Wednesday night’s game between the Boston Celtics and the Orlando Magic summed up every reason why I absolutely despise nearly every single name on Boston’s roster. Night after night, I sit and observe an aging Celtics squad wondering why I’m wasting my time watching a bunch of over-the-hill 30-somthings moan and complain at literally every call.
In a nutshell, Boston’s inability to accept a referee’s decision, no matter how inaccurate, grates on my nerves every time. If game five of the Eastern Conference Finals wasn’t evidence enough, maybe this will help explain my point. (Before I get too far ahead of myself, allow me to give Ray Allen a free pass from this otherwise merciless breakdown of the men in green.)
I’ll start off with Kevin Garnett. In years past I’ve been partial toward KG, mostly due to memories of his Minnesota days. But as of late KG has looked soft with a subpar post game, and that’s being generous. Arguably his best asset as a 6-foot-11-inch, 253-pound power forward is his 15-foot turnaround jumper — he is 34 years old after all. But when the time comes that you can no longer get up and down the court to bang with Orlando’s Dwight Howard, leaving Kendrick Perkins and Rasheed Wallace to guard the league’s best rebounder, maybe it’s time for a career move. Garnett has always been known for his toughness, but lately that toughness is coming off as whiny.
Speaking of whiny, let’s bring in Perkins, the king of them all. His ability to overreact to even the slightest discrepancy has translated into an overwhelming knack for picking up technical and flagrant fouls. I can honestly say I haven’t seen a Boston game this season where Perkins hasn’t made me shake my head and wonder what the hell he’s thinking. I understand hard fouls are just another aspect of the postseason, but he takes it to a new level. Aside from the repeated elbow throwing, it seems Perkins goes into every contest looking for a fight. Hardnosed? Maybe. But annoying on a nightly basis? Absolutely.
Then there was ‘Sheed: the instigator. It’s a bit harder to hate on Wallace after his stint with the Jail Blazers, but I think I can still muster up the nerve. Though he was only ejected from one game in 2010, Wallace managed to tie none other than Howard for the league lead with 17 technical fouls this season (Perkins was a close second with 16). Wallace’s game has remained relatively the same over the years, not one that I’ve ever really been a fan of, and he loves having the green light from three-point land without having to play much defense other than a few occasional minutes on Howard. When you average a league-leading six personal fouls per 48 minutes, it makes it tough to draw real defensive assignments for any length of time. But as the second-oldest player on the roster aside from 37-year-old Michael Finley, Wallace’s playoff experience in Detroit makes him a valuable contributor for a banged up Boston squad.
Last but certainly not least is Paul Pierce. Nobody doubts his ability to lead the team with effective scoring but he, like so many of the Celtics, has turned into a crybaby in his old age. Pierce’s ability to get to the free throw line is arguably the best the league has seen in some time. That being said, I’ve seen his chubby body fall and flop all over the court for long enough. Just because you’re on the ground 90 percent of the game doesn’t necessarily mean you’re playing the hardest, or even the smartest. He’s got the ability to score, no doubt about it, but why don’t you do your teammates a favor and cut the theatrics. It seems like half the technical fouls that are handed out to the Celtics are usually in the aftermath of a hard foul on Pierce. There’s a pattern here fellas; figure it out for me.
In the end, this style of play has gotten them this far, so I guess you don’t fix what isn’t broken, but for the fans’ sake clean it up a bit. In closing, let me leave you with one final tidbit on the Boston Celtics: Brian Scalabrine is making $1,318,870 more than Rajon Rondo this season.
Go Lakers.
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