I will just let things go now. I will not count on refs to do the right thing, or make the right call, or anything like that, I will assume they are out to get someone, and unless their decisions actually affect the outcome of games, I'm just going to let it go.
My favorite writer, Bill Simmons, hit on the referee situation perfectly. This was after Game 2, I believe.<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">I don't think the NBA fixes games, but they have one trick that they use for situations like this ? when they want a home team to win the game, they invariably assign the worst referees possible to that game for two reasons: Bad referees have a tendency to get swayed by the home crowd, and bad referees never have the stones to make a tough call on the road. In a related story, I went to 35 Clippers games this year and kept a list of the referees in my pocket, which I also used to follow the referees for any televised games. And yes, the referees in the NBA ? as a whole ? have never been worse. But there were six referees that stuck out as being especially terrible.</div><div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">So why am I telling you this? Because last night's game featured two of my Worst Six ? Salvatore and Washington. And I don't think it was a coincidence. In a related story, the Pacers had a 38-17 free-throw advantage, the Boston coaches were practically having a colletive conniption on the bench, and there were nearly two bench-clearing brawls. I'm not saying that's why the Celtics lost ? not only are the Pacers playing better, they have a much better coach ? but the officials never gave the Celtics a chance, nearly lost control of the game and nearly ended up with another Artest-Wallace situation on their hands. We should expect better in the playoffs, shouldn't we?</div> http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story...ns/cowbell/blog He also lists his list of worst NBA referees. He's exactly right. The NBA knows its officials and it wouldn't surprise me to see them set something up like that. Stern is a bum and nobody can put it past him. As for JVG, it seems kinda odd to me that Stern would react in such a way. He acted in a defensive manner. A manner of a guilty person. If it really was so ridiculous, you'd see Stern laughing it off and attacking Van Gundy's credibility. But instead he shoots JVG the biggest coaching fine in NBA history. The saddest part is there's probably more to come.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting 44Thrilla:</div><div class="quote_post"> The saddest part is there's probably more to come.</div> Saddest part? That's the best part. We're going to see Stern stepping all over himself trying to make all this go away. It's going to be hysterical, because with Stern, it always is. I'm going to sit back and love every laughable minute.
The call I did not understand was the first technical foul PP received. He was trapped on the sidelines and getting bumped out of bounds, and the whistle blows. I thought the ref was going to signal a foul on the Pacers, or a Boston timeout. Next thing you know, PP is whistled for a technical. As for the second technical, it should have been called on both players. The refs even huddled before they decided to toss PP, one of the refs had to have seen what caused PP's reaction. Courtvision I couldn't agree more with your take on 'Toine. He has the worst decision making on the court and his shot selection is equally terrible. Yet he still finds a way to hit some key baskets.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">So why am I telling you this? Because last night's game featured two of my Worst Six ? Salvatore and Washington. And I don't think it was a coincidence. </div> Bennett Salvatore is horrible. I'll bet you that Steve Javvi is on that list. He called both technicals on PP last night and his issues with the Celtics and Pierce in particular, is well documented. I'm surprised they gave him a game during the playoffs involving the Celtics at all....Then again, if you believe in the conspiracy theories, I guess it's not much of a surprise. The refs suck, is all I have to say at this point. The horse has been beaten, it's dead, decomposing and turning to dust. The league should be embarrassed.
What a game...Ricky had a good game, and Al Jefferson was great. Walker was struggling a little (expecially through the first half) he seemed to make a few bone-headed plays, and missed a few easy layups..But his OT heroics made up for all of that!
If the truth gets suspended then bostons got no chance in game 7, he dusnt deserve it, the league will make a huge mistake. tho it wasa toatal flop n tinsley slapped him, but he souldn't have reacted that way.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"> It's been happening for years now, there's no surprise here. And once again, we see how the Pacers are a bunch of flop artists and cheaters and thugs. We've seen again and again in this series, and we'll see it as long as guys like Reggie Miller and Jamaal Tinsley can get away with it.</div> Thugs? As far as I have seen this series the celtics have been the "thugs". Those flops wouldn't happen if the Celtics could control themselves. But tell me if this was reversed would you be complaining? Doesn't matter if Tinsley flopped, Pierce would have still gotten a technical. Players are taught to flop, now get over it.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting M_V_P:</div><div class="quote_post">Thugs?</div>Yes, thugs is what the man said. The thugs that give concussions to Ricky Davis on a cheapshot. The thugs that take swipes at Delonte West's head. The thugs that punch Paul Pierce in the face. The thugs that shoot out their elbow on every screen. The thugs that jump up and down like little children when they don't get a call. You know, the same thugs that charge the stands wildy punching innocent people. The same thugs that throw an entire body weight's worth of a punch into a fan that's on the ground (don't forget the running start). <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"> But tell me if this was reversed would you be complaining? </div> The lack of logic in that statement is astounding.<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Players are taught to flop, now get over it.</div> Ah yes, the great flopping school of Vlade Divac. How could we forget? Pierce did deserve the tech, but for Tinsley to get away without one is sad. He gave a hard foul(the punching in the face kind) on Pierce then held there for seconds after the whistle was blown. I thought he was trying to make out with him or something. He deserved the tech, but hey, we won despite it.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting M_V_P:</div><div class="quote_post">Thugs? As far as I have seen this series the celtics have been the "thugs". Those flops wouldn't happen if the Celtics could control themselves. But tell me if this was reversed would you be complaining? Doesn't matter if Tinsley flopped, Pierce would have still gotten a technical. Players are taught to flop, now get over it.</div> Would I be complaining if it was reversed? Are you kidding me?! Of course I would, I'd be complaining about the Pacers fans always whining to get their way. Which they're not. Which I am. So, to answer your question, if I was a Pacers fan, or even apologist, or even sympathetic to their defeating the Celtics (hint: I'm talking about you) I would be complaining, just like you are, that the C's fans are whiny pansies who have to get their way, or they can't win. Which, by the way, is true. I speak only for myself, but when my team is screwed over by officiating, sure, I turn into a whiny pansy. Is that what you were getting at? And yes, players are taught to flop, and by the best coaches in the game. At every level of the game. And yet STILL, you can't get 80% of them to do it. Making those other 20% the elite few try their hardest to make everyone from Average Joe fan to Hall of Fame supercoach, hate them with a passion. And if you want to talk about players that can't control themselves, we needn't look any further than the league's poster child for high school dropouts, Jermaine O'Neal. What a baby. I'd hate to have been that guy's mother. Id'a beat that boy blind. One more thing about the flopping. When you learn to play ball from the players around you, and not from the X's and O's, bread and butter basketball, you learn that flopping is considered the most heinous thing you can do to a player or a team. There are some of us who grew up playing the kind of ball where defense calls fouls. And if you don't, you get pummeled, simple as that. Not Reggina, who played his ball in the hallowed confines of UCLA, or Jamaal Tinsley, who just plain sucks, or Jermaine O'Neal who didn't even have time to learn anything like that. You play the ball you're taught, and when you're taught to play like a little bitch, then you play like a little bitch. Reggie thinks he's an untouchable superstar and shouldn't be subject to the same rules, and that stuff rubs off on his other subpar supporting cast, and all of a sudden, you have the biggest group of pansies this side of Celtics fans.
