A Boston Rebuttal
In our latest article, 33 Observations from Celtics/Hawks Series, I commented on a number of things (everything from Mike Bibby’s comments to the KG/Zaza Pachulia altercation to the possibility of Atlanta having a “Big Three” in the future) that occurred during the exciting seven game first round series between the Boston Cs and the Atlanta Hawks.
After writing the article, I e-mailed our new-found oppositions in debate over at Sports of Boston — an interesting and well-written site that covers each of the Boston professional sports squads, who previously had responded with Why the Hawks Will Fly South this Series in refutation of Why Hawks Will Ruin Celtics Title Hopes but also wrote an apology after we came close to being absolutely genius due to the Game 4 altercation.
One of their Celtics’ writers, Geoff, countered our 33 observations with Reactions to a Hawks Fan’s View of Round 1. In response to particular points made by us, Geoff wrote 8 points of his own. And I, of course, am now required to write a rebuttal to some of his statements:
1. In his first point, Geoff talks about when bandwagon fans decided to jump on the train…or wagon…or other figurative transportation device. He said the Cs fans re-joined at the beginning of the season while the ATL fans waited until the team clinched a playoff spot. This may or may not be true, but my original argument was that there are only 1 or 2 cities (LA for the Lakers being one) where fans would still be coming out if the team has been bad for a length of time. I think Geoff actually backed up my statement without knowing it.
When did the Celts’ fans return to the Garden (I refuse to call it by that other name)? When they felt they had a winning team, which was at the beginning of the year. When did the Hawks’ fans finally decide to pack the arena like they are in the above picture? When they felt they had a winning team, which happened to be late in the season (even though I tried to tell people before the season they were going to make the playoffs).
2. I don’t really understand Geoff’s second point. He states that the reason no one was suspended after the Game 4 altercation (video available here - #23) is because the league realizes it is the playoffs and things are going to be heated. But he also mentions the Spurs/Suns incident from last season (video of incident), which is the main refutation of why players should have been suspended. Kendrick Perkins clearly steps onto the floor toward the altercation. Marvin Williams stepped on the floor possibly toward the altercation, possibly just to see what was going on better. Last year, there were no punches thrown, but Raja Bell and Robert Horry pushed and got in each others face (just as KG & Pachulia). Amare Stoudamire and Boris Diaw both went toward the action, barely stepped onto the floor, and were grabbed by assistant coaches long before they got into the action (just as Perkins & Williams). On the principles set last year alone, there should have been suspensions, and that’s not even getting into KG shoving the ref out of the way like a bully cutting in the lunch line.
3. Geoff’s third point was about the flagrant 2 foul called on Marvin Williams in Game 7. He says, “If you look at Williams’ arms, they are wrapped around both sides of Rajon and he brought him down hard to the floor.” I think this is the perfect example of why it shouldn’t have been a flagrant 2 but a flagrant 1. If he was really trying to take someone down like is the case typically with a flagrant 2, Williams wouldn’t have had his right arm under Rondo. It would have been on top of him using it to throw Rondo down instead of under catching him. I think the arm underneath clearly shows that he was trying to catch him.
4. Point 5 is about the homeristic broadcasters. I will say that I enjoy some local broadcasters (especially baseball because the season is so long the broadcasters really get a camaraderie with the players and almost all of the color guys are former players with at least some decent insights). As with anything else, there are some guys that are good and some that are bad. Baseball’s national broadcasters are absolutely, without a doubt, TERRIBLE. Joe Buck - no where close to what his dad was. Jon Miller - terrible, just agrees with Joe Morgan all the time. Joe Morgan - atrocious, possibly racist, always tells the same stories, and just plain terrible. Tim McCarver - god awful, it upsets me every time I hear him broadcasting a big game b/c I always give him a chance, and he always says something that is completely non-sense or asinine. Broadcasters are better for me if I don’t know there name b/c that means I’m just hearing what they are saying and not questioning it, and then their credibility.
5. In response to points 6 & 7, I would have to say that Boston attacked better in Game 1 against Cleveland. KG even drove the ball on the go-ahead basket with 21 ticks left on the clock. One thing that I noticed is the positioning of Garnett when his teammates drove to the basket. Instead of waiting on the wings as a shooter like Ray Allen or James Posey should be, KG was down on the block ready for a quick dish or a Rondo wraparound pass. I think this combination adjustment of more drives and floor positioning is a critical point in Boston’s second round series against the Cavs because I highly doubt LeBron James plays as atrocious as he did in Game 1 (2-18 FG!! 10 turnovers!!). Of course, I also doubt Allen and Paul Pierce combine for only 4 points ever again in their careers. Combined James, Pierce, and Allen (3 of the 4 biggest stars in the contest) shot 4 for 36 and finished with a combined 20 turnovers to only 16 points.
Overall, I appreciate Geoff and the Sports of Boston’s reply to our article, but I couldn’t let it go without my own rebuttal. Best of luck to the Cs for the rest of the playoffs (unless they somehow face off with Orlando b/c I have to root for Dwight Howard since he is from Georgia).
Shotgun Spratling
| 2.5 |
Leave a Reply