Even though I am a C's fan, this is bullshit. Jefferson basically did the same thing in the NJ/NY game but he doesn't get a suspension. I'd be pissed if I was a Pacers fan.
By the Miami/Knicks precedent, this is the correct decision. Brandon Hunter has now accomplished more than anyone could expect from a late 2nd round pick. Remember the mantra when you are a heavy underdog: Fight dirty. Cheat. Anything to avoid getting swept. Now, the Celts at least have the opportunity to not get eliminated on their home court in 4.
With God as my witness, I thought turkeys could fly.
While you could argue, "If it wasn't RON ARTEST there would be no suspension," and that would be true, Artest has made his own bed by acting like a dumbass for most of the last two years. Now he has to lay in it.
Had he been a "normal" NBA citizen for the last two years this doesn't happen. And that's Ron Artest's fault, not the NBA's. So if Pacer's fans want to be pissed, they can get pissed at Ron Artest.
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Originally posted by redsoxnationBy the Miami/Knicks precedent, this is the correct decision. Brandon Hunter has now accomplished more than anyone could expect from a late 2nd round pick. Remember the mantra when you are a heavy underdog: Fight dirty. Cheat. Anything to avoid getting swept. Now, the Celts at least have the opportunity to not get eliminated on their home court in 4.
HA!!! Well my prediction was Pacers in 5. Looks like it will be Pacers in 6.
Maybe Pierce will now be able to actually get a decent look at the basket in Game 2.
Of course the funny part is that Artest with a number of reporters (and TNT camera) around him said yesterday "I'm not suspended, I just found out". And he said it really fast, too.
Actually, Pierce was getting plenty of good looks in the first quarter ... The C's were setting a lot of nice screens to keep Artest occupied and get Paul open.
Of course, after Pierce went to the bench in the second quarter (why oh why did you put five players with NO playoff experience on the floor at the same time, Carroll???) things pretty much went downhill after that ... Man, having Artest out of the picture for Game Two could help him carry that momentum through an entire game, but the rest of the Pacers are gonna by playing MAD in that game; might be an even scarier scenario
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I think the Celtics will get swept as they are the worst team to make the playoffs in at least 5 or 6 years. Artest deserved the suspension since he broke the rule. Congrats Ron on the defensive player of the year award you deserved it.
This is absolutely a horse-shit move by the NBA. True, Artest took a few steps out onto the court and got suspended, while Richard Jefferson took one and didn't. But Artest wasn't anywhere in the vicinity of the play, and dammit, Brandon Hunter deliberately cheap-shotted Jermaine O'Neal (and then smirked about it) and I wouldn't have complained if someone had knocked Brandon's fucking head off. That, in addition to Ricky Davis, um, “beseeching the fans to kindly refrain from making noise” (or telling the crowd to “shut the fuck up,” which is what he actually did) doesn't endear me to the Celtics, either.
“Oh, but Ron Artest's been acting like a jackass for the last two years.” Bullshit. He acted like a jackass last year, and we paid for it, but this year he's channeled his natural aggression into a drive to beat the other team playing basketball, instead of beating up the other team. And as a result, the Pacers have thrived this year. So I'm not pissed at Artest. I'm pissed at Brandon Hunter, I'm pissed at “Senator” John Carroll for loudly lobbying for Artest's suspension (must be a Republican or something), and I'm pissed at the NBA for the suspension. Yes, I know, a literal interpretation of the rule says Artest deserves an automatic one-game suspension. But you have to base it on intent, judge the circumstances, and note that he immediately returned to the bench and didn't get within ten city blocks of the fight.
No matter. The Pacers will likely defend Paul Pierce with a combination of Al Harrington and Freddie Jones in Game 2. Freddy's one of the most underrated defenders in the league, and Al's certainly got the size and versatility to put the clamps on him. Pierce can't beat us all by himself unless we do something incredibly stupid, like allow him to take 27 million free throws like we let him do last year. The Celtics still have to beat the Pacers in Conseco Fieldhouse, in front of a rabid crowd that will be screaming for Celtic blood. Any Celtics fans who are all “HEY~! Ron Artest's out for one game, we can win this series, and then go on to beat the Lakers for our 17th NBA Championship~!” are living in a dream world. In other words, they're being typical Boston fans. Don't be surprised if the Pacers end up winning Game 2 despite Artest's suspension, and then when Artest gets back for Game 3, the Celtics are really in trouble.
And dammit, the next time Hunter takes a cheap-shot at O'Neal, he needs to be the one suspended. Kinda makes me wish we still had Dale Davis around, because he would've beaten the hell outta somebody. So what if he wound up getting suspended, I can't imagine he'd have as much impact on today's Pacers team as he did in the '90s.
As you can tell, I'm apoplectic about this. But I'm not worried, I'm still confident for Game 2. I'm just pissed because of the injustice of the whole damn thing.
OK, Celtics, you want to bring the underhanded tactics? Well, I've got two words for you:
Bring it.
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Originally posted by Blanket JacksonOf course the funny part is that Artest with a number of reporters (and TNT camera) around him said yesterday "I'm not suspended, I just found out". And he said it really fast, too.
I heard on ESPN radio yesterday that Artest talked to a league official about "the incident" at the game and the official told him "You wont get suspended, dont worry about it".
That being said, I almost wanna say that the NBA is enforcing this rule to technically on Ron Artest because A) He's Ron Aretst and B) They know the Celtics arent gonna win the series anyway.
Originally posted by DJ FrostyFreeze They know the Celtics arent gonna win the series anyway.
That's the bottom line. It's not going to matter anyway. So, eke, get all unapoplectic and enjoy your Pacers.
This also decreases the chances of Artest making the same mistake against Miami in the second round. Which disappoints me greatly. Most of Miami's best playoff success comes from the other team leaving its bench.
Although that said, I could watch P.J. Brown gut-wrench suplex Charlie Ward all day. :)
Although that said, I could watch P.J. Brown gut-wrench suplex Charlie Ward all day. :)
Don't forget about Jeff Van Gundy swinging from Alonzo Mourning's leg like a limp dishrag. Fabulous.
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Although that said, I could watch P.J. Brown gut-wrench suplex Charlie Ward all day. :)
Don't forget about Jeff Van Gundy swinging from Alonzo Mourning's leg like a limp dishrag. Fabulous.
That one not so much, since the price paid was that Mourning was suspended from the deciding Game 5 after he let Larry Johnson get under his skin by messing with Zo's protective face mask one too many times and that as much as anything cost Miami the series that year.
Originally posted by ekedolphinHere comes the angry mob.
This is absolutely a horse-shit move by the NBA. True, Artest took a few steps out onto the court and got suspended, while Richard Jefferson took one and didn't. But Artest wasn't anywhere in the vicinity of the play, and dammit, Brandon Hunter deliberately cheap-shotted Jermaine O'Neal (and then smirked about it) and I wouldn't have complained if someone had knocked Brandon's fucking head off. That, in addition to Ricky Davis, um, “beseeching the fans to kindly refrain from making noise” (or telling the crowd to “shut the fuck up,” which is what he actually did) doesn't endear me to the Celtics, either.
“Oh, but Ron Artest's been acting like a jackass for the last two years.” Bullshit. He acted like a jackass last year, and we paid for it, but this year he's channeled his natural aggression into a drive to beat the other team playing basketball, instead of beating up the other team. And as a result, the Pacers have thrived this year. So I'm not pissed at Artest. I'm pissed at Brandon Hunter, I'm pissed at “Senator” John Carroll for loudly lobbying for Artest's suspension (must be a Republican or something), and I'm pissed at the NBA for the suspension. Yes, I know, a literal interpretation of the rule says Artest deserves an automatic one-game suspension. But you have to base it on intent, judge the circumstances, and note that he immediately returned to the bench and didn't get within ten city blocks of the fight.
No matter. The Pacers will likely defend Paul Pierce with a combination of Al Harrington and Freddie Jones in Game 2. Freddy's one of the most underrated defenders in the league, and Al's certainly got the size and versatility to put the clamps on him. Pierce can't beat us all by himself unless we do something incredibly stupid, like allow him to take 27 million free throws like we let him do last year. The Celtics still have to beat the Pacers in Conseco Fieldhouse, in front of a rabid crowd that will be screaming for Celtic blood. Any Celtics fans who are all “HEY~! Ron Artest's out for one game, we can win this series, and then go on to beat the Lakers for our 17th NBA Championship~!” are living in a dream world. In other words, they're being typical Boston fans. Don't be surprised if the Pacers end up winning Game 2 despite Artest's suspension, and then when Artest gets back for Game 3, the Celtics are really in trouble.
And dammit, the next time Hunter takes a cheap-shot at O'Neal, he needs to be the one suspended. Kinda makes me wish we still had Dale Davis around, because he would've beaten the hell outta somebody. So what if he wound up getting suspended, I can't imagine he'd have as much impact on today's Pacers team as he did in the '90s.
As you can tell, I'm apoplectic about this. But I'm not worried, I'm still confident for Game 2. I'm just pissed because of the injustice of the whole damn thing.
OK, Celtics, you want to bring the underhanded tactics? Well, I've got two words for you:
Bring it.
Calm down Eke. First, 99.9% of Celtic fans don't think they are getting out of Round 1 anyway. Now, as for Harrington being able to guard Pierce though, watch the 3rd quarter from Game 4 last year and remind us how well Harrington played defense when Pierce when berzerk on him. As for Hunter, he did his job. If a star player is going to get baited by a bottom of the roster player, the star's team isn't going to win a championship because each team the rest of the way is going to see if they can get O'Neal or Artest to lose their composure.
With God as my witness, I thought turkeys could fly.
Well... I was worried there for awhile in Game 2... but the Celtics couldn't handle our depth. I still think Artest shouldn't have gotten suspended, and I think it's unfortunate that this incident has detracted from the quality of basketball the Pacers have been playing. If you read Marty Burns' article on CNNSI.com, to have him tell it the East has been fighting while the West has been playing basketball. Bullshit; there's been one “close game” in the East (Miami/New Orleans Game 1) and two in the West (L.A./Houston Game 1 and San Antonio/Memphis Game 2).
That's OK... we'll take the victory and head to Boston, where they can't defend their home court. In fact, they've got the worst home-court record of any playoff team since like the '60s, if I remember correctly.
I want to apologize for my earlier vent. During the playoffs, I'm kind of a madman. Basketball's a religion here in Indiana, and I haven't met anyone who's more passionate about the Pacers than I am. Well, except for those weirdos who wear blue-and-gold clown wigs and face paint, and pierce their long tongues with Pacers logos and stuff like that.
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Originally posted by ekedolphinWell... I was worried there for awhile in Game 2... but the Celtics couldn't handle our depth. I still think Artest shouldn't have gotten suspended, and I think it's unfortunate that this incident has detracted from the quality of basketball the Pacers have been playing. If you read Marty Burns' article on CNNSI.com, to have him tell it the East has been fighting while the West has been playing basketball. Bullshit; there's been one “close game” in the East (Miami/New Orleans Game 1) and two in the West (L.A./Houston Game 1 and San Antonio/Memphis Game 2).
That's OK... we'll take the victory and head to Boston, where they can't defend their home court. In fact, they've got the worst home-court record of any playoff team since like the '60s, if I remember correctly.
I want to apologize for my earlier vent. During the playoffs, I'm kind of a madman. Basketball's a religion here in Indiana, and I haven't met anyone who's more passionate about the Pacers than I am. Well, except for those weirdos who wear blue-and-gold clown wigs and face paint, and pierce their long tongues with Pacers logos and stuff like that.
I though the c's could pull this one out but too much Indy depth. As for the c's home record, yeah it was lousy this year but it hasn't really been that great the past couple of years during the regular season. come playoff time though it's a different story. Indy may end up sweeping but the next 2 wins won't come easy.
AND TELL REGGIE TO STOP THE FLOPPING!!!
HA!! In all seriousness I'd like to talk about the ESPN analysts, particuarly Smith and Laimbeer. Now they said at the start of the playoffs that the C's didn't belong there. While that may or may not be true, they talked the Knicks up as a possible upset of NJ. A Knick team that was only 3 wins better than the C's. So far I think most would agree the C's are playing alot better against Indy than NY is playing against NJ. And NJ doesn't have nearly as much of a home court advantage in their series as Indy does. I mean, it seemed that half the Meadowlands crowd was Knick fans.
To steal a line from redsoxnation....it must be hard for Laimbeer to see the game with his head behind Isiah Thomas' colon.
Kornheiser had a great line on the local radio spot yesterday. Andy Polley asked heard about what Stephen A Smith had done. Tony said, "What? Talked for so long and hard that he blew a house down?"