dcoleman@vlnvax.DEC (05/29/85)
From> Scott Ostler >Keywords: Fuck you, Boston slimeballs Right away you show how fair and unbiased you are >I'm glad you admit that the Celtics only won because Magic choked. right, that's the only reason the Celts won, everybody knows that > What I object to is >a team that use physical play as a tool to gain an advantage in playing >basketball. Gee, I object to a team that uses a good fast break as a tool to gain an advantage in playing basketball. Why do you object, because physical play isn't a Lakers' strength and they get beat by it? > There is nothing wrong with a player who boxes out agressively. >There is something wrong with a player who uses his elbows to incapacitate >the man guarding him. And I think that kind of tactic is something we >see too often from the Celtics. Lots of dirty things happen under the boards in the NBA, and the Celtics play the game like everybody else. Parrish gets pushed around and elbowed as much as anybody in the league. > Kareem is old >and simply cannot play physical basketball anymore. So maybe we should change the rules of the game so Kareem can dominate again. That's what some people seem to believe, they still can't accept the fact that basketball is a physical game. The Lakers are far and away the most intereseting team in the NBA >to watch. Maybe that's bad - like the massive offense prevalent in the NFL >nowadays - but at least its great fun to watch, much better than watching >Ainge and Bird fumbling around under the basket. I agree, the Lakers are the most exciting team for most fans, because people like to see the fast break, and the Lakers have the best 4 man break in the NBA. But I don't consider them the most interesting. Fast break is exciting but simple; a well executed halfcourt game is interesting. If you know much about basketball, watching Bird and Ainge "fumble" the ball to the open cutter under the basket is exciting. How about Bird's touch- pass in the first game against LA when he misdirected the pass to McHale wide open under the basket? Maybe you thought it was a fumble, I thought it was beautiful. From>> Eddy Lor >> If you know basketball, you should have known the >>difference between doing the dirty work (Rambis, Cooper, >>Malone, and Olajawon) and playing dirty (Ainge, McHale). >>However, whether a player is dirty, which is purely subjective, >>doesn't worth being argued. Right, you're being very subjective in singling out Ainge and McHale from some of the other players. Please explain why these two Celtics qualify as dirty players, while the others can be categorized as "doing the dirty work". Where's the fine line? In the minds of the Celtics Haters, maybe? What about Olajuwon's Paultz punch? Do you consider him the dirtiest player in the NBA now because of that one incident? >> We ain't no Laker fans who like to see the prissy, sissy >>game. The Lakers ain't playing that kind of game neither! The Lakers are >>not afraid of playing physical opponents, but they simply can't play a >>team that is violent but tolerated by the officials. How about "simply can't play a team that is physically overpowering enough that they control the boards and shut down the Lakers fast break, rendering them a good halfcourt team instead of a great fullcourt team". That's the way it is in the NBA, basketball has evolved into a contact sport because smart teams realize that controlling the boards is so important in controlling the pace of the game. True, the Lakers are a very exciting team, close to unbeatable when their fast break is in full gear; but shut down their break and they have to play halfcourt basketball, which isn't going to score them 135 points a game. Instead of blaming the officiating or the alleged roughhouse tactics of the Celtics, give them all the credit for shutting down their opponents with a strategic game plan. Against the Lakers, this means playing tight team defense and controlling the boards. Sure, the Celtics can turn on the fast break, but they know they'll get beat if they let a Lakers game turn into a layup contest. >> The Celtics simply >> >>-- use all kind of football and hockey skills on the basketball court. >> Remember the tackle by linebacker Mean Dan Ainge on Tree Rollins? How about Worthy's shoving Maxwell into the backboard support in last year's series? Or Kareem's flareup against Danny Schayes in this year's Denver series? >>-- irritate the opponents to provoke fights. In Monday's game, the Celtics irritated the Lakers by scoring twice as many points as them into the second quarter. >>-- make awful fouls on an opponent just to set the tempo of the series. Examples? OK, how about McHale's clothesline of Rambis. I don't think it was done with the intention of setting the tempo of the series, but unfortunately for the Lakers, they let themselves be intimidated by this. Apparently they thought it might work for them, too, when Worthy deliberately pushed Maxwell into the backboard support in the next game during a breakaway. >>-- consider this kind of foul "just part of the game", >>-- consider an equivalent retaliation from the other team >> "the worst foul ever seen". Johnny Most might say that, but I've never heard any of the Celtics say such a thing. They're more likely to consider it "just a part of the game". >>If you don't believe the Celtics are protected by the league, >>just recall the fragrant foul by Sparrow(?) on Bird in game 6 of last >>year's series against the Knicks. Sparrow was tossed out immediately. Does this mean the Celtics are protected by the league? Hardly, it's just another example of the big players in the game being protected. Watch how players like Bernard, Julius, and Kareem are protected. (And if Kareem isn't, he'll start crying until he is.) >>However, McHale's equally awful tackle on Rambis resulted in NO >>ejection. If this isn't double standard, what is? Neither was Worthy for his flagrant foul on Maxwell. But you probably forgot about that foul with your double standard. >>How the Celtics can get away with all these infractions is really >>no mystery. "all these infractions"? Name all of them. You just named one of them. Sparrow's ejection was no infraction against the Celtics. >> However, I am not surprised at what the Boston fans said in >>the net. All Celtics associates, let it be radio broadcasters, TV >>analyst, or fans, are awfully biased. And you consider yourself unbiased? Can you say hypocrite? One problem the Celtics have is that people are sick and tired of seeing them win year after year, and they hate them for it. Unfortunately, even in Boston, many fans are spoiled and are disappointed with anything less than a championship. I'm sure many Cleveland fans were much happier with their team finally making the playoffs than were some of the Boston fans for the Celtics making it to the finals. From>>> decwrl!greipa!pesnta!hplabs!hp-pcd!orstcs!das >>>i hope the celtics and the lakers fight each other to death so that at least >>>next season we will have something different .i have been totally let >>>down with this seasons playoffs for not producing a new champ because >>>i don't believe that the above two are the best teams in NBA . What more proof do you want than the best regular season records in the league and divisional championships? Dave Coleman "Once in a while you get shown the light In the strangest of places if you look at it right"