What do you guys see here? Obviously, I'm bias because I'm an admitted Celtics-hater, but aren't there rules in the game of basketball? And aren't some of those rules about taunting opposing players?
I'm told there are two ways of looking at this in this article, by J.E. Skeets.
1) It was disgusting. KG should have been nailed with a taunting tech immediately, maybe even tossed. Sure, he's playing mind games and getting into his opponent's head, but the officials have to draw the line somewhere — he went way over it. Classless move by the Big Ticket.
Yeah, that sounds about right to me. The broadcast guys in the clip seem to agree with this argument too. I'm of the mind that Garnett should have been T'd up for this, immediately. And if it continued beyond the technical, he should have been tossed. Classless, indeed. Although, surprisingly, that's nothing new for Garnett.
2) It was awesome. We're what, six or seven games into the season, and here are two Eastern "All-Stars" jawing at each other like it's Game 7 of the NBA Finals. KG tried to rattle young Jose, but the Spaniard refused to back down. Loved the intensity. You can sense the mutual respect between the two.
Awesome? That the officiating crew chose to selectively ignore the rules of the game of basketball to allow this to continue throughout the game? And yeah, J.E. Skeets, I can sense Garnett's respect for Calderon as he's sticking his finger in the guy's face. Whenever I really respect a guy, I clap my hands at him, and jut my finger towards his face all while talking as much smack as possible. That's actually why I'm mocking you right now, J.E. Skeets... because I respect you. I'm sure you can sense it.
I got so fired up watching these two competitors go at that I started slapping the floor like I was Garnett himself.
So that's what professional sports has come to then? We don't care about the quality of play or the closeness of the score of a game. We're not interested in feats of athleticism or brilliant execution? We get fired up over a guy talking shit and wagging his finger?
Then why isn't Terrell Owens the most beloved athlete in professional sports? How about long-time former Boston athlete, Manny Ramirez? Does he fire you up when he stands at the plate admiring his home runs? I mean, I'm sure that really pisses off the pitcher.
As a friend of mine put it, the NBA needs this type of emotion.
Let me put this as gently as I possibly can. Your friend is a fucking imbecile. The NBA needs the opposite of "this type of emotion." This type of thing is what's turning fans off to the NBA game. If this is what the game is so desperately lacking, then explain to me, why the "And 1 Mix Tape Tour" isn't the highest-rated program on TV?
What the NBA needs, is guys who play the game hard, play the game right, and don't embarrass themselves and their teams by taunting a 5'11" Spaniard for the entire third quarter.
Here's the bigger question. Why wasn't Garnett slapped with a tech for this? Or tossed?
Could it be, because he's Kevin Garnett? If this was Rasheed Wallace, do you think we'd be having this discussion? Of course not. He'd have gotten tossed immediately. I admit, that's sort of cherry-picking, because I named one of the most misbehaved athletes in the game, so lets try some other names. In fact, lets name some Celtics players.
Do you think Leon Powe, Sam Cassell, Tony Allen, Glen Davis, J.R. Giddens, Eddie House, Patrick O'Bryant, Kendrick Perkins, Gabe Pruitt, Rajon Rondo, Brian Scalabrine or Bill Walker would have gotten away with this?
Yes, that's everybody on the Celtics not named Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce or Ray Allen. So basically, isn't it almost a guaranteed fact, that the reason Garnett got a free pass for this... is because he's a star player? And the league notoriously looks the other way when star players break the rules?
This isn't about emotion or gamesmanship or getting the fans involved. It's about a very plain, very visible violation of the rules of the game. And it's about the leagues willingness to look the other way when the guy doing it is one of their "marketable star players."
Am I wrong? Drop me some comments/mail and let me know. Pornstar Names tag added, because how else can you explain "J.E. Skeets"
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